Curriculum
Core PE is statutory throughout all Key Stages. It is our aim to promote deep and mastery learning through a broad and balanced programme that consolidates and develops key principles in Physical Education. Pupils engage in activities that develop the essential components of fitness; cardio-vascular endurance, agility, flexibility, speed, strength and balance. They will also be provided with opportunities to enhance their tactical and compositional ideas through a Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach in invasion, net, striking and fielding games (it is very important for pupils to understand lateral transfer in terms knowledge, concepts, behaviours and skills) and problem-solving activities in the aesthetic elements of the programme. We firmly believe that all pupils should experience some kind of success. PE staff provide high quality opportunities, based on pupils’ needs and they are presented in a way that is inclusive so that all pupils can gain access to understanding in order to feel successful and excel. All teachers of PE promote a “can do” philosophy. Our curriculum will deepen a range of skills, knowledge and concepts, whilst also providing opportunities to develop essential life skills such as respect, teamwork, resilience and honesty. All students will be provided with opportunities to participate in competitive sport and other activities including intra-school events.
Our KS2 and KS3 core PE curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all pupils at Valley Gardens Middle School, not only through the sporting skills taught, but also through the underpinning values and disciplines PE promotes. Our impact is therefore to motivate students to utilise these underpinning skills in an independent and effective way in order to live happy and healthy lives.
Aims of Physical Education
We support all pupils so that they all:
1) Develop competence in a broad range of physical activities
- Competence not only in skill but also in aptitude, conceptual knowledge, capability, fitness and life skills
2) Are physically active for sustained periods of time
- If children are regularly physically active at a young age, they are more likely to engage in healthy, active lifestyles and their motor proficiency is improved.
- The tasks that we set are physically challenging and educational.
- As pupils gain strength and strength endurance they are expected to execute more difficult series of movements and more complex sequences.
3) Engage in competitive sports and activities
4) Lead healthy active lifestyles
Assessment in PE
Pupils are assessed across 3 key domains:
- Psychomotor (hands): Being physically competent, physically active and competitive
- Cognitive (head): Being a decision-maker, gaining in confidence, having a deeper understanding and being tactically aware
- Affective (heart): Character and values, healthy active lifestyles, attitude and social and emotional well-being
We appreciate that pupils at Key Stage 2 need to master fundamental skills if they are to enjoy the wide range of physical activities, sports and outdoor pursuits on offer. At Key Stage 3 our pupils develop more specific techniques, advanced learnt movement and tactical awareness.
We know our curriculum is working in the Physical Education department in a number of ways. Firstly, student participation in lessons and their engagement in developing skills is high. High participation rates at extra curricular sessions leading to teams winning competitions at local and regional level.
Ultimately as a result of doing and thinking in PE, we want our pupils to feel good about themselves and their relationship with the subject and progress to leading healthy, active lifestyles.
Curriculum Overview
CURRICULUM MAPS
Year 5 Fitness Testing What are the six key components of fitness? How do you perform the tests to measure each of the components of fitness? Fundamental Motor Skills What are the six fundamental motor skills? How are the six fundamental motor skills used in different sporting activities? Fitness How do you warm up properly and why is a warm up important? How can you improve your fitness levels? Games for Understanding What are the key principles of attack and defence? How can an individual or team use tactics in order to gain an advantage over their opponent(s)? Gymnastics What do you understand by the term “body tension” in gymnastics? Why do all gymnastics routines have a definite start and finishing position? Invasion Games What is the best way to invade your opponents territory? What is the best way to defend your territory? Net Games What skills can be transferred in all net games (badminton, tennis and table tennis)? How can you outwit your opponent in net games? Basketball What are the basic rules of basketball? What are the best types of passes to use in different situations? Why? Dance Why is dance an important part of the PE curriculum? Which components of fitness do you need to be successful in dance? Cultural Games What are the rules of games from other cultures? What are the origins of games from other cultures? Athletics How do you measure performance in running, jumping and throwing events? Are athletes the fittest people on the planet? Striking and Fielding Where is the best place to hit the ball in rounders or cricket? How can you be successful when fielding the ball? Year 6 Fitness Testing Can you evaluate each of the fitness tests? How do your fitness test scores compare to last year? Indoor athletics How do you get height on a jump in athletic activities? Identify 2 ways of improving sprinting technique Netball What are the basic rules of netball? Can you identify different positions and their roles within the game? Tag Rugby How do you perform an effective pass in rugby? What are the key principles of attack and defence? Dance Can you design a dance using basic step patterns? What do you know about the disco genre of dance? Football Why are passing and receiving important skills in football? How can a team keep possession successfully and how will this help a team to score? Fitness Can you correctly identify and locate 6 major muscle groups in the lower and upper body? What are some of the short term effects of exercise on the heart, lungs and muscles? Handball Can you identify skills or tactics that you have developed in other sports, which can be transferred to handball? Handball is very popular on the continent, why do you think it is not popular in the UK? Gymnastics What is a sequence in gymnastics? Why is the extension (stretching) of hands and feet important in gymnastics? Orienteering How do you read a map? How can you use grid referencing to pinpoint a location? Mini Tennis Can you hit the ball so that it goes where you intended it to go? Where is the best place to hit the ball and why? Striking and fielding games Why is it important to run fast between stumps or bases in striking