Implementation

Thomas Jones employs a coach from ‘Sport and Health Academy’ who provides outstanding teaching for all classes from reception to year 6. Each week, every class is taught by the coach alongside the class teacher. On a second occasion, the class teacher leads the lesson ensuring all pupils receive at least two hours of high quality PE teaching per week. These lessons take place either outside in the enclosed space or inside in the hall.

Teachers at Thomas Jones have recently been continuing their professional development in PE by observing and learning from the coach in the first weekly PE session. The teachers are now implementing the second PE session of the week as a consolidation session, using what they have learnt earlier in the week. This also ensures that the children get adequate time to practise new skills, consolidate knowledge and skills and have time to apply these further. Ongoing monitoring of the sports coach is maintained by the PE leader who regularly schedules occasions to observe lessons across the school and feedback is provided to senior leaders within the school.

Our PE curriculum is sequenced precisely to ensure progression of knowledge, understanding and skills throughout a child’s primary education, thus enabling children to build upon prior experiences and apply these fluently, with confidence. Children also have the opportunity to further these skills at after school sports clubs, making club links within the community for specific sports. 

EYFS 

EYFS PE Curriculum Map:

 

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Reception

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)

Gymnastics

Tag Rugby

Tennis

Athletics

 

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children work towards the Physical Development -  Gross Motor Skills Early Learning Goal: 

  • Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others;  
  • Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing;  
  • Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing. 

 Children are encouraged to be as physically active as possible, therefore children benefit from a ‘free flow’ setup during choosing time, which enables them to play outside throughout the day all year round. Each day resources will be on offer to develop gross motor skills such as bikes/scooters, the swing, the pirate ship climbing frame, balls, hoops and dance ribbons. Through this child led approach, children practice key fundamental movement skills. Alongside this, adult led activities will also focus on gross motor skills. 

Children are also taught the importance of exercise for a healthy lifestyle. This is done through weekly PE sessions in Reception where, after a term of focussing on fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, balancing and catching, sports and associated knowledge and skills are focussed upon. These assist the children to improve their coordination, control and movement further. The children also start to learn the basics of some core sports that they will continue to play higher up in the school, giving them the foundations needed for the challenges of KS1 and beyond. 

Key Stage One

KS1 PE Curriculum Map:

 

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Year One

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)

Dance

Tag Rugby

Tennis

Athletics

Year Two

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)

Gymnastics

Tag Rugby

Tennis

Athletics

 

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)

In Key Stage One there is again, a strong focus on fundamental movement skills as they are the core skills that will play a part in every sport they will go on to play in the future. During these lessons children are continuing to progress skills in  coordination and ways to control their body’s movements, as well as how to properly perform different types of throws; catch different types of balls; and how to manoeuvre a ball with their feet. These skills are broken down and taught step by step, allowing time for children to understand wholly how the different skills work. The skills are revisited over time – therefore in alignment with whole school pedagogy about how children learn best – revisiting and consolidating skills and understanding through different age appropriate applications.

Dance

During the dance unit children are introduced to the idea of creating movements to music. Children begin to associate certain movements with types of music or sounds. The children also build upon prior knowledge of creating routines by creating dance routines in partners and small groups. Children are taught the basic skills of dancing such as engaging with the audience and the importance of posture.

Gymnastics

In this unit children learn different movements, skills and balances that underpin the discipline of gymnastics. Prior learning in the EYFS and during dance in Year 1 is built upon. Children are given the opportunity to learn how to create routines with a partner and/or small group using these newly acquired gymnastic skills. This allows children the freedom to use their creativity to come up with different routines using a range of different movements and balances. Children work towards performing a full routine at the end of the unit.

Tag Rugby

Tag rugby is introduced in KS1 as the children’s first competitive team sport. During this unit children start learning the different rules for tag rugby which are reinforced every lesson. Alongside this, key skills are taught which build upon those from the fundamental movement skills unit earlier in the year such as learning how to throw and catch a rugby ball, how to run whilst carrying the rugby ball and how to avoid players to ensure they keep their tags on. A variety of different games are played to help children practice the skills they learn in an enjoyable way whilst still retaining an element of competition.

