Physical Education

Intent:

At Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School, physical education is an integral part of the school day. Our aim is to create a lifelong passion for being active with children understanding the positive impacts on their health, mental wellbeing and cognitive development. P.E contributes significantly to the promotion of positive attitudes, develops personal qualities such as self-confidence, leadership, initiative and self-control.

We aim to:

Promote an understanding of the importance of physical health, an appreciation of the need for exercise and how correct nutrition can influence physical activities.
Encourage the enjoyment of a physically active lifestyle over a sustained period of time.
Develop competence and confidence in physical activity to promote self-esteem and to allow children to excel in a broad range of physical activities.
Enable pupils to work independently and as part of a team in varied activities, promoting communication and cooperative skills.
Develop and maintain mobility, flexibility, stamina and strength.
Enable pupils to understand and use safe practice.
Develop the ability to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of movement, especially through dance.
Develop a respect for others, their abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
Engage in competitive sporting activities and competitions.

Implementation:

Children receive at least 2 hours of high-quality P.E lessons. A week. To supplement the National Curriculum programme of study for physical education, Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery Schhol use Complete PE, which is endorsed by the Youth Sport Trust, to support and facilitate staff’s delivery of PE lessons. Complete P.E is scheme of work that uses high quality videos and resources to make the teaching of P.E progressive and challenging.

The following P.E. areas are covered:

Games
Dance
Outdoor and adventure
Gymnastics
Swimming (except Foundation Stage)
Athletics

Impact:

We want our children to leave Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School physically literate and with an appreciation of the importance of staying healthy and all the associated mental health benefits that come with this. AfL(assessment for learning) is an integral part of teaching and planning in order to enable all children to make personal progress in PE. Class teachers formatively assess children, identifying next steps and providing feedback in the moment to enable progress in the lesson. This all feeds back and informs teachers’ end of year judgements.

School Sporting Events and Opportunities

School Sporting Opportunities & Selection Process

At Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School, we aim to offer a variety of sporting experiences so children can enjoy physical activity, teamwork and competition. We group our external events into two categories: Competitions and Festivals.

1. Competitions

These are competitive tournaments where we play against other local schools. They are designed for children who excel in a particular sport.

The 80:20 Selection Rule: To stay competitive while remaining inclusive, we aim for an 80:20 selection ratio. Around 80% of the team will be children who are highly competent in that sport, and 20% will be those who are newer to the game but show great enthusiasm and competitive spirit.
Securing Future Places: Success in these events helps our school secure invitations to future tournaments, so we always aim to field a strong team.
School Clubs: First consideration is given to children who regularly attend the relevant school sports club (for example, Basketball Club members get priority for basketball tournaments).
Fairness and Tracking: We keep a careful log of who represents the school over a two-year period. This ensures opportunities are shared out fairly and the same children are not always picked. We aim that children take part in a maximum of three sporting events in a given year (there are some exceptions to this however).

2. Festivals

These are non-competitive events focused on fun, teamwork and developing skills. They are designed for children who have less experience in a sport or who prefer a more relaxed environment.

Priority: Children who have not yet been selected for a competitive tournament are prioritised for festival places.
Availability: External organisers usually run more tournaments than festivals each term. While we try to get as many places as possible, this scheduling is out of our control.

Important Considerations for Parents and Carers

High Demand: We have many more children in school than available places for external events. Sadly, this means more children will miss out than are chosen.
Sports Day: Please remember that every single child gets the opportunity to take part and compete in our annual Sports Day.
Friendly Matches: To create extra opportunities, we try to arrange informal friendly matches towards the end of the year with other local schools outside of the main tournament calendar.
Staffing: We try to send staff who know the specific sport well. However, when this isn't possible, we believe it is better for the children to go and enjoy the event rather than miss out completely.
Short Notice: External invites are often sent to us with very little notice. This is a common challenge faced by all schools in our borough and we thank you for your understanding.

New Selection Process (From September 2026)

To ensure consistency across the school, we are introducing the following updates for the new academic year:

Year Group Leader Oversight: Final team selections will now be overseen by Year Group Leaders to ensure a consistent approach across all classes.
Autumn Parents' Evening: During your Autumn term meeting, teachers will discuss your child’s sporting proficiency with you, which will help inform our selection data.
Feedback for Children: Once a team is chosen, the children will be informed. Any child who was unsuccessful will be given a reason by their teacher so they know what they can work on for next time.

We also offer a wide array of non-sporting opportunities throughout the year, including music events, a mental health champion conference, an Eco conference and many others, to ensure every child has a chance to develop their talents.