Intent of curriculum 

Our intent is to provide a PE curriculum that is inclusive, broad, and balanced and ensures ALL children will benefit, whether this be through enhancing existing skills, learning new skills, or being introduced to new sports, clubs, teams, and organisations.  Students will 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 to be successful as adults. 

Beyond the curriculum, we believe that participation in sporting activity is a key element of developing a school in which pupils are proud of the community in which they belong. Therefore, great emphasis is placed upon additional sporting opportunities beyond the lesson within after-school clubs, intra and inter-school competition and festivals as well as directly trying to support the local clubs and our feeder schools through the Heber Sports Leaders programme. 

Implementation of curriculum 

The aim is to deliver a wide and extensive PE curriculum that will impact greatly on our student’s ability to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to make appropriate choices about their physical and mental health.  The curriculum will develop positive self-awareness in children as they become physically competent. They will also demonstrate a healthy attitude to competition, showing respect for individuals, teams, officials, and coaches. 

In Key Stage 3 students will be exposed to a broad range of experiences and activities to widen their knowledge of PE, skills of peer assessment, values of sport and they will develop these through their school lifetime. We adhere to the National Curriculum, so students experience team games such as rugby, football, netball, cricket, or rounders. They will also engage in racket sports such as tennis and badminton. In addition, students will experience aesthetic activities such as gymnastics and dance. Students will also learn more of the importance of fitness and the short- and long-term impact on the body systems within a Health and Fitness unit at Year 9 and an End of Year theory exam. We also invest a great deal of time into school sport with many students representing the school across a wealth of sports and encouraging the elite athletes to fulfil their potential. 

At Key Stage 4 Activities will be provided to accommodate aims and objectives of the National Curriculum and the facilities available. The importance of a healthy active lifestyle and the impact being physically active can have on health and wellbeing is a key focus point where we aim to encourage life-long participation and develop performance. We offer alternative sports such as, Dodgeball, Lacrosse, American Football and Futsal, etc to help promote an appreciation and love for sport as well as still delivering the opportunity to develop techniques, tactics and strategies in competitive sports and evaluate and improve performance. 

Students will also have the option to take examination PE alongside their core physical education lessons at Key Stage 4/5. All these courses allow students to gain a more in depth understanding of how the body works, how physical activity affects the body, the psychological aspect of sport and how sport is affected by issues in society. The skills that students develop whilst studying Physical Education are the ability to analyse data and evaluate, justify, and discuss theories and apply them to sporting life. Physical Education also enables the student to unpick and analyse their own performances and experiences, as well as understanding the world of sport and its role within society. The course deepens the knowledge and understanding that students have from Key Stage 3 and 4 Physical Education as well as Science and Citizenship. 

We also offer the opportunity for students to sign up to the Heber Sports leadership programme in the school at Year 9 and above. This allows opportunities to further develop competence and confidence within the subject, team build and become presented with physical and intellectual challenges within Physical Education. This leads to opportunities of organising intra and inter-school events and future pathways for those who want to pursue some type of sporting career. 

Impact of curriculum  

The intention of the Physical Education curriculum is to give students the confidence, skills, and knowledge to continue to take part in physical activity and sport away from Bishop Heber, post sixth form and beyond. It is expected that students will have an understanding of the importance of health and fitness, exercising safely and the importance of following rules within sport and society. 

To ensure students have a sound understanding of the PE curriculum, all children will be assessed against the Key Performance Indicators for PE and will be monitored through the GCSE 1-9 assessment framework used by the Department. At Key Stage 3 there will be regular and reliable assessment each half term through teacher monitoring of practical performance and questioning of students. Outcomes of these will be analysed and discussed within the department and interventions and extra support set up where appropriate. Specific groups such as SEN & Disadvantaged will be closely monitored, and additional support/opportunities offered through the inclusive game’s framework both in curriculum and extra-curricular time. 

It is also hoped that students will view their vast experience in PE and sport at Bishop Heber as a positive one and that this will shape future behaviour.  Some students may wish to follow a career as a result of their experience in Physical Education and these careers could include teacher, personal trainer, coach, physiotherapist, sports scientist, diet and fitness instructor, armed forces, leisure, and tourism industry.