PE & Sport
At Fountains Primary, we encourage pupils to engage in regular physical activity and provide them with the skills to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle as they progress to adulthood. The foundations of positive and enjoyable participation in regular physical activity within our school should be established.
Crucial to achieving this is ensuring that pupils have access to at least 30 minutes of physical activity during the school day, alongside high-quality PE provision taught by confident and knowledgeable teachers and opportunities to experience and participate in a wide range of sports and physical activities.
Within school, pupils will be motivated through daily opportunities to engage in a 30-minute active session. These sessions encompass active lessons; PE lessons; adventurous sports; Forest School sessions; swimming sessions and lessons, and sports tournaments. All of this is in conjunction with active breaks and lunchtimes. There will also be opportunities for some of our pupils to participate in community access, trampolining, and sports events (such as swimming galas, festivals and tournaments) with other children from both mainstream and SEND settings which they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to do.
We have a holistic approach to PESSPA and promote children’s physical, mental and cultural well-being by using cross-curricular links within other curriculum subjects. Throughout school, many children find building and forming relationships challenging, and we aim to support them through their engagement in physical activity.
Our daily opportunities to ‘Be Active’ include:
Get Set 4 P.E.
At Fountains Primary School, we use the GetSet4P.E. platform to support the implementation of our PE curriculum. It helps staff to feel confident to deliver high-quality PE lessons across the school. This programme is coherently planned and sequenced to ensure that pupils (especially those following the Functional Curriculum) have a more traditional approach to PE, with learners having the opportunity to explore and learn how to take part in Games, Gymnastics, Dance and different activities according to the National Curriculum guidelines. Children are taught fundamental movement skills alongside critical social skills such as teamwork, communication and resilience through team and individual sports and games, learning skills attached to sports such as table tennis and archery. These skills build over time, taking into account prior experience and knowledge.
Burton Albion Community
Trust Sessions
Some children have PE lessons supported by Burton Albion Community Trust coaches. We have positive connections with Burton Albion, which support the development of staff confidence to teach PE by delivering high-quality CPD to staff, ensuring that all children make at least good progress within PE. We have also been part of a case study with Burton Albion and the Premier League Shooting Stars Programme based on the CPD offered by Burton Albion and the outcomes our children have achieved.
School Games Award, AfPE Quality Mark, & Healthy Schools Mark
We participate in the School Games Award annually. To gain this award, some of our pupils participate in various sporting competitions such as Sports Festivals, Boccia, Football, Indoor Canoeing and Sport4All festivals. Throughout the 2022/23 academic year, we have completed the AfPE Quality Mark and Healthy Schools Award to recognise the impact sport and physical activity have on the school and children.
Trampolining
This year we have purchased a range of new equipment to support in the delivery of PE and encourage active breaks and lessons. We have also purchased two new Rebound trampolines and trained staff in Rebound therapy to support children across all 4 of our curriculums. The benefits of trampolining for our pupils is to enhance communication opportunities, encouraging communication and interaction both verbal and using alternative communication methods. Other benefits include promoting gross motor development for our pupils, enhancing their posture, core strength and developing muscle tone. Rebound Therapy encourages children to build on positive relationships with supporting staff, developing trust and self-confidence
Active Lessons
We inspire all children to remain physically active during break times and lunchtimes but as well as this, if children do not have a PE lesson, swimming session or forest school session, we encourage all teachers to timetable in one active lesson during the day. This may be an active Maths or phonics session. This ensures that children fulfil the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity per day, whilst also providing variety and excitement to lessons.
Broader Physical Experiences and Adventurous Sports
We aim to offer a range of physical experiences and adventurous sports to all of our pupils. This is important to us as some of our pupils are not also given the opportunities to take part in these activities because of their additional needs and on occasions the cost of such activities. We also know for some of our pupils living in the wider community will be a challenge for them and the more experience they have to partake in a fulfilling healthy life, the better their life outcomes will be. We therefore encourage our pupils to be able to swim competently and confidently in a local pool, ride a bike, have a go at adventurous sports and go bowling.
