KS3 & KS4 Physical education

Aims and purpose

What are the aims and purpose of our curriculum?

This curriculum develops pupils’ physical, psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. Competence and confidence are built alongside a focus on being active across a diverse range of sports and physical activities. Pupils’ enjoyment and motivation encourages lifelong participation and healthy, active lifestyle choices.

Oak curriculum principles

What overarching curriculum principles inform the design of our curriculum?

Knowledge and vocabulary rich

This principle recognises the important role that knowledge, and vocabulary as a particularly important type of knowledge, plays in learning. Knowledge is developed across four PE strands: ‘Move’ focuses on pupils’ ability to enact movements, ‘think’ develops pupils’ knowledge of the why and how, ‘feel’ builds characteristics including self-belief, resilience and confidence and ‘connect’ develops aspects such as leadership, teamwork and wider cultural elements of physical education. We identify and map vocabulary across the curriculum, both in terms of the introduction of new vocabulary and the necessary repetition of vocabulary that has gone before. New vocabulary, called keywords, are signalled in bold in our lesson materials to indicate their importance. Over time, pupils are exposed to increasingly complex definitions, for example, the term ‘energy’ evolves as pupils develop their understanding of movement, muscular contractions and nutrition.

Sequenced and coherent

A careful and purposeful sequencing of our curriculum content underpins the design of our curriculum, ensuring that pupils are able to build on and make links with existing knowledge. For example, we teach gymnastics from key stage 1 through to key stage 4 to ensure that the development of knowledge and skills is coherent and progressive. Knowledge and skills are built across year groups, for example, futsal in year 7, leads to football in year 8 and then Gaelic football in year 9. Coherent vertical threads also enable the development of concepts such as ‘teamwork and leadership’ or ‘knowledge of healthy, active living’ throughout the primary and secondary curricula.

Evidence-informed

Our evidence-informed approach enables the rigorous application of research outcomes, science of learning and impactful best practice both in education in general and at a subject specific level. For example, the design of our resources reflects findings from Sweller’s cognitive load theory and Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning whilst our lesson design draws on Rosenshine’s principles of instruction. We also draw on findings from research organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). At the subject level our curriculum is grounded in Sport England’s ‘move, think, feel and connect’ framework.

Flexible

Our flexible approach enables schools to use our resources in a way that fits their contents and meets the varying needs of teachers and their pupils. Our curriculum can be used in its entirety or units can be selected to complement existing curricula. Our resources are adaptable so that, for example, teachers can adapt the lesson to fit the space available, can edit or add checks for understanding, or adapt practice tasks to better reflect the prior knowledge of their pupils. At key stage 4 teachers and pupils can select a core PE pathway or pathways aligned to the most frequently used exam board specifications for GCSE PE: AQA, Edexcel or OCR.

Diverse

Our commitment to breadth and diversity has driven our choice of sports and physical activities. For example our curriculum features tchoukball, martial arts, pickleball and couch to 5k, alongside more traditional sports such as swimming, netball and cricket. Across our key stage 4 lessons and resources, the choice of individuals, teams, sports and role models celebrate and promote diversity within sport, encouraging all pupils to partake.

Accessible

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to facilitate high-quality teaching as a powerful lever to support pupils with SEND. Aligned with EEF guidance, our resources have a focus on clear explanations, modelling and frequent checks for understanding, with guided and independent practice. Lessons are chunked into learning cycles and redundant images and information are minimised to manage cognitive load. We have removed reference to year groups in our resources so that they can be used when pupils are ready, regardless of their age. Our resources are purposefully created to be accessible, for example by using accessible fonts, colours with good contrast, and captions in our videos. For practical PE lessons, C-STEP guidance provides suggestions for adapting the communication, space, task, equipment and people in lessons to meet the needs of pupils and contexts.

Oak subject principles

What subject specific principles inform the design of our curriculum?

