PE and Sports Development

Physical activity is at the heart of our culture and ethos across all GLA schools. We are committed to ‘Creating Active Schools’, as we are passionate about physical activity and recognise the positive impact that it has on children’s lives and well-being, physically and mentally.

Physical Education is more than just teaching a PE curriculum; we promote physical activity to nurture individual characters, build self-esteem, problem solve, provide challenge, support positive mental health and wellbeing, as well as teaching skills and knowledge that will help all children succeed in the next stages of their education.

As a GLA school, we offer:

• A Physical Education curriculum which is broad, balanced and opportunity rich, providing equality for all children. Our organised and engaging curriculum helps children develop confidence and a sense of achievement.
• A wealth of enrichment activities, sporting clubs and competitive events to suit the dynamics of our school and needs of our children. As well as increasing access to wider opportunities, we hope that children will appreciate teamwork, experience new opportunities and promote leading a healthy, active lifestyle outside of school.
• A strong network of GLA PE leaders and a PE Trust lead, who work collaboratively to share best practice, organise trust events, ensure up to date research is sustaining high quality PE provision and monitor the use and impact of the Sports Premium. Our PE leaders regularly attend professional development workshops to stay informed about the latest trends and techniques in physical education.
• Professional Partnerships with external sporting organisations and charities, such as Move More, and Gloucester School Sports Network to enrich our PE offer. These partnerships have enabled us to offer specialised coaching in sports like gymnastics and tennis, which have been highly popular among our children.

Sports Premium Funding

As part of the Olympics 2012 Legacy, the government has provided additional funding in order to improve the quality of provision of physical education and sport in primary schools to improve the quality of sports and PE for all their children. Funding for schools is calculated by reference to the number of primary-aged pupils (between the ages of 5 and 11), as recorded in the annual schools census in January.

Schools must spend the additional funding on improving their provision of PE and sport, but they will have the freedom to choose how they do this. The money can only be spent on sport and PE provision in schools and will be used so that all children have equal benefit regardless of their sporting ability.

All GLA schools closely monitor the provision, spending, implementation and impact of the funding to ensure this additional funding provides maximum impact so children are inspired to be physically active for life.

Please click here to see how this year’s funding is making a difference in our school.

Our principles at Springbank Primary Academy

We strongly believe that all children should be active throughout the school day and promote this through being part of the Creating Active Schools scheme. 

We follow the National Curriculum for PE in England

At Springbank, Physical Education is a fundamental part of every child’s education and development.  During their time with us, all children are given access to high quality PE provision and exposure to a broad range of sports.  We take seriously our duty to develop a love of physical activity in all children, regardless of ability, alongside a responsibility to educate children on the importance of good physical health. 

Fun, enjoyment, confidence, competence and self esteem are the forefront of our PE delivery.  Children in EYFS and KS1 develop the fundamental skills such as aiming and throwing, balance, co-ordination, control, and movement. In KS2 children are able to use these fundamental skills to develop their knowledge and understanding of invasion games such as football,  netball, tag rugby and hockey.  These skills are also transferable to striking and fielding games such as cricket and rounders, together with net games such as tennis.  Gymnastics and Dance also form an important part of the curriculum at Springbank, as well as opportunities to try a variety of sports ranging from Dodgeball to Cycling.

PE Curriculum Overview

 PE in the Early Years (Reception)

Physical Development, as opposed to Physical Education, is a core component of the Early Years curriculum - with a focus on both fine and gross motor development throughout the year.  Gross motor development begins by concentrating on the fundamentals of balance, coordination and movement.  Cooperation is also an early and important element of this curriculum - teaching children about the importance of team mates as early as we can.  By the end of their time in the Early Years, pupils will have mastered a range of agility movements which they can apply to large equipment and dance, as well as mastering the beginnings of ball skills and throwing and catching.  Children as young as Reception will understand what it feels like to be truly active and out of breath!  Beyond their Real PE lessons, Reception pupils visit the Forest School once a week to develop their cooperation and coordination skills in a different environment.

PE in Key Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2)

Mastering the fundamentals is the main aim of PE in Key Stage 1 at Springbank.  Children are taught to further develop their basic movements, coordination, stamina and core strength.  These fundamentals are brought together in the full range of Real PE units as well as further lessons focusing on application of running, jumping, throwing and catching in a range of activities.  In both Year 1 and Year 2, children spend time exploring the large gym apparatus and learn a dance.

PE in Key Stage 2 (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6)

Swimming is introduced as part of the PE curriculum in Key Stage 2, with all children undertaking a five week unit of swimming over the course of the academic year.  PE lessons continue throughout this key stage.  The curriculum develops through Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 to focus on application of skills in more familiar sporting scenarios such as competitive games of hockey, football, tennis and cricket.  By the end of Year 6, all children will have had many opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge & understanding in a full range of invasion games, striking and fielding games, gymnastics and dance.  Springbank pupils become empathetic team mates as well as develop an understanding of the single-mindedness needed for professional athletes to succeed.

Extra-Curricular Sport 

We do our best to offer a range of extra-curricular sporting activities, beyond what is on offer in the mandatory curriculum.  Some of these activities are provided by the school for free, whereas others are run by private companies on our site and may charge a fee.