At Molehill Primary Academy, we aim to ensure that Physical Education teaching is vibrant and engaging to foster collaboration, enthusiasm and a balanced lifestyle for all our pupils. Pupils will develop social skills and positive attitudes during their PE lessons in addition to developing their IB learner profiles through teamwork and opportunities to apply these. At Molehill Primary Academy, we believe that every child should receive a creative, broad and balanced Physical Education. We deliver high quality teaching and learning opportunities to enable every individual to fulfil their sporting potential in a safe and supportive environment. We aim to best prepare our students for their continued Physical Education journey in their further education. Through our logically planned curriculum sequencing, we want to promote a healthy lifestyle so that children understand the importance of physical and mental well-being throughout the course of their life.We ensure a broad coverage of PE and progression in PE skills and concepts throughout a child’s time at Molehill. We draw on a variety of teaching approaches and challenge pupils to become independent learners, creative thinkers, reflective learners, team workers, self-managers and effective participators. We provide opportunities for children to consider their sporting future and regularly have major athletes attend the school for inspirational visits to motivate us to try new things and discover new potential: fueling the children’s aspirations as they consider their possible route for on their journey to a career within sport.
Molehill Primary Academy provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities. We follow the National Curriculum aims to ensure that our PE curriculum is ambitious and designed to promote leadership opportunities for the children to build on and develop their skills to achieve success in each and every lesson. Included within this, children take part in; Gymnastics, Dance, Attack Defend and Shoot, Hit Catch and Run, Send and Return, Run Jump and Throw, Swimming and Outdoor Adventurous Activities. Our logically planned curriculum sequences support pupil progress and enable our children to feel confident to compete in a wide variety of events and festivals throughout the year. Our curriculum allows for a natural approach of scientific inquiry within PE which generates opportunities to use our literacy and numeracy skills as we encourage our children to self and peer assess with the recording of data relevant to their age. Our staff are well supported to access all areas of the curriculum with modelling of our expectations a priority for their learning. Building on the children’s long term muscle memory and facilitating opportunities within the children’s learning to recall knowledge from previous experiences is paramount to the delivery of our curriculum. Children learn ways to link their learning from previous lessons which enables them to draw parallels between their skills in more sophisticated ways, transferring concepts between subject areas. The delivery of new content and skills is underpinned by plentiful opportunities for professional development at Molehill Primary Academy. To support staff subject knowledge within each subject area, we have key staff who can provide guidance in particular sports which ensures that the curriculum is taught with high expectations and precise skill development.
As an IB World school, all children are encouraged to become independent learners with agency, using their Learner Profile Attributes and Approaches to Learning. A central theme across our lessons is to establish independence and leadership, promoting our key values to ensure that our pupils are principled and balanced problem solvers. We foster a competitive environment within our school to focus on key aspects of the learner profile to ensure that the children are reflective on their practise, they can self assess and communicate their targets and become risk takers to aid the progression of their skill set. Student-led learning takes a precedent within PE lessons with a focus on fail, reflect, refine and repeat.
Our house teams work with their captains within pupil-led assemblies at regular intervals throughout the year, honing their interpersonal skills and establishing their leadership roles, to empower and provide ambition to our younger pupils across the school.
All pupils are invited to participate in intra and inter school competitions within both the Trust and the local area which is an inclusive approach to develop teamwork and leadership skills, mental and social skills as well as physical. It also gives all children the opportunity to experience the success of competitive sports. Our Annual Sports day also ensures that all pupils have the opportunity to apply their skills and work collaboratively across year groups. Our pupils often lead our sporting events are involved in their implementation and organisation, working on and developing their leadership roles from within their lessons.
Our pupils have been provided with additional exciting opportunities to meet inspiring athletes. Pupils enjoyed taking part in a sponsored event with Paralympic athlete Darran Challis, an Invictus Competitor who competed at the 2016 Games in Cycling and Swimming who sustained significant injuries when he was on active duty in the Army after 26 years of service. Pupils also benefited from a visit by Georgia-Mae Fenton, Team GB artistic gymnast who has represented Great Britain in European Championships, World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. They were inspired by the skills she showcased and children had the opportunity to hold her gold, silver and bronze medals. Through visits from athletes, pupils invest in the inspiring messages from Darran Challis that having an injury does not prevent you from excelling in sport and Georgia-Mae Fenton’s advice to persevere through challenging times and never give up. We regularly have visits from professional athletes and believe that these messages have a long-lasting impact on pupils which broaden their horizons and open their eyes to athletic opportunities in their further education and later life. We are also fortunate to have professional cricket and football coaches to deliver sessions for our students in which they receive not only engaging technical lessons but also learn of new sporting opportunities outside of school life.
By participating in high quality and engaging lessons, our pupils learn to become independent, confident, responsible and balanced young adults who are prepared for their future with a solid foundation for sustaining an active and healthy lifestyle in their future learning and into adulthood. We hold targeted sessions for children to ensure that they can access the full curriculum and make time in each session for the children to apply their new knowledge in situations that reflect a competitive environment. Our year 6 children are involved in the planning, organisation and implementation of sporting events that we hold at school and have key responsibilities to help to prepare them for their onward education.
The IB curriculum ensures that the children are able to self assess their actions and can plan ahead to adapt to any given situation setting themselves high standards for their future learning. Children have a good understanding of what they need to do to make progress within the activity, for the lesson and longer term developing a deeper understanding of the subject area. The children develop a love of physical activity, are able to reflect upon their actions and feel motivated to participate in a variety of sports outside of school, ultimately taking responsibility for their own health and fitness.