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Physical education (PE) is an important part of the school curriculum, but it can be a challenge for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There are many barriers that can prevent these children from participating in PE, including physical, attitudinal, communication, self-confidence, fear of injury, and lack of support.
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Visual impairment can, in extreme cases, be a strong deterrent to participation in physical activity and PE. Impairments can range from pupils requiring glasses right up to those with a complete loss of sight.
Here are some suggestions of adaptations that PE teachers can implement to adjust their lessons and fully include visually impaired students.
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Speaking to peers, both in the staffroom and through various social media channels, there seems to be a common trend amongst all teachers: it’s getting more and more challenging to balance all the roles of the profession – does something have to give? And if so, what?
The first thing to go for a teacher with limited time may be enrichment activities. In relation to the extracurricular provision that a department offers, PE teachers may find themselves in a unique position compared to other teaching staff as there is often an expectation for clubs and teams to represent the school. In this article, we suggest several strategies that may increase the efficiency of a PE extracurricular programme.
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A school sports day can be the pinnacle of the PE department’s year, a chance to show the rest of the school just what we do. Our sportiest and most able pupils thrive in the face of competition and the chance to be the best.
But for some pupils, sports day can be their worst nightmare. For others, it can be seen as a day off. In this article, we discuss strategies that could be utilised to engage more pupils in taking part in various aspects of the day.
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Is there a more difficult decision to make than that of a PE department when the weather is awful? Do you go outside and risk low effort and attainment, or stay inside and deliver an activity which moves away from the scheme of learning? Here we have a variety of activities you could use when the rain stops play…
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When teaching PE, it can be difficult to make sure that your students are getting the most out of their lessons and are improving their abilities at a proper rate. Here’s our top 5 tips on how to boost performance in PE.
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Parents have recently called for schools to pursue physical activity after fears for their children’s health being hampered due to the recent COVID lockdown.
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The Government has announced £320 million in PE funding for the 2020-21 academic year.
Along with the announcement, the Department for Education also confirmed that any funding not spent during the 2019-20 academic year can be used next year – giving leaders the opportunity to add to their existing provision.
But who is the funding available to and how should it be spent? This blog post explains.
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PEOffice has today launched PEOffice TV to enable your children to continue to complete PE lessons during lockdown.
Exercise has been a major talking point of the lockdown, with concern raised that the measures would stop people getting their recommended amount of exercise.
Keep an eye on PEOffice’s Facebook page for future videos. For this week’s PE lesson click the link below.
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The warm up is a crucial part of any PE lesson. It should prepare the body for exercises by gradually increasing heart rate and circulation.
The process of the warm up should loosen the joints and increase blood flow to the muscles, preparing the body for physical activity and preventing injuries.
Delivering physical education in the cooler months can be a challenge for teachers, yet with these five fun drills you can help to ensure pupils are engaged during the PE warm up.
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British Cycling has announced that one million more women are cycling now than in 2013.
The statement comes just days before International Women’s Day, which takes place this Sunday. It aims to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The target meets the organisation’s strategy to inspire one million more women to ride, race and be part of British Cycling by 2020; and it is a huge step to reducing the historic gender gap within the sport.
But what does the announcement mean for cycling and fitness for women? This blog post explains.
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Participating in competitive sport is essential if our young sportspeople of today are going to develop into professionals who can complete at the highest levels of their chosen sport.
Not all children want to be professional sportspeople though. Many just want to enjoy their favourite sports and the thrill of taking part in an activity.
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Where participation levels in PE lessons are an area of concern, there are numerous methods and tactics that teachers can try in order to raise participation levels.
From tackling the ‘I forgot my PE kit’ excuse, to delivering more engaging lessons, there are a few different angles to try. One solution that can be highly effective is to give students a choice of activity and give them greater control.
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If you teach at a school where there are lower levels of PE participation, it can be incredibly frustrating as a PE teacher.
Research shows that girls are less likely to participate in PE and that schools in deprived areas, as well as schools with high proportions of children from ethic minority backgrounds and SEN pupils, showed lower levels of participation.
