PE and Sport
Our Intent
The aim of our PE programme is to develop children's knowledge of motor competencies; knowledge of rules, strategies and tactics and knowledge healthy participation, through a logical and well-sequenced curriculum and participation and a variety of PE and Sports opportunities. This will ultimately build confidence in their ability and build the foundations for a lifelong love of sport, physical activity, and a healthy lifestyle.
PE lessons encourage children to foster a healthy sense of competitiveness and resilience, whilst being challenged to improve their physical, social, emotional, and thinking skills.
We want to provide opportunities for the children to try their hand at a range of different skills and sports that they can further develop in their independent time, such as break and lunch times, and as they get older and join external clubs, instilling a belief that a career in sport is within their grasp.
PE and Sport at Parkfield
We are passionate about sport, PE, health and well being at Parkfield. So much so, that we ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for pupils to engage in a wide variety of physical and sporting activities during, before and after the school day. All staff are fully committed to ensuring that the children's physical well-being complements the great work we do for everyone's mental well-being.
As a reward for our commitment to school sports, we have achieved the School Games Platinum Mark in 2023.
Facilitated by a full-time PE and Sports teacher and the Trust PE lead, along with teachers and teaching assistants, the PE curriculum for KS1 and 2 covers games, gymnastics, athletics, dance, OAA, Yoga, fitness, and swimming. Most sporting activities take place in our all-weather sport arenas, our two indoor halls or our outdoor play area which has synthetic turf for all year round use. After each half term, the unit ends with a inter-house competition within the classes, with the winners displayed on the School Sports Board.
Children in Early Years Foundation Stage also have access to a variety of activities, which encourage physical participation and support the development of fine and gross motor skills.
As well as the day-to-day in school opportunities designed to encourage students to engage, we also look to support their wider needs by forging strong links with sports clubs and local recreational facilities to provide pathways for active learning and engagement for life. For example, KS2 pupils have the opportunity to participate in an inter-schools football leagues. We also work in partnership with Aston Villa, Birmingham City FC, Moseley Rugby Club, Warwickshire Cricket and more.
Year 6 (and some Year 5) students also have the opportunity to take part in a three-day residential visit to Condover Hall, an outdoor activity centre in Shropshire, where they take part in exciting new activities including climbing, fencing, laser maze and problem solving.
We believe in healthy sporting competitiveness too at Parkfield and use our in-house and inter-school games to promote this. Using Russ's Rules, all our children can enjoy the competitiveness of sport. Our annual Sports Days are incredibly popular, with the winning house from each year group taking part in the Excelsior MAT Sports Finals at King Edward's School. We take part in a variety of inter-school competitions, both within the Trust and Regional, and children from Years 4, 5 and 6 regularly take part in the Erdington and Saltley football leagues. All year groups take part in local School Games competitions, including those events particularly aimed children who have SEND. We are inspired by and embrace external sporting events too which aim to support children’s activity, whether that be the Olympic Games, Jumprope for Heart Day, Cycling Proficiency training or Sport Relief activities.
It really is non-stop!
Yet, developing a healthy and active approach to living is not something that is just addressed through Physical Education lessons (although engagement in sport and physical exercise is obviously a central feature). Parkfield's pupils learn about the importance of being active, the functions of their muscles and joints, as well as making healthy choices in everything they do and everything they eat across many areas of the school curriculum. We also have our very own fitness area in the playground, which children use at playtimes and dinnertimes to improve their health and fitness.