Physical Education (PE)

Physical Education is defined as learning to develop and care for the human body through movements produced by skeletal muscles.

PE CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

INDOOR PE PROGRESSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

OUTDOOR PE PROGRESSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Intent

Fairlawn Primary School recognises and values the importance of Physical Education (PE) through a fun, inclusive, high-quality curriculum that inspires all pupils to succeed, whilst attaining optimum physical, emotional and social development and well-being.

By fully adhering to the aims of the national curriculum for physical education, we ensure that all pupils:

• develop confidence 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 and active lives

Our curriculum, which is underpinned by our school’s values, enables pupils to develop and embed a wide range of knowledge, skills and vocabulary.

We are also passionate about the need to teach pupils how to co-operate and collaborate with others as part of a team, alongside understanding fairness and the resilience to persevere; these are all pivotal life-long values.

Implementation

At Fairlawn, the PE curriculum is taught through the use of two different schemes of learning; all in-line with the National Curriculum and all built to maximise quality of learning and outcomes:

I-Moves (Indoor PE)

The PE Hub (Outdoor PE)

All lessons are progressive and time is built in to the curriculum to allow key skills to be repeated, practised and refined as and when necessary.

Every class has two hours of high quality physical education every week. These are either taught by the class teacher and/or our sports coach. Our teachers are encouraged to be reflective practitioners and are provided with CPD opportunities to further enhance the quality of teaching. Our sports coach is also available to provide team-teaching support for our 1st-year ECT.

At Fairlawn, PE lessons follow a very important structure: warm-up and stretch; introduction of skill; practise of skill; application of skill; warm-down. This enables us to ensure that there is quality and consistency of teaching across the school.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is an important part of our school’s philosophy and we are currently applying for Healthy School’s status (gold award). In Years 2-6, pupils participate in the Mega Mile, whilst we regularly engage in competitions, e.g. The London Mayor’s Drink Water campaign and in national programmes, e.g. Eat Them to Defeat Them. We also send a team to the annual London Mini Marathon event in Westminster – in 2026, 40 Fairlawn children took part in the event.

In Year 4, the children learn to swim at Forest Hill Pools through a two-week intensive course. We continue to monitor and assess their attainment right up until the end of Year 6 and if necessary, we will organise booster sessions in the summer term to those children who have not met the end-of-KS2 swimming requirements. We also signpost families towards free swimming courses which run during the holidays.

At Fairlawn, we offer a wide range of after-school sports clubs run by teaching staff, our sports coach and outside agencies. We regularly monitor club attendance and will often send out personal invites to children who we feel would benefit most from additional activities.

Assessment is an important tool at Fairlawn. Throughout the year, pupils in Years 1-6 are assessed on their PE skills, and interventions take place on a Friday afternoon led by our sports coach for those children who require additional practice and support. In addition to this, class teachers complete half-termly assessments for Indoor PE. This information informs future planning and is shared with the PE subject leader and with parents (through the end-of-year school report).

We are currently in our 22nd year of membership with the Lewisham Sports Partnership programme (LSSP). This regularly brings a number of exciting opportunities to the school:

• Year 6 sports leader programme. Once trained, the leaders support KS1 PE lessons in the summer term, and Friday sports interventions throughout the year. They also lead play at lunchtime and are team captains at our annual sports day.
• Termly intra-school competitions (speed bounce, skipping and catch-and-clap), including whole-school finals.
• Competitions with local schools (football, basketball, swimming and athletics).

In 2021, we signed up for the Lewisham School Games Programme, enabling our children to compete in a range of sports with other local schools. In 2022, our basketball team qualified for the London Youth Games. In 2024, our athletics team qualified for the London Youth Games.

We are passionate about inclusivity in sport. We currently have Years 5 and 6 girls and boys football teams who compete in the Saturday Blackheath League and a Monday Night Football League hosted by Haseltine School (our federation partner). In 2024, our girls team represented Millwall at the London Primary Stars Tournament. We are also a member of the Girls Football in Schools programme.

We also believe in the importance of children having knowledge of sport beyond their own experiences. From Reception to Year 6, the children learn about a sporting hero each half-term. These range from past athletes like the legendary Muhammed Ali to present Paralympians like Hannah Cockcroft.

Sport in the community is very important to us. We have a fantastic relationship with our PTA who organise excellent community events for the children, e.g. the annual Santa Dash and Easter Bounce. We regularly share sports information through our weekly newsletter and website, and we have strong links with a number of local sports clubs, often signposting our gifted and talented athletes in their direction.

Impact

Children at Fairlawn make excellent progress in PE and are eager to attend after school sports clubs and competitive events.

Our curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children at Fairlawn Primary School, not only through the sporting skills taught, but through the underpinning values and disciplines that PE promotes.

We aim to motivate children to participate in a variety of sports through quality teaching, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to grow up to live happy and healthy lives.

All children must wear their Fairlawn PE kit on their two designated PE days. You can refer to our kit policy below for full details:

Fairlawn PE Kit

		Indoor PE		Outdoor PE
Reception		Fairlawn’s blue PE shirt Black/navy blue shorts or jogging bottoms Plimsolls (optional)
KS1		Fairlawn’s blue PE shirt Black/navy blue shorts Shoes and socks (removed on entry to hall)		Fairlawn’s blue PE shirt Black/navy blue shorts Suitable footwear Plain tracksuit may be worn in colder weather
KS2		Fairlawn’s blue PE shirt Black/navy blue shorts Shoes and socks (removed on entry to hall)		Fairlawn’s blue PE shirt Black/navy blue shorts Suitable footwear Plain tracksuit may be worn in colder weather

Watches should be removed at the start of a lesson, stud earrings covered and long hair tied back.

Please note that from September 2026, all children are expected to wear our new school PE shirt (a cotton version can be purchased, via Arbor, on request):