Tennis

During the summer term children learn the basics of tennis which build upon skills learnt in the EYFS. Children are taught basic skills of tennis including how to hold and manoeuvre a racket, move towards objects beginning to understand how to read the trajectory of the ball and make decisions accordingly. This improves their basic hand eye co-ordination. Through a variety of activities with partners and groups, children will have many opportunities to practice the different skills learned throughout the unit - and put their skills to the test within a range of different skill based games. The children will also begin to learn how tennis can be a competitive game and how it can be playing in pairs and independently.

Athletics

During the latter half of the summer term, attention turns to athletics which coincides with the children’s annual sports day. Again, during this unit, the fundamental movement skills are continuously practiced through different events and children also learn how to handle new equipment safely and with a level of competence such as relay batons, foam javelins and a range of different balls.

Children are taught the differences between different runs, for example, what we need to do to be able to run faster and what we should do if we want to run for longer distances. 

 

Key Stage Two

KS2 PE Curriculum Map:

 

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Year Three

Netball

Tag Rugby

Hockey

Dance

Tennis

Athletics

Year Four

Netball

Tag Rugby

Hockey

Gymnastics

Cricket and Swimming

Athletics, Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA)

and Swimming

Year Five

Netball

Volleyball

Hockey and Swimming

Dance and Swimming

Tennis

Athletics

Year Six

Netball

and Swimming

Volleyball

and Swimming

 

Hockey

Gymnastics

Cricket

Athletics and Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA)

 

Invasion Games (netball, tag rugby, volleyball and hockey)

Throughout KS2, children will have a range of experience playing different invasion games. By learning the disciplines of different sports, children will continue to develop increasing skills linked to earlier fundamental movement skill units in EYFS and KS1. Alongside this, children further develop their understanding of a range of tactics and continue building upon these every year. For example, the knowledge and skills pertaining to receiving passes and getting into a prime position to receive a ball. Throughout these units children are split into teams, and work in those groups throughout the unit. Each child in the team gets the opportunity to be their team's captain at least once. Captains are responsible for organising their teams, leading their warm ups and cool downs, and providing positive encouragement and corrections when needed. This helps further develop their communication skills, and give opportunities for leadership to those who may not actively seek it. 

Dance

During the dance units children continue to develop their understanding of performing a routine with a partner or group to music. This derives from children learning the appropriate moves for different types of music which use fast and slow rhythms, for example.  How dancers use conditioning to improve their flexibility, strength and endurance to be able to complete routines will also be discussed. Children begin to learn different techniques to make their performances more interesting and are given more freedom to plan routines leading up to a performance in the final week. Alongside this, children are taught how to critique dance performances in a positive yet constructive way.

Gymnastics

During the gymnastics units, children will begin to learn more advanced skills such as increasingly difficult balances and advanced body control. Children will also begin to understand how gymnasts improve their flexibility and strength by conditioning to be able to complete routines. The units work towards children performing a routine with a partner or group as in KS1 but with increased skills and length. For these routines, children are given more freedom and increased time to work on their routines during the lesson. Performance points are constantly reinforced, and children are asked to ensure they are reinforcing these with their partners to ensure their performances are aesthetically pleasing. During these units, children will work on different aspects of their routine every lesson, building on it every week with the performance being shown in the final week.

Tennis

During the summer term children recap the basics of tennis which were learnt in the EYFS and KS1. The children will learn the different ways to hit the ball such as fore hand, back hand, volley and serve. Children will also learn how to control the ball and practise aiming at a certain area using the skill of hitting the ball with differing force. Through a variety of activities with partners and groups, children will have many opportunities to practise the different skills learned throughout the unit before putting their skills to the test within a range of different skill based games. The children will also continue to learn how tennis can be a competitive game and how it can be played in pairs and independently.

