Physical Education
Our aims
At Scotton Lingerfield Primary School, we want every child to enjoy being active and develop the confidence and skills to take part in a broad range of physical activities. Our PE curriculum helps children understand how movement and exercise support their physical health, emotional wellbeing and everyday lives.
Through individual challenges, creative activities and team games, children learn to persevere, make decisions and work with others. We encourage them to recognise their own progress, celebrate personal achievements and show fairness and respect when competing.
Our approach brings together four connected areas: physical skills, thinking and decision-making, social development, and health and wellbeing. We want children to discover activities they enjoy and develop habits that help them remain active beyond primary school.
How we teach PE
Our PE curriculum is planned progressively from Reception to Year 6, with teaching supported by specialist sports coaches. Children revisit fundamental movement skills and learn to apply them with increasing control, accuracy and confidence.
Learning includes games, gymnastics, dance and athletics, alongside swimming and outdoor adventurous activities. Children develop skills through practice before applying them in sequences, performances, challenges and competitive situations.
Teachers model techniques, explain rules and introduce vocabulary that helps children understand and discuss their learning. Lessons give children opportunities to observe, practise, receive feedback and try again. As their skills develop, they learn to select appropriate actions and adapt their approach to different situations.
Teaching takes account of children’s starting points and needs. Activities, equipment and support are adapted to help everyone participate meaningfully, make progress and experience success.
Building knowledge and skills across ages and stages
In Reception, children develop the foundations of movement through activities involving running, jumping, balancing, throwing, catching and moving to music. They explore different ways to travel, make shapes and control objects, while learning to use space and equipment safely. Simple games and group activities help them follow instructions, take turns and become aware of others.
In Years 1 and 2, children improve their balance, coordination and control, combining movements with growing confidence. They practise sending, receiving and striking balls, and begin to apply these skills in simple games. Gymnastics develops through linking shapes, balances, rolls and travelling actions, while dance involves creating and remembering short sequences. In athletics, children develop running, jumping and throwing techniques. They begin to explain what went well and identify something they could improve.
In Years 3 and 4, children apply their skills in more structured activities and games, including football, netball, cricket and rounders. They develop greater accuracy in passing, catching, striking and shooting, and begin to use tactics when attacking and defending. Gymnastics and dance require longer sequences, greater control and closer cooperation with a partner or group. Outdoor adventurous activities develop communication, map-reading and problem-solving. Children increasingly use observation and feedback to refine their performance.
In Years 5 and 6, children select and combine techniques more confidently, adapting their decisions to the demands of a game or challenge. They work collaboratively to develop tactics, create and use space, and take on different roles, including leadership and officiating. Dance and gymnastics involve more complex sequences, with attention to fluency, expression and the needs of an audience. In outdoor adventurous activities, children plan strategies, navigate more independently and evaluate how effectively their team has worked.
Swimming and water safety
Swimming is included in our Key Stage 2 programme. Children develop water confidence, learn a range of strokes and practise swimming with increasing control and stamina.
Teaching also develops their understanding of water safety, including recognising dangers and knowing how to behave responsibly near water. Children learn survival and self-rescue skills, such as floating, treading water and attracting attention.
Our aim is for children to leave primary school able to swim at least 25 metres confidently and competently, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue.
Sport and activity beyond lessons
Children have opportunities to extend their interests through sports clubs, events and competitions within school and against other schools. These experiences help them apply their learning, develop teamwork and represent their school with pride.
We encourage active play and provide opportunities to move throughout the school day. Forest School and other outdoor experiences also contribute to children’s wider physical development, confidence and enjoyment of being outdoors.
We value participation and personal improvement alongside competitive achievement. Children are encouraged to try unfamiliar activities, support one another and recognise that success can take different forms.
Developing confident, active children
Teachers use assessment at the start of units to identify prior learning and observe children’s progress as they practise and apply their skills. End-of-unit activities and questions help check what children know, understand and can do.
Children learn to evaluate their own performance, respond to feedback and set themselves achievable challenges. They also develop an understanding of how regular activity benefits both the body and mind.
By the end of Year 6, we want children to have secure movement skills, the confidence to participate in different activities and the understanding to make healthy choices. Above all, we want them to leave with an enjoyment of being active and the motivation to continue.
