‘Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.’ John F. Kennedy

At St. Bernadette’s, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to take part in physical activity on a regular basis and become more physically confident and competent throughout their years at our school. Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities,
• engage in competitive sports and activities,
• lead healthy, active lives

As with all our subjects, our subject design interrelates different strands of knowledge:

Substantive knowledge represents the content that is taught in each year group. In planning, this knowledge is the content we want pupils to know and remember including subject specific vocabulary.

PE is organised using themes by organising key concepts that underlie a subject specific way of thinking in a subject discipline. We use the following ‘themes’ to activate prior knowledge and to support pupils to build their knowledge over time and across different sports and physical activities:

• Motor Competence - a person's ability to make a range of physical actions which include co- ordinating fine and gross motor skills. These are fundamental to being able to participate in everyday activities as well as in play and physical activity.
• Rules, Strategies and Tactics – a person’s ability to move intelligently as well as competently. The rules, strategies and tactics which are involved with different types of activity require explicit teaching.
• Healthy Participation – positive and inclusive participation in physical education will enable children to build, self-esteem, teamwork, and positive values and attitudes in P.E. and across the curriculum.

Themes provide opportunities to show pupils how to make links across a range of activities and build connectedness. Themes are taught, revisited and referred to across year groups as the children move through school.

Disciplinary knowledge is drawn from the National Curriculum programmes of study, is organised into categories of knowledge and mapped into a vertically integrated progression document which ensures opportunities for pupils to build, revisit and deepen their knowledge and skills.

Assessment in PE is more than just knowing rules or excelling in one area of sport. We assess the pupils’ ability to apply their knowledge through clearly defined outcomes at the end of each unit of learning. This provides information on the children’s ability to use and apply new knowledge in a subject specific context.