Cricket

In the later stages of the school year, focus shifts to summer sports. Within cricket, we look at the basic batting technique and build upon this with each unit. Children are encouraged to begin hitting the ball into open spaces. They are also taught how to bowl accurately, firstly underarm and then overarm as well as being taught some of the different fielding positions and the aim of each fielder. Children learn to field effectively by throwing the ball to a closer fielder instead of running it in. The rules of the game are learnt gradually, and games are adapted to suit the stage of learning. For example, more concrete rules and an introduction of points and boundaries are not introduced until the latter stages of KS2.

Outdoor Adventurous Activity (OAA)

During these units children develop their understanding of risk in a variety of land or water based adventurous activities. They take part in problem solving or survival activities requiring pupils to plan collaboratively in pairs or small groups, developing their skills of teamwork, communication and leadership. Current activities include climbing and orienteering. An area under development is to seek opportunities for different OAA activities such as canoeing, paddle boarding and horse riding.

Athletics

During the latter half of the summer term, attention turns to athletics. During this time athletic events are the focus to ensure children are prepared for their sports day. They further develop their running technique - looking at how they can run faster and more effectively and they learn the difference between running for speed and endurance. This unit also provides children an opportunity to complete a range of athletic events within the running, throwing and jumping categories such as hurdles, relay, javelin, and long jump. An important focus during this unit is for children to compete against themselves to better their time or distance rather than focusing on winning against others.

Swimming 

It is the school’s aim that each class attends swimming sessions in KS2 to enable children to leave as competent and confident swimmers. This happens for a term in year 4, year 5 and year 6. Thomas Jones utilises the Kensington Leisure Centre each week for swimming lessons. The aim is that by the time children reach the end of their time at Thomas Jones, they have not only reached the Key Stage 2 statutory target of swimming 25 metres using a range of strokes, but some are achieving beyond this. A number of competent swimmers also have the opportunity to learn how to life save by a qualified instructor. When each class attends the swimming sessions these are led by a coach at Kensington Leisure Centre as well as their class teacher being present to support the learning. Class teachers are responsible for assessing swimming and reporting back to the PE leader who can then track progress and ensure children who are not on track to make the statutory requirements are targeted for intervention. Because children swim in year 4 and year 5, this allows a timely point to target children who are at risk of falling behind the expected standard by ensuring they hit the ground running in year 6 and potentially have additional swimming sessions. Thomas Jones also runs a weekly swim squad session (for years 4, 5 and 6) in preparation for a swim gala against other local schools held in July.

SEND

There is a strong belief that all children here at Thomas Jones are able to access our PE curriculum no matter what additional needs they may have. It is essential that all children are able to develop their co-ordination and sporting skills alongside improving their physical fitness as they develop. PE lessons are adapted for individual children to support their ability to access the activity alongside their peers. Simplified instructions, adapted equipment, as well as peer and adult support are all strategies that are used in order for SEND children to participate equally and confidently.

Competitive Sport

The competitive element of sport is developed from early on in KS1 through tag rugby. Each week children from Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 represent Thomas Jones in weekly competitive leagues. These leagues see Thomas Jones competing alongside local schools in a variety of sports such as mixed netball, mixed handball and football for both boys and girls.

Over the years, Thomas Jones has competed well in many sporting events and have almost always qualified for borough finals in the competitive sports named above.

Competitive sport is further established during the summer term when we undertake the annual KS1 and KS2 sports day as well as football matches held at school against local schools for children who did not make the team for the leagues.

PE Clubs

Thomas Jones offers a variety of after school sports clubs for year 1 upwards. The coach runs the football, handball, hockey and netball clubs available for Year 5 and 6 as a training session for the weekly leagues. 

Yoga and dance clubs runs weekly for all children.

PE Educational Visits

Thomas Jones pupils continue to have fantastic opportunities to attend world class sporting events. In June 2019, twelve children attended the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships and in November 2019, ten children attended the ATP World Tour Tennis at the O2 Arena. In the summer of 2024, Thomas Jones will take a small group of children to Lords cricket ground to watch a first class cricket match involving Middlesex.