Physical Education at The Polygon School

Ethos

At the Polygon School we believe that Physical and Outdoor Education is one of the most powerful tools in changing and improving the lives of young people. We operate a strong ethos of inclusion and enjoyment, whilst building confidence and raising the self-esteem of our boys. We believe our pupils can learn many valuable transferrable skills through participation including teamwork, problem solving, communication and resilience. Our department’s aim is to provide our pupils with many opportunities to build cultural capital through wider experiences and personal development through residential trips.

Intent

Key Stage 3 (years 7-9)

The primary objective at this key stage is for our pupils to develop their confidence and interest by developing competence in a broad range of activities available at school. P.E is taught within a nurturing environment and is based on individual needs. At this stage, our pupils are encouraged to develop communication, resilience and teamwork skills through participation.

We believe Physical Education promotes many SMSC and British Values, the opportunities we provide in competitive and non-competitive sport can build character, highlight examples of fair play, tolerance and respect

The pupils will be encouraged to develop the fundamentals of fitness and gain an understanding of the importance of sustained activity and the leading of a healthy and physically active lifestyle. 

Pupils will learn the rules and scoring system of different games and be able to understand the principles of warming up and cooling down. The long-term health benefits of physical activity will also be highlighted.  Pupils should understand what makes a performance effective and start to develop performance analysis skills. Pupils will be taught a variety of sports and activities including football, cricket, basketball, deck hockey, racket sports, and circuit training. As part of the schools wellbeing focus, pupils will also undertake the accredited life skills in PE award. Personal development opportunities such as interschool sports fixtures, ABA boxing awards, swimming and powerboating experiences will also help build confidence and self -esteem.

Key Stage 4 (years 10-11)

Pupils will continue to develop and enhance their technique and practical performance in team and individual sports. KS4 pupils will begin their NCFE technical level 1 / 2 award in health and fitness where they will learn the structure and function of the different body systems and apply this knowledge to training and fitness principles. Second year pupils will further develop their independent learning skills by completing a synoptic assessment. During this task pupil’s will be expected to apply their knowledge to a project brief and demonstrate an understanding of health and fitness by creating an individual training programme. Pupils will learn self-evaluation and reflective skills and be able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, students will have continued opportunities to participate in interschool sports fixtures, and gain accredited awards in outdoor and adventurous activities such as sailing, mountain biking, kayaking, indoor rock climbing and stand up paddle boarding.

Implementation

Pupils are encouraged to actively participate each lesson and engage fully with the curriculum. Lessons are sequenced and taught so that students can apply their knowledge to their current learning.

As a result of the mixed age group classes, key stage four theory lessons may be divided into smaller groups to enable individuals to focus on their different areas of study. Opportunities for ‘hands on’ practical learning will be utilised where appropriate. During lessons pupils will

• Experience success in sport.
• Learn in a safe and secure environment.
• Receive planned, structured and sequenced lessons.
• Utilise both on and off-site resources.
• Be given broad range of experiences.
• Be taught by qualified and experienced staff.
• Have work marked regularly with appropriate teacher feedback.
• Be given a wide range of assessment opportunities.
• Be given the opportunity to participate in extracurricular clubs.
• Be given consistency in approach to behaviour management in line with school policy.

Impact

As a department, we expect positive outcomes for pupils and hope to see an increase in participation levels and engagement across the school. Positive progress can be monitored through emotional literacy data, progress in class books, achievement of accredited awards and the VCERT equivalent course.

We further support our pupils by signposting our pupils to local clubs and potential career pathways for further education in the health and fitness industries.

Qualifications:

The NCFE Level 1/2 Technical Award in Health and Fitness.

The qualification is graded at Level 1 Pass/Merit/Distinction/Distinction* and Level 2 Pass/Merit/Distinction/Distinction* (equivalent to GCSE grades 8.5-1).

This Level 1/2 qualification is appropriate for learners who are looking to develop a significant core of knowledge and understanding in health and fitness and be able to apply their learning.

The study of health and fitness involves understanding the functions of the body systems, understanding the principles of training and knowing how the body reacts in the short and long term to fitness activities, how to create and apply lifestyle analysis tools and how to create a fitness programme for a person with specific goals. 

The qualification focuses on an applied study of the health and fitness sector and learners will gain a broad understanding and knowledge of working in the sector. More information on the NCFE course can be found using this QR code: