Our Vision for Physical Education

At Hillside Avenue, our vision is to foster a lifelong love for physical activity, sport, and healthy living from the very start of a child's educational journey. From Nursery through to Year 6, we aim to develop confident, physically literate, and resilient individuals who understand the vital connection between physical activity and mental well-being.

We follow a holistic approach to physical education, driven by the Real PE curriculum resources. We firmly believe that every child can achieve and enjoy success in PE. Our curriculum is designed to look beyond just physical skills; it focuses on developing the whole child by nurturing their personal, social, cognitive, and creative abilities alongside their physical fitness.

Core Objectives:

• Physical Literacy: To develop core movement patterns, agility, balance, and coordination.
• Holistic Growth: To build essential life skills such as resilience, leadership, teamwork, and self-reflection through physical activity.
• Lifelong Health: To instill a positive attitude towards health, fitness, and active lifestyles that extends far beyond the school gates.

How PE is Taught

Our physical education curriculum aligns strictly with the National Curriculum and is delivered through the systematically sequenced, child-centred resources of Real PE.

• Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery & Reception): In EYFS, physical development is championed through purposeful play, outdoor exploration, and structured Real PE foundations. We focus on developing gross and fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and basic fundamental movement skills (FMS) to prepare them for Key Stage 1.
• The Multi-Ability Approach: Following the Real PE philosophy, our lessons are structured around the 6 Cogs (Personal, Social, Cognitive, Creative, Physical, and Health & Fitness). This ensures that lessons challenge children not only physically, but also in how they think, collaborate, and solve problems.
• Progressive Fundamental Movement Skills: Throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, children follow a clear, small-step progression path to master essential skills like running, jumping, throwing, catching, and balancing. These skills are progressively applied to cooperative games, gymnastics, and sports.
• Inclusive & Supportive Challenge: Real PE allows for clear differentiation. We use a "personal best" approach where children are challenged against their own previous achievements. Those who excel are given opportunities to deepen their tactical understanding and leadership skills, while supportive adaptations ensure PE is accessible to all.
• Active School Environment: Beyond formal PE lessons, we encourage physical activity throughout the school day via active playgrounds, brain breaks, and targeted extra-curricular sports clubs.

How We Measure Success

The impact of our PE curriculum is reflected in our pupils’ confidence, physical competence, and enthusiasm for an active lifestyle.

• Formative Assessment: Teachers use real-time observation, peer feedback, and the Real PE assessment wheels to evaluate children's progress across all multi-ability cogs, offering immediate encouragement and refinement.
• Celebrating Personal Best: Success is measured by individual growth, resilience when facing physical challenges, and the ability of pupils to collaborate effectively with their peers.
• Pupil Voice: Our children speak enthusiastically about PE. They demonstrate an understanding of how exercise affects their bodies and minds, and they take pride in demonstrating teamwork, fairness, and respect.