and fielding games? How can you improve throwing technique? Year 7 Fitness Testing How can we ensure that the fitness tests are fair and measured accurately? What components of fitness do you need for your favourite sport? Evaluate these components based on your test results. Netball How does high 5 netball compare to 7-aside netball? Can you identify all 7 playing positions and where they are allowed on court? Basketball What is a lay-up and why might it be used in a game? Can you give examples from within a game of when you need to use different types of passes? Indoor athletics Describe the base position for throws in athletics What do you understand by the word “pace” in middle distance running? Hockey Can you identify the key rules of hockey so that you can play in a small sided game effectively? What is more important for a hockey player: To be able to pass effectively or dribble effectively? Dance activities In order to choreograph a dance, what structures could you include? What does the word stimulus mean in terms of dance? Football What are the key principles of attack in football? What components of fitness do attacking players in football need to be successful? Fitness How do muscles work in pairs? Can you give examples? How do you measure your heart rate? How can heart rate be used as an intensity guide? Rugby What is the difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union? How do you perform a successful and safe tackle? Gymnastics Can you identify different examples of vaults and how do you perform them successfully? How can you work together to create a group sequence including elements of flight? Volleyball What is the most accurate type of shot in order to get the ball to go where you want it to? What is the role of the setter in small sided games? Athletics How can you improve your performance when running, throwing and jumping? What are the rules with regards to all athletics events? Striking and fielding games Explain why communication is vital when fielding in a game of rounders How do you bowl effectively in both rounders and cricket? Year 8 Fitness Testing Can you evaluate each of the fitness tests in terms of validity and reliability? How could you improve specific components of fitness? Netball How can you attack and defend effectively as a team? What components of fitness do different netball positions need and why? Basketball How can you attack and defend effectively as a team? What are the roles of different positions on a basketball team? Indoor athletics Identify ways of improving middle/long distance running? Describe an effective starting position for a sprint event Rugby What happens after a tackle is made? Can you identify different positions in rugby and explain their roles within a game? Fitness What are the principles of training and why would it be important to use each one when planning a training programme? What things do you need to consider when planning a circuit training session? Net games Where do you aim to place the ball during a volleyball match? Why should you attempt to finish a rally in volleyball with a spike (smash)? Hockey How can you attack and defend effectively as a team? What is a penalty corner and how would a team perform one and defend one? Football Can you explain different tactics or strategies a team may use when defending? As a goal keeper in football, which components of fitness are most important and why? Badminton How do you perform the following skills effectively – serve, clear, drop shot, smash and net kill? What are the rules of badminton? How can you outwit your opponent effectively? Dance activities Select 1 style of dance and identify 5 facts about it Explain why dance features on the PE curriculum Sport Design What qualities does an effective leader need to possess? What do you need to consider when you are designing a game from scratch? American Football What is the role of the quarter back and what skills do they need to possess? Can you play in a game of ‘flag football’ and understand the rules? Gymnastics How do you ensure there is a smooth transition into and out of balances in acro-gymnastics? What does the term aesthetic mean? Parkour What is parkour? Where did it originate? What does it mean? What skills can you use to get from point A to point B as fast as possible? Volleyball Where should you position yourself in order to be effective when playing small sided games? Can you use a smash or block effectively in a game? Athletics How do you accurately measure all athletics events? How can you improve your performance in different athletics events? Striking and fielding games Suggest 2 tactical strategies when batting in either cricket or rounders What components of fitness do you need when batting in cricket?
Useful Information
PE Awards
Physical Education & Sport – Quality Mark Distinction
Follow the PE Department on Twitter
Brilliant to see so many VGMS pupils doing the @WBjuniorparkrun this morning. Fantastic event and a great way to start the day 🏃♀️ 🏃♂️ #vgmspe
Wow! £885 raised - thank you so much!
#vgmskindness
#vgmscharity
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We will be hosting a Children’s Cancer Run at VGMS after school on Monday 5th July from 3.30-4.30pm. Letters have gone out to parents/carers. Here is a link to our school fundraising page: https://childrenscancernorth.enthuse.com/pf/valley-gardens-middle-school-whitley-bay-0d562 #vgmspe
Y5 Sports Days up and running and not a rain drop in sight. Our Y5s are doing brilliantly #vgmspe #vgmsy5
4Today’s Sports Day update:
Rain 1 - 0 VGMS.
Y7 showed great resilience and spirit and managed to get some events completed, despite the shocking weather.
Unfortunately, Y6 mini Olympics afternoon had to be cancelled. Tomorrow is a new day! 🤞 #vgmspe
Well done to all pupils who took part in the Children’s Cancer Run this afternoon. After a miserable start 🌧 the 🌞 made an appearance to round off a great day of sport. Y8 Athletics, Y5 Mini Olympics and Charity Run #vgmspe
3Tremendous effort from our runners tonight. The sunshine eventually arrived for them. Well done everyone! #vgmspe #vgmskindness #vgmscharity #childrenscancerrun Thank you for your generous donations to support @ChildCancerNTH
3#vgmsy5
Mini-Olympics #vgmspe
Basketball 🏀
#vgmsy5
Mini-Olympics #vgmspe
Rounders
Great to see Year 8 football Girls in action tonight and winning, 3-2 against Monkseaton High School. Well Done Girls! #vgmspe
2Great efforts from Year 7 footballers this afternoon against a strong North Gosforth Academy. Super attitudes all round and plenty of goals #vgmspe
2
Fantastic to have you on board #VGMSPE👍 The #ACTIV5 #TWSG week is all about what fits for your school #PESSPA 🙌🙌🌟🌟
We were a day late but 7BE enjoyed doing the body percussion session during registration this morning. It definitely woke a few brains up and tested coordination skills @NorthTynesidePE #ACTIV5 #TWSG #vgmspe
