The History of PE

 Corbin, 2002: 134 – ‘A physically educated person must be fit, be skilled, know the benefits
of physical activity, and value physical activity.’
 20th Century PE – Focused on Physical training, series of drills with a ‘gymnastics’ style.
 70s & 80s – More ‘game centred’ approach.
 90s+ Promotion of commonality and consistency in PE.
 Currently, emphasis is on the development on the child as a whole, with focus on motor
skills and a range of physical activities.

Benefits of PE:

 PE, in and out of schools, can improve: Pupil concentration, commitment, and self-esteem;
fitness levels; success in international competition.
 Bailey (2001) – Most children would rather take part in physical activities than in any other
endeavour. However, obesity levels are growing, and link to the last bullet point!
 Regular Physical activity can make significant positive contributions to the physical, mental
and emotional well-being of children.
 PE develops physical competence – So also develops self-esteem and confidence.
 Tanner, 1978 – The most accessible form of development in children’s intellect & can raise
the quality of their education.
 As technology grows, children become less and less active – It is therefore vital as a teacher
to ensure they get exercise. Starting early helps later life.
 So how do you model Physical Education?
o Self-Participation
o Constant facilitation
o Advocating it as a life-long pursuit
o Understanding the benefits of PE

PE in the Curriculum:

 PE fits in with Every Child Matters document + EYFS Document:

o Being healthy
o Staying safe
o Enjoying and achieving
o Positive Contribution
o Economic well-being
 Primary PE has taken a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
 1991 – PE contained a range of activities, such as athletics, dance, games, gym, outdoor,
swimming. However, ‘Not until this was put into practice in classrooms did it become
obvious that the combined weight of all the subject curricula was simply too great to be
manageable.’ The new national curriculum was just too demanding. In my opinion, the focus
on the core subjects is just too great.
 So things were gradually removed, leaving us with something like this:
  KS1
o Master basic movements e.g. running, jumping
o Engage in team games
o Dance with simple movement patterns
 KS2
o Using basic movements in isolation & conjunction
o Team games – Competitive
o Flexibility & strength
o Dances – Range of movements
o Outdoor challenges
o Reflection, comparison, and improvement.
 PE gets 3 pages at the very back on a 201-page National Curriculum booklet. Is this enough?
The focus is on core subjects.

Planning for a PE Lesson:

 Raymond (1998) (For Planning)

o Whole School: How does it contribute to school aims and missions? Cross curricular?
Facilitating learning?
o Key Stage: Is the lesson appropriate for each key stage? How much time will each
activity get?
o Class: How will progress be monitored?
 Stages of Planning:
o Long Term Plan – What will happen throughout the year?
o Medium-term planning – What unit of work will be achieved? Termly?
o Lesson Plan – Specific guidelines for every lesson.
 ‘Teaching is a professional thinking activity and what is actually done in the classroom is
largely dependent upon the teacher’s thought processes that have gone on before the
lesson’ (Mawer, 1995).
o To teach effectively we have to understand the ‘thinking’ behind the ‘doing’.
o You need to understand an activity and how it will stimulate children’s learning if
you want to be able to plan effectively.
o Misconception that being able to do something well means that you will be able to
teach it well. Difference between knowledge of ‘doing’ and knowledge of ‘teaching’.
o BE CREATIVE: The more creative you are, the more engaging the lesson will be. Get
Children to create own activity – Explain case study - The parachute activity.
 Casbon and Spackman (2005), you need to look at:
o What the children already learned.
o What they can do
o What needs to happen to improve
 Intro
 Warm Up
 Development
 Application
 Conclusion