The PE curriculum focuses on the knowledge and skills specific to physical education, taught through safe practical and theoretical units, including:

• Foundational movements and physical activity;

• How pupils connect with each other and feel about physical activity with an emphasis on positive experiences and self-reflection;

• Health and the encouragement of lifelong active lifestyles;

• Rules, tactics and strategies in a range of sports and other activities.

Foundational movement is taught in key stage 1 in units such as ‘Locomotion’ and revisited through the ‘move’ strand of all future units. Declarative knowledge such as knowledge of the rules, tactics and strategies is a focus in each lesson. The ‘feel’ and ‘connect’ strands highlight life skills such as self-belief, resilience, teamwork and collaboration. With specific units focused on health and wellbeing such as martial arts and couch to 5K, and explicit development of these four strands, our curriculum will motivate and inspire all pupils to lead healthy, active lifestyles.

Ensures sustained movement for the majority of curriculum time.

Our resources ensure sustained movement. For example, we have included tips for making our quizzes practical in our lesson guides and our checks for understanding include ‘show me’ activities where pupils have an opportunity to physically demonstrate their prior knowledge and understanding.

Promotes inclusive and purposeful competition.

All PE lessons include specific adaptations that can be used to appropriately challenge and engage all pupils, for example, in netball adding a defender to increase pressure on the attack, or changing the ball used and goal area to ensure scoring is achievable for all. Lessons include opportunities for competition, with a focus on enjoyment and collaboration. Primary PE lessons frequently include competitive games to help pupils learn new skills and ideas while still ‘playing’ with peers.

National curriculum

How does our curriculum reflect the aims & purpose of the national curriculum?

There are four aims of the national curriculum. First, is that all pupils should ‘develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities’. Our curriculum exposes pupils to a breadth of activities, such as netball, hockey, football and swimming, also including less traditional activities such as pickleball and korfball.

The second aim is that all pupils should be ‘physically active for sustained periods of time’. Our curriculum acknowledges the importance of being physically active by maximising the time that pupils spend practising in lessons alongside teaching the knowledge necessary for safe and successful practice.

The third aim is that all pupils should ‘engage in competitive sports and activities’. We include purposeful competition in lessons from key stage 1 through to key stage 4 to increase enjoyment, engagement and understanding of rules, tactics and strategies. These begin as fun activities such as ‘muddy monsters’ and ‘stepping stones’ and develop into full-sided competitive sports which provide opportunities for participation, leadership, and officiating.

The final aim is that pupils ‘lead healthy, active lifestyles’. Our curriculum teaches health, fitness and wellbeing from key stage 1 through to key stage 4. The curriculum is designed to build knowledge and skills over time to increase pupil confidence in their performance. Pupils experience a range of activities in the curriculum in the hope that they find an activity they enjoy and strive to learn outside school and when they leave education.

Curriculum delivery

What teaching time does our curriculum require?

Our curricula for key stages 1-3 are designed for 36 weeks of curriculum time across the school year, leaving time for other activities both within and beyond the curriculum such as assessments or school trips. At key stage 4, year 10 also has 36 weeks of curriculum time, but year 11 has only 24 weeks (approximately 2 terms) to recognise that schools will not be teaching new content in the run up to the GCSE exams.

In PE, following the DfE’s non-statutory guidance published in March 2024, our curriculum provides two lessons per week of approximately one hour across key stages 1-3. At key stage 4 we offer two lessons per week for the statutory core PE pathway and an additional two lessons per week for the GCSE pathways. We understand that exact time dedicated to PE can vary between schools due to differences in curriculum planning, resource allocation and school-specific priorities. Therefore we fully expect and encourage teachers to adapt our curriculum and resources to best suit their needs and available curriculum time.

Curriculum coherence

What are 'threads'?

We use threads to signpost groups of units that link to one another, that together build a common body of knowledge over time. We use the term thread, rather than concepts, themes or big ideas, because it helps to bring to mind the visual concept of a thread weaving through the curriculum.