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Winning games can help children to experience how hard work can result in success and individual performance can build a child’s confidence, as well as developing teamworking skills when playing teams sports. However, there is also a lot to learn from losing.
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We’ve heard some very creative ideas for not doing PE over the years. One of the never-ending challenges of a PE teacher’s life is dealing with students who pull the ‘I forgot my PE Kit’ card.
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The Government’s SEN policy, Removing Barriers to Achievements 2004, along with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 form the cornerstones of SEND pupil rights – extending into every classroom and beyond – for PE lessons that are inclusive for all.
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Obesity, technology, evolving curriculums, ever tighter school budgets – they’re all influencing and impacting the role of the PE teacher.
Make no mistake – the role of the PE teacher seems set to change beyond recognition. But what should be expected of this 22nd century PE teacher? Let’s explore a range of expert opinions…
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Sport can and should serve as a powerful tool for self-discipline – not only helping children with behavioural problems in the classroom, but also boosting focus, academic achievement and in-classroom engagement.
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British American Football Association (BAFA) is the ‘School Games NGB of the Year’ 2017.
Why? Well, there’s been significant growth in participation in the first year (end of first term in the Games = 1,987 children, end of first year = over 4,000 children. An increase of 107%!), extensive efforts to engage with major stake-holders, and the unique and inclusive competition formats developed with the help of the NFL.
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Sport in schools is often divided between those who love it and those who actively try to avoid it but for the latter group, it’s often a lack of confidence or ability which is the root cause.
Some sports can be more difficult to participate in if you’re not naturally athletic but that’s not the case with rounders.
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It’s not just lack of ability or desire stopping kids getting access to activity, there are a number of other barriers, too.
This series has looked at how to get kids moving, a goal we can all agree is worthwhile. But is physical activity accessible to all students? We look at some potential barriers preventing children from getting active.
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Want to offer something different in PE at KS4? Want to improve your attendance numbers at extra-curricular clubs, particularly in KS4? Keen to offer a positive experience to contribute to improved health and wellbeing of your students?
If you answered ‘yes’ to all three of these questions then you should look no further than introducing the game of Matball to your students.
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A quarter of 2- to 10-year-olds and one third of 11- to 15-year-olds are overweight or obese, and these stats are only becoming ever more concerning.
Add to this the growing blight of poor childhood mental health, and the undeniable link between exercise and lowered rates of depression, it’s clear that the role of PE in schools has never been more important.
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Previously, we’ve looked at why so few girls take part in sport, here we consider what you can do to break down the barriers.
Encouraging girls to exercise more regularly will improve their overall wellbeing and there are some simple, practical ways that you can help.
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It’s easy to overdo things when you’re starting out with a new exercise regime, and youngsters are particularly liable to get over-enthusiastic. Follow our advice to keep students safe and healthy.
If you’ve been following our series on getting kids moving, your students should already have made that all important first step to improving their activity levels.
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Technology is often cited as a key contributor to our children’s obesity levels.
Parents compete with games consoles, handheld devices, computers and social media when trying to encourage their children to lead a more active lifestyle, and this lack of exercise has a negative impact on participation and performance levels in school.
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Girls need positive role models if they’re to be inspired to take up sport; here we interview Sarah Hunter, captain of the successful England Women’s Rugby team.
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You know that kids need to get moving more and you’ve got some idea of what they should be doing. But how are you going to encourage them to do so?
Here we give you some tips on what you can do.
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In part one of this series we looked at how the majority of UK children don’t get the government-recommended minimum of 60 minutes’ moderate exercise per day, and ways to address this.
The activities suggested can be categorised as four main types: everyday activities; getting out in nature; organised sports; and active play.
Here we’ll consider each in a bit more detail.
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The factors given previously – and others – combine to give girls the impression that sport is not for them. Unlike boys, for whom excelling at sport is a good thing, girls are put off physical activity because they don’t want to be seen as unfeminine.
