Physical Education
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: MR PHILLIPS
Intent
Year 7-11 Core PE
Physical Education at St Bernard's aims to create an ‘inclusive’ environment where all students feel a sense of belonging through being known, valued, respected and safe.
We aim to provide a core PE curriculum for all students in Year 7-11 that is broad, engaging, progressive and challenging, allowing for students to access the curriculum and make progress regardless of their starting point or sporting ability. For students that wish to study Physical Education in more depth we aim to offer high quality learning through GCSE and A-Level PE pathways.
The curriculum aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of physical, technical and tactical aspects across a range of sports. We aim to promote the benefits of being physically active to students and develop a passion for lifelong participation, so they can make better lifestyle decisions far beyond the school gates and into their chosen career paths. The curriculum should also allow students to enjoy being physically active and many will identify areas of strength where they continue their development through our extra-curricular programme or into club sport.
We also aim to develop the emotional well-being of our students so they can develop skills such confidence, perseverance and resilience. Whilst our focus social well-being allows us to promote skills such us teamwork, communication and leadership.
GCSE PE
Students will aim to improve their understanding of practical performance through learning how to move, train, eat and mentally prepare for sport. Studying GCSE PE will equip students with the foundation to continue to study Physical Education at A-Level
A-Level PE
Aims to give students a synoptic understanding of the wide range of factors that underpin performance from a physical, technical, tactical and psychological perspective. We aim to encourage A-Level students to be role models to younger students and help support their participation in school sport. A-Level students maybe inspired to continue to study and sport related degree or pursue one of the many sports related career paths.
Implementation
Year 7-11 Core PE
Our core PE pathway provides a learning journey where:
Year 7 focuses on – believing in myself and ensuring social belonging.
Year 8 focuses on – learning to learn, lead and developing a growth mindset.
Year 9 focuses on – building aspirations and developing resilience.
In PE lessons at KS3 our students study a range of activities such as Netball, Basketball, Badminton, Gymnastics, Dance, Rounders, Health Relate Fitness and Athletics.
Year 10 focuses on – building mental health and managing pressure.
Year 11 focuses on – making balanced, active lifestyle choices.
In PE lessons at KS4 our students’ study some of the traditional activities above along with alternative activities such as yoga, boxercise, table tennis, bench ball and tchoukball to name a few. The emphasis is on students participating in physical activity ‘for fun’ and as a ‘catharsis’ where the pressure of exams is put to one side.
We also like to recognise achievements using the school achievement policy but also through regular praise, certificates, school's social media, badge colours and our annual awards evening.
GCSE PE
Students studying GCSE Physical education follow the AQA GCSE PE Specification which is split into the following 3 components:
Component 1: The human body and movement in physical activity and sport
Component 2: Social-cultural influences and well-being in physical activity and sport
Component 3: Practical Performance in physical activity across 3 activities and sport & Analysis and evaluation of performance to bring about improvement in one activity.
Students who select to study GCSE PE should be actively playing at least one sport/ideally two and are required to attend all practices for the practical activities they are to be assessed in.
A-Level PE
Students studying A-Level Physical education follow the OCR A-Level PE Specification which is split into the following 4 components:
Component 1: Physiological Factors affecting Performance.
Component 2: Psychological Factors affecting Performance.
Component 3: Socio-cultural issues in physical activity and sport.
Components 5 and 6: Practical Performance in 1 physical activity and evaluation of performance to bring about improvement in one activity.
This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams and submit all their non-exam assessment at the end of the course. Students who select to study A-Level PE should be actively playing one sport to club level.
IMPACT
Year 7-11 Core PE
By the end of Key Stage 3, students will have acquired and developed a range of skills across the core sports and have also developed their tactical knowledge and understanding.
Observation and feedback from students show high levels of engagement and enjoyment in their PE lessons. Students will have learnt to cooperate, problem solve, analyse and provide feedback to improve their performance.
The biggest impact any curriculum can have is to inspire students to live healthy, happy lifestyles and within the PE curriculum students develop the tools and knowledge to be active, lifelong exercisers who promote well-being and holistic health.
GCSE and A-Level PE
GCSE PE Students will complete the course with good outcomes, a secure platform to study the subject at Advanced Level and as a better practical performer. GCSE PE students will also go on to represent the school at Borough, County and Regional Level and be role models and sporting ambassadors to our KS3 students.
Several of our A-Level students go on to study the sport related degrees further at university and/or complete foundation courses. Our A-Level students leave with in depth knowledge of a range of factors that affect performance and analytical skills to improve performance. Our A-Level students develop strong leadership skills and are mentors to our younger, emerging talent