Curriculum Intent

Smarter. Better. Faster. Stronger.

“Everyone, regardless of their age, background, or level of ability, feels able to engage in sport and physical activity. Some will be young fit and talented, but most will not. We want everyone to feel welcome to find something in sport and activity that meets their needs.”

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

— Michael Jordan

Purpose

Physical intelligence (Education) is about building the knowledge, skills and behaviours to help us lead active lives. It is the holistic learning that occurs through movement and physical activity and integrates physical, psychological, social and cognitive capabilities.

How and what a person learns is affected by their context, including individual, environmental, societal and cultural factors, as well as their learning situation. For example, a person without access to water may not have the opportunity to improve their movement in water and swimming ability. The nature of movement an individual engages in, and the context in which it occurs, can both influence whether the resulting development in physical intelligence is integrated across the domains. For example, an individual who uses an exercise bike for 30 minutes per day at the exact same settings might maintain a stage of physical activity (and fitness), but they are unlikely to be developing integrated skills across all four domains. On the other hand, a child who rides a bike with friends has greater opportunity to develop integrated skills, such as stability and balance (physical), safe behaviours (cognitive), positive relationships (social), and confidence riding in a group (psychological).

All individuals learn differently, and at different rates across different knowledge and skill sets. For this reason, progression within each element may occur independently and may or may not be closely connected to progression in another element.

Learning through movement is a non-linear process, meaning development does not necessarily progress in a straight line. It can move forward or back or skip a stage.

Across a lifetime, an individual may both progress and regress in different aspects of physical intelligence based on their context. The Framework focuses on what is possible, thereby providing a means to encourage movement and physical activity, regardless of the starting point.

Curriculum features

A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness.

Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

Our curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • Develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities.
  • Are physically active for sustained periods of time.
  • Engage in competitive sports and activities.
  • Lead healthy, active lives.

Pupils should build on and embed the physical development and skills learned in key stages 1 and 2, become more competent, confident, and expert in their techniques, and apply them across different sports and physical activities. They should understand what makes a performance effective and how to apply these principles to their own and others’ work. They should develop the confidence and interest to get involved in exercise, sports, and activities out of school and in later life, and understand and apply the long-term health benefits of physical activity.

Pupils will be taught to:

  • Use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, netball, rounder’s, rugby, and tennis.
  • Develop their technique and improve their performance in other competitive sports for example, athletics and gymnastics.
  • Perform dances using advanced dance techniques within a range of dance styles and forms.
  • Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.
  • Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs.

Provide students with a comprehensive and holistic to literacy instruction. Also, to help students view literacy as a critical element of all aspects of life.

Key Stage 4

Pupils will tackle complex and demanding physical activities. They should get involved in a range of activities that develops personal fitness and promotes an active, healthy lifestyle.

Pupils will be taught to:

  • Use and develop a variety of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in team and individual games for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, netball, rounder’s, rugby, and tennis.
  • Develop their technique and improve their performance in other competitive sports, for example, athletics and gymnastics.
  • Evaluate their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement across a range of physical activities to achieve their personal best.
  • Continue to take part regularly in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs.

Continue to provide students with a comprehensive and holistic to literacy instruction. Also, to help students view literacy as a critical element of all aspects of life.

Enrichment

All students should have the opportunity to access a full curriculum. There is no substitute for learning that is provided by teachers during the school day, but extracurricular activities can provide new dimensions for learning and development and offer student’s opportunities to further pursue the subjects or activities that they enjoy. At NUSA, the physical education department provides a wide range of extracurricular activities open to all age groups throughout both the winter and summer term e.g., football, handball, netball, tennis, rounders, and urban hockey.

Trips

In addition to the extracurricular program students are given the opportunity to further expand their sporting experiences through a variety of sporting centred trips throughout the academic year:

  • Wembley
  • Wimbledon
  • Champions league
  • Sports tour
  • Elite league netball

GCSE and BTEC Technical in Sport, Health and Fitness

Sport, activity and fitness is a growing industry: it is expected to increase in size by 11 per cent by 2020. There are currently over 400,000 jobs in the UK. Sport, activity and fitness also has a positive impact on the health of the nation. Regular sport and physical activity can reduce the risk of many chronic conditions and illnesses, including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer and obesity. The Department of Health and Social Care is encouraging inactive people to take up activity in any form and the government has broadened Sport England’s role to cover both sport and physical activity, including cycling, dancing and walking. There has never been a better time to study sport, activity and fitness

GCSE (9–1) Physical Education is not just an excellent base for an A Level in Physical Education, it can take you much further. For those of you fascinated by the human mind, why not carry on to Psychology? For people into the why of the human race this carries you through to Sociology. This is also an excellent additional qualification for those undertaking the sciences with the intention to move through into medicine or physiotherapy routes.

When studying for a ‘BTEC’, learners can use the knowledge and skills from GCSEs, giving them the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge to everyday and work contexts. The BTEC Tech Award suite is an introduction to vocational learning. The qualifications give learners the opportunity to build skills that show an aptitude for further learning, both in the sector and more widely. The approach to the suite is based on well-established BTEC assessment approaches that are proven to be successful in building skills and motivating learners to engage fully with challenging study. There is no limit to progression options as the skills acquired are applicable to a range of post-16 study options. The BTEC Tech Award suite differs from other BTECs designed to be taken post-16 as the qualifications offer a basis for further study, rather than meeting all the vocational requirements that learners need to progress directly to a job role in a defined occupational area. The focus is on building skills to show aptitude and improving understanding of progression options so that learners who achieve one or more of the qualifications are equipped to go on to become work ready for an occupation post-16.

Beyond A Level, the study of Physical Education can lead on to university degrees in sports science, sports management, healthcare, or exercise and health. Physical Education can also complement further study in biology, human biology, physics, psychology, nutrition, sociology, teacher training and many more. The transferable skills you learn through your study of Physical Education, such as decision making, and independent thinking are also useful in any career path you choose to take.

Physical Education

March 2024

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