This is compounded by the media, which often portrays successful female athletes as masculine. Another participant in the BioMed Research International study stated: “Sport is seen as a manly thing to do…they [the media] don’t see it as a girly thing.”
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State school students are still finding it more difficult to gain entry to the top ‘elite’ sports of rugby union, tennis, cricket and athletics.
But why is there such a clear divide between those in private education and the rest who are in mainstream schooling?
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In the first part of this series on Breaking Down the Barriers to Girls’ Participation in Sport we looked at how the majority of girls don’t get the weekly recommended minimum amount of exercise.
In this second instalment, we identify the barriers to participating in physical activity that girls experience. So, why aren’t more girls taking part in sports?
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19.5% of pupils have been bullied during PE.
If that stat wasn’t disheartening enough, bullying that focuses on a lack of physical fitness, body shape or perceived lack of sporting ability can leave a severe dent in a student’s self-confidence that lasts a lifetime.
Whilst bullying in any realm of education is never acceptable and can have terrible consequences when it happens in PE, it can also result in the avoidance of physical activity not just in the short term, but in the long term too.
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For many schools, the battle against childhood obesity is a significant issue. A combination of lack of funding for PE and extra-curricular activities, and a generation of children addicted to smartphones, computers and gaming consoles, has created an unhealthy environment for our children.
While almost 20% of children in Year 6 (aged 10-11) are obese, a further 14.2% are overweight…..9.1% of children in Reception (aged 4-5) are obese and 12.8% are overweight.
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Government figures show that the vast majority of young people don’t get the recommended minimum amount of 60 minutes exercise per day.
This is worse for girls than for boys: just 15% of girls achieve that goal, compared to 27% of boys. Participation falls off with age in both sexes, but again this is much faster in girls.
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Reading time: 2 minutes The London Olympics has rapidly faded into the distance – an event so planned for, anticipated and celebrated came and went, and now stands more than half a decade ago in our history.
If you cast your mind back, there was much talk that surrounded the event as to how it would go on to shape a generation, to inspire them in their sporting endeavours.
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Reading time: 2 minutes A passion for sports and fitness can and should be instilled from the earliest of ages, yet primary schools undoubtedly have a tough challenge on their hands when they’re only granted a limited number of hours to commit to PE each week.
However no mistake should be made: the role of the primary school for lifelong fitness is today more important than ever.
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All teachers have a range of responsibilities including educating, safeguarding and mentoring students. But do PE teachers have an additional responsibility to encourage participation in physical activity outside of school hours?
Research studies show that students who are more physically active perform better in school due to their higher levels of energy and concentration.
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Technology has developed over the years, with video cameras being more advanced, iPads being used to analyse sport and even phones now being used to analyse performance.
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England Squash and Racketball is the National Governing Body (NGB) for squash in England and is the umbrella that makes the decisions that affect everyone who plays squash. The first ever squash court was built in 1864 in England with over 50,000 courts in more than 185 countries worldwide.
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So, you have the interest of your pupils to learn and play cricket.
But how can your harness that interest further?
Here are a number of ideas and suggestions that have worked….
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Basketball in Britain is governed by British Basketball with the British basketball league (BBL) being the highest league in Britain, consisting of 13 teams, 12 of those are from England the other team are Glasgow Rocks. However, it is the NBA (National Basketball Association) which is the biggest league in the world, boasting some of the biggest names in the sport, such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
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Table Tennis England is the National Governing Body (NGB) for table tennis, which works in close co-operation with English Schools Table Tennis Association (ESTTA), and the British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities (BTTAD).
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British Gymnastics is currently seeing a purple patch with medals for both males and Females, such as Beth Tweddle, Louis Smith MBE & Max Whitlock winning numerous medals over recent years.
Rhythmic gymnastics is a female only competition in the Olympics and the athletes can be 16 years old when competing at the highest level.
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When professional golf players are considered, names such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus come to mind, but what about female golfers?
The progress of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has exceeded all expectations, but does this transfer to participation in girls taking up the sport?
