Intent

Physical activity is an essential part of our lives. Regardless of age, it is important for us to keep active, not only for the physiological benefits but also for our mental wellbeing. At Launde, we want PE (Physical Education) and sport to be part of the culture of our school. Our desire is that all children should have a love for physical activity, to be physically literate, and should also understand the impact that it has on our bodies and minds. Thankfully, we are always at an advantage, as our children love any to take part in any physical activity. We aim to provide a high quality, exciting and engaging PE curriculum across the school, and want to promote a variety of activities, as well as develop the ‘traditional’ sports that children enjoy playing.

Through an ambitious PE curriculum and by ensuring we follow the aims of the national curriculum, our children are able to:

• develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
• are physically active for sustained periods of time
• engage in competitive sports and activities
• lead healthy, active lives.

Alongside our PE curriculum, we also aim to give children the opportunity to partake in sport competitively, performing against their peers at Launde and others within the Oadby and Wigston area.

Our ultimate aim is to give our children lifelong, transferrable skills that will help them to cope in their years beyond Launde: tolerance, fairness and respect, and to nurture happy, resilient and unique individuals.

Implementation

The PE curriculum is taught through the use of the Primary PE Planning scheme, which follows the national curriculum. This allows teaching staff to build upon their subject knowledge and helps them to plan exciting and engaging lessons without having to spend copious amounts of time searching for resources. Teachers are able to adjust and change lessons to suit the needs of their learners but the scheme provides a strong basis of what is expected in each year group.

Pupils participate in two hours of high-quality PE lessons each week, covering two sporting disciplines every half term. In addition, children are encouraged to participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities. These are provided by either the school or external providers most days of the week, before and after school.

Launde is part of the South Leicestershire School Sports Partnership (SLSSP). Membership to this allows our children 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 teamwork and leadership skills and are very much enjoyed by the children.

Membership of the SLSSP also gives us an opportunity to train some of our year 5 and 6 children to become playground leaders, sports ambassadors and wellbeing ambassadors. Not only do these children learn leadership skills, but their priority is to encourage others to lead physically and mentally healthy lifestyles inside and outside of school. Our lunchtime supervisors also engage our children in physical activity, through different games and sports, using their training received through the ‘Happy Lunchtimes’ initiative.

We want to sustain a high-quality PE curriculum and therefore also make use of Leicester City in the Community (LCitC) ambassadors. Every Tuesday and Thursday, an ambassador works with our teachers to build upon their confidence and ability to plan and teach exciting, engaging and progressive PE lessons. Through our membership to LCitC, we are invited to take part in a variety of competitions and also cross-curricular workshops, all held at Leicester City FC’s venues or other locations within Leicestershire. We use these to promote physical fitness with some of our pupils who would not normally choose to be active however are good at other subjects such as maths.

At Launde, we help our children swim confidently for 25 metres, by providing swimming lessons to those in years 3 and 5. Children in years 6 are also given the opportunity for ‘booster’ swim sessions at the beginning of the year. We understand that swimming is a lifelong skill and want as many children as possible to be confident in the water. Swimming lessons take place at Parklands Leisure Centre throughout the year and are part of the PE national curriculum.

Children in Year 4 and Year 6 eagerly anticipate the opportunity to take part in our annual residentials, Condover Hall and Skern Lodge respectively. During these events, the children take part in outdoor and adventurous activities, such as climbing, abseiling, kayaking, surfing, but to name a few. The children work upon their team skills, building confidence in their own abilities and challenge themselves to reach their targets.

We encourage our children to be active outside of school via a variety of initiatives, such as Move it Boom, Active Travel and Move it March. We want our children (and families) to continue to be active outside of school too, helping them to reach the recommended 60 physically active minutes per day.

Impact

Our curriculum and the additional sporting opportunities we have on offer aim to improve the fitness and wellbeing of all our pupils. Our children learn the knowledge and skills needed for a variety of sports but also the transferrable skills of team work, sportsmanship, resilience, motivation and independence.

Through our links within the wider community and LCFC, children also have the opportunity to showcase their talents and many continue this on a competitive level after leaving Launde. Our success at sporting events has added to our trophy cabinet and we intend to build upon this each year. We currently hold the gold standard in the School Games Mark and intend to achieve the next level with our continued commitment to extra-curricular sport.

Children leave Launde being physically literate and foster a love of sport and PE, understanding the importance that physical activity plays in their lives now and in their future.