Physical Education
At St Osmund’s Catholic Primary School, we value Physical Education and recognise the important role it plays in developing healthy young people for their future. We want our pupils to be physically active, to understand what a healthy diet looks like and to participate in a range of sports and team games confidently. We aim to achieve this through our PE curriculum and through our extra-curricular provision, which we ensure is accessible to all pupils. Furthermore, as a school we also recognise the positive impact Physical Education can have on pupil well-being and on our pupils’ self-esteem.
St Osmund’s PE curriculum includes:
Two hours of high-quality PE lessons taught weekly by PE specialists. During the year pupils access lessons in games, gymnastics, dance, athletics, outdoor activities and swimming in year four. It is our goal that all pupils are proficient in swimming 25 metres before they leave in year six.
All KS2 classes participate in the daily mile to ensure they can enjoy the benefits of regular physical activity which include: improved bone health and muscle strength, enhanced fitness and improved heart health, reduced body fat and the promotion of healthy body composition, supporting self-esteem and happiness, reduced anxiety and increased confidence, improved focus and levels of concentration, improved memory function and it supports improved academic attainment.
Weekly ‘Wake and Shake’ – a fun fifteen-minute blast of physical activity to get the heart pumping and help prepare pupils for their lessons.
The curriculum provides opportunities for all pupils to remain physically active for sustained periods of time through fun, engaging and physically challenging activities.
Opportunities for pupils to participate and excel in inter-house competitive games fixtures.
Opportunities for all pupils (KS1 and KS2) to be selected for competitive fixtures in the Richmond borough leagues and tournaments. Extra-curricular sports clubs before and after school for all pupils (KS1 and KS2).
In addition to developing our pupils’ skills and knowledge of different sports and games, we also ensure our pupils are taught about the wider and lifelong benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. Our curriculum includes learning about making healthy food choices, learning about the nutrients that different food groups provide and their benefits and how combining this with regular physical activity can lead to a healthy body and a healthy mind.
Transferable life skills are also developed within the PE curriculum. These include developing self-confidence, being fair, showing respect for others and themselves, cooperating and collaborating with others as part of a team, being resilient and showing perseverance and determination to carry on even when tasks become more challenging.
Our school site provides us with space and facilities to promote physical activity within lessons, break times and extra-curricular clubs. The KS1 playground provides a range of different surfaces for our pupils to develop their skills of running, jumping, throwing and climbing. The KS2 playground has a MUGA pitch surface which is an excellent all-weather surface for PE lessons, break times and extra-curricular activities. We are fortunate to access Barnes Cricket Club in the summer for PE lessons and we enjoy annual whole school sports day at Barn Elms in the summer term.