Our PE threads that weave through both our primary and secondary curricula are: 

• Move: movement competence
• Move: physical fitness
• Move: application of tactics, strategies and compositional ideas
• Move: performance and competition
• Think: knowledge of rules, tactics, strategies and compositional ideas
• Think: knowledge of healthy, active living
• Think: decision making, problem solving and creative thinking
• Think: evaluation, analysis and reflection
• Feel: personal and emotional
• Feel: engagement and enjoyment
• Connect: teamwork and leadership
• Connect: cultural and ethical awareness

These threads reflect Sport England’s ‘move’, ‘think’, ‘feel’ and ‘connect’ framework, which is embedded throughout the curriculum. These threads align with the aims of the PE national curriculum to develop both the knowledge associated with PE and the whole pupil, not just their physical ability. For example, pupils engage with the thread ‘Connect: teamwork and leadership’ in outdoor adventure activities units in key stage 2 whilst learning about collaboration and communication, and then in more depth in key stage 3, learning about developing trust, their awareness of others and how to problem solve as a team. These threads support pupils to become motivated, confident, habitual movers and potential sports performers. Common threads across our primary and secondary curricula can enable more effective transition, helping pupils to bridge their knowledge and understanding from primary to secondary.

Recommendations from subject specific reports

How does our curriculum address and enact recommendations from subject specific reports (e.g. EEF guidance reports & Ofsted Research Review)?

Our curriculum addresses the recommendations in Ofsted’s recent PE subject report which focuses on enabling pupils to ‘know more and do more’. We have aligned our ‘move’, ‘think’, ‘feel’ and ‘connect’ framework to the three pillars of progression; motor competence; rules, tactics and strategies; and ‘healthy participation’. All units build on the development of fundamental movement skills and have been sequenced to allow progression and repetition of knowledge; this increases competence and therefore confidence. Precise timings have not been given to lessons or activities to ensure teachers progress through learning cycles and lessons at a pace appropriate for their pupils. In line with recommendations, our resources are supported by powerful demonstrations, feedback and include purposeful competition. We provide practical ideas for quizzes and make ‘practice’ the main focus of lessons which enables pupils to be physically active for up to 80% of the lesson.

Subject-specific needs

How does our curriculum deal with elements that arise from the specific needs of the subject?

What activities are taught in our curriculum?

Our PE curriculum teaches a diverse and substantial range of activities:

• Locomotion
• Invasion games: hockey, tag rugby, futsal, netball, football, rugby union, handball, tchoukball, softball, korfball
• Dance: thematic dance, street dance, contemporary, capoeira,
• Gymnastics: floor, flight, parkour and trampolining
• Health and wellbeing: fitness, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, pilates, martial art/self-defence
• Outdoor adventure activities: teambuilding, orienteering, problem solving
• World games: kabaddi, American football league, flag football
• Athletics (including Sports Education)
• Swimming and water safety
• Net and wall games: pickleball, rounders, tennis, cricket, badminton, tennis, volleyball, table tennis
• Inclusive sports: seated volleyball, boccia, goalball
• Target games: golf, kubb

Where a school may not have the necessary space or equipment, our curriculum is easily adapted. For example, ball skills could be taught through the medium of netball or football.

How do the curriculum resources support practical PE taught outside of the classroom?

Our curriculum resources in PE are printable and adaptable lesson guides that have been expertly designed to support good teaching in PE. These lesson guides contain important lesson information such as key learning points, chunk the lesson into learning cycles, give suggestions on how to explain the knowledge or skills and check for understanding, and describe the practice pupils should do. Our curriculum resources also include high quality demonstration clips to accompany every practical lesson which are housed on the lesson media page. These will support teachers in how to set up and demonstrate techniques, run practice activities, highlight specific knowledge or skills and provide feedback to correct misconceptions.

How does the curriculum address the need to warm up and cool down in practical PE lessons?

All practical lessons will include a warm up with a ‘show what you know’ assessment of prior knowledge and a cool down with an opportunity for reflective questioning and reinforcement of key learning.

How does the curriculum address swimming?

Swimming resources will sit outside of year group specific resources and will be presented by swimming stage, in line with the Swim England school swimming and water safety pathway.