Physical Education
Subject Overview
Intent
At Sidlesham Primary School, our Physical Education (PE) curriculum is rooted in the principles outlined in Ofsted’s Research Review: PE (2022), which emphasises that high-quality PE develops pupils’ physical literacy, character, and understanding of how to lead healthy, active lives. Our intent is to nurture all three domains of learning—physical, cognitive, and affective—so that pupils not only become competent movers but also motivated, thoughtful participants in lifelong physical activity.
We aim for every child to:
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Develop competence across a broad range of physical activities;
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Build confidence, motivation and resilience through positive experiences of challenge and success;
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Understand how physical activity contributes to their mental and physical wellbeing;
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Learn the values of teamwork, fairness, and respect through competition and cooperation.
PE at Sidlesham provides an inclusive environment where pupils explore identity through movement, develop social and emotional skills, and experience the joy of being active. Our curriculum aligns with the National Curriculum aims while promoting the school’s values—Kindness, Ambition and Confidence—through physical expression and shared success.
Implementation
Our PE curriculum is implemented through the Get Set 4 PE scheme, organised into a bespoke three-year rolling cycle designed to suit our mixed-age structure. This ensures clear progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary across all strands of PE—without unnecessary repetition—and enables pupils to revisit and deepen learning over time.
Lessons are designed in line with research-informed principles from Ofsted and the Youth Sport Trust, including explicit teaching of skills, opportunities for retrieval and application, and sequenced progression from fundamental movement to complex, sport-specific skills.
Curriculum Design
Our three-year rolling PE cycle ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum and coherent progression in knowledge, skills and vocabulary across all strands—games, dance, gymnastics, athletics, outdoor and adventurous activities, and swimming. The cycle is structured to enable pupils to revisit and deepen key concepts such as teamwork, tactics, control, and coordination, building from fundamental movement skills to more complex sport-specific techniques. This model supports spiral learning—identified in Ofsted’s PE Research Review (2022) as key to long-term memory development—and ensures that all pupils, regardless of class grouping, experience a broad, balanced and sequential PE curriculum over time.
Key features of our implementation include:
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Curriculum structure: Each unit follows a consistent learning model—warm-up, skill development, application and reflection—to support memory and mastery (Ofsted, 2022).
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Inclusivity: We apply the STEP approach (Space, Task, Equipment, People) to differentiate and enable all pupils to access challenge at their level.
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Curriculum breadth: Pupils experience a balance of individual, partner and team sports; creative and competitive contexts; and outdoor and adventurous activities.
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Swimming: All pupils in Years 4–6 receive swimming instruction to ensure confidence, competence and safety in water.
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Assessment: Progress is assessed through observation, self-reflection and peer feedback, supporting children in recognising their own improvement and setting goals.
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Wider participation: Through the West Sussex School Sports Partnership, pupils access festivals, competitions, and leadership opportunities, extending learning beyond the curriculum and fostering a sense of belonging to the wider sporting community.
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Teacher development: Staff receive ongoing CPD through the Partnership and internal coaching, ensuring teaching reflects current research on effective PE pedagogy.
Impact
The impact of our curriculum is seen in pupils who are confident, skilled and motivated to be active, reflecting Ofsted’s definition of “physically educated” learners.
We measure impact through a combination of:
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Pupil voice and engagement levels;
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Assessment data and teacher observation;
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Participation tracking for extracurricular and competitive events;
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PE and Sport Premium evaluation;
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Feedback from the West Sussex School Sports Partnership and parents.
By the end of Key Stage 2, the majority of pupils can swim at least 25 metres and demonstrate fluency, control and tactical understanding across a range of sports. They can articulate how physical activity benefits mental health, self-esteem and relationships. Increasing numbers of pupils represent the school in local and regional competitions, and pupil wellbeing data indicates positive attitudes towards being active.
Ultimately, our PE curriculum ensures that every child leaves Sidlesham with the physical competence, confidence and character to participate in and enjoy physical activity for life.
Physical Education Knowledge Organisers