‘Young players need freedom of expression to develop as creative players. They should be encouraged to try skills without fear of failure.” Arsene Wenger

INTENT

P.E. at Ambler Primary School aims to develop an engaging, high-quality physical education curriculum that inspires all pupils to succeed. We will provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health, fitness and emotional wellbeing. Our children have opportunities to compete in sport and other activities that build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

P.E. at Ambler is an imperative element of the curriculum, which develops a need for healthy lifestyles, a balanced diet, positive growth mind-sets and the resilience and determination to persevere with activities that may have once felt challenging. We are passionate about the need to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others, understanding fairness and equity of play to embed life-long values. 

IMPLEMENTATION

• PE at Ambler Primary School provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance, swimming and outdoor & adventure. P.E is delivered by both teachers and our specialist P.E providers- Rightway Sports.
• The long term plan sets out the PE units which are to be taught throughout the year and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully met.
• Pupils participate in high quality PE lessons each week, covering two sporting disciplines every half term. In addition, children are encouraged to participate in the varied range of extra-curricular activities. Morning sports clubs are available each day and children can attend after school sport clubs five evenings per week.Children participate in workshops covering a variety of sports throughout the year, providing the children with an opportunity to improve their fitness and increase cultural capital by trying something new.
• Children are invited to attend competitive sporting events within the local area. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also mental well-being. These events also develop confidence, teamwork and leadership skills and are very much enjoyed by the children.
• Each year, a small group of Year 6 children are invited to become Sports Leaders for the school. They develop into sporting role models for the younger children, assisting with break & lunch-time play, our annual Sports days and any other sporting activities.
• Children in Year 5 & 3 participate in an annual intensive swimming course. The continuity of children swimming every day for two weeks results in accelerated progress being made.
• We also aim to inspire children to become engaged in physical activity by inviting sporting professionals to visit Ambler and deliver workshops and assemblies. Working closely with the Arsenal Foundation, groups of children have been fortunate to have been invited to attend fixtures at the Emirates Stadium. Opportunities and experiences like this are extremely valuable for our children.
• Active travel is promoted and encouraged at Ambler. We take part in the Big Pedal and Sustrans Bike to School Week annually.
• Children in year 5 selected as ‘Playground Buddies’ to help model positive  behaviour and attitudes towards active play at break and lunchtimes.
• Children are encouraged to stay active at play and lunchtimes and have access to a variety of play equipment. Staff and ‘Playground Buddies’ help to facilitate and promote positive play. 
• We are soon to launch the “Daily Mile”, to help meet the government target of all children being active for at least 60 minutes a day.

IMPACT

At Ambler Primary School, we ensure that our P.E curriculum is progressive and allows children to develop and apply fundamental, core skills and apply them to a variety of sport and physical activity. All children are provided with the necessary skills and are given opportunities to demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.

Our pupils are physically active, which has a positive cognitive impact on their learning and behaviour in the classroom. Children know and understand how to live a healthy lifestyle, understanding the importance of regular exercise to their health. We aspire for children to enjoy P.E. and always strive to achieve more in every discipline. We want our children to develop and embed a love of sport and physical activity, which they will take with them into their future.

Children are given opportunities to represent the school regularly in a variety of different sporting activities, which has increased engagement, teamwork, self-esteem and confidence in P.E. Alongside this, we actively celebrate all levels of achievement inclusively during our weekly DREAMS assembly and in the newsletter. This has been invaluable in raising the profile of P.E. at Ambler and has helped increase engagement and participation in competitive sport. We also aim for all our Year 6 pupils to be able to swim at least 25 metres and have the required skills to self-rescue in water, which are key life skills.