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Football in England is the biggest sport for participation, viewership and TV rights. This being the case, many people would assume that football outreach programmes would not be required, however, there are sections of society the figures suggest are not making it to the highest level.
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As stated in the PE National Curriculum, dance is first taught to pupils from Key Stage 2. At this stage, pupils perform dances using a range of movement patterns, which is developed to where the pupils should be able to perform dances using a range of movement patterns at KS3.
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The basic skills outlined by Skate UK, who are part of the National Ice Skating Association of Great Britain & N.I, are ranked in levels from level one up to level eight. The difficulty degree rises as the levels get higher with beginners starting at level one. After undertaking each of the levels, which consists of 8 weeks’ worth of coaching, assessment is taken on the eighth week and if successful, a certificate is given to the individual. They will then be allowed to progress to the higher tier of the system.
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When skipping is mentioned, two things spring to mind. One is the game played by children in a playground all over the world, the other is a training exercise used by many sports including boxing and football. Both have the ability to have a positive impact on a range of sports and for those who participate in those sports.
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Sports that people in wheelchairs can access are not as widely available as those are for the abled bodied, yet they do still have a selection of both summer and winter sports to choose from. These include, wheelchair curling, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby (murderball) to name just a few.
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England is set to host the Rugby union World Cup in 2015, two years after the rugby league world cup was joint hosted by England, France, Ireland and Wales. For our country to have hosted both world cups in the different formats shows how important rugby is to our nation. Without doubt English rugby union’s greatest moment came in 2003, when England won the world cup thanks to a drop goal from Johnny Wilkinson beat Australia 20-17.
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With over 1.4 million women and girls currently playing football in Britain, it is the country’s most popular female team sport for participation. Since 2013 when a strategy launched by the football league trust, the FA and the Premier League the number of females between 14-25 years old regularly taking part in football has risen by over 20,000.
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With Round 1 of the Six Nations kicking off with Wales V England on 6th February, now is the perfect time to look at rugby union in schools. As of 2010, 66% of primary and secondary schools were providing rugby union sports provision.
Besides enjoyment and fitness, rugby union can develop a wide range of skills and values such as working in a team, determination, respect and sportsmanship.
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“I forgot my PE kit” must be one of the most frequently heard statements at the beginning of any PE lesson, from swimming to outdoor sports, and there is possibly nothing more frustrating. Depending on the school’s policy this may mean finding extra kit, organising other work for them to do, or a student entirely missing yet another lesson.
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As with any lesson in the classroom, PE Teachers and coaches are the ones that can inspire and drive the interest in any subject they teach, including PE.
Whilst there is a common train of thought to make everything we do inclusive for all children regardless of their ability and experience, the best advice for delivering sport is “make it fun”.
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Special Educational Needs (SEN) is a serious issue for schools, with almost 3% of all students having a statement of SEN and a further 16-17% having no statement, but still having SEN (DfE).
This means that one in every 5 students needs some form of extra help in the classroom.
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As a teacher, some things are changeable based on your personality and philosophy, but there are some essentials for every PE teacher to bear in mind and to take to every lesson or session, without question.
Never take away belief: always build
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In October, Public Health England published Everybody active, every day: An evidence-based approach to physical activity. The report calls for creating a cultural change to be more active, with a 4 pronged approach.
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With the changes to the PE National Curriculum and the call to end “the damaging prizes for all culture”, it has to be asked – is it a good thing to have winners and losers? And what are we actually teaching children either by giving them all prizes, or by separating them based on skills into winners and losers?
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Students can sometimes lack a little confidence when it comes round to getting involved in sports, but there are some simple ways to get pupils confident and excited about participating.
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There will be some sporting and physical activities that your students find challenging. It is your job to tackle their doubts and overcome any fears they may have before partaking in particularly difficult sports.
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You will face many intellectual and physical challenges that your students have to overcome. These could be from disabilities or lack of sporting acumen. Either way, you will have to focus on making your activities accessible to all.
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Without the interest, a student will not want to get involved in an activity, and even if they do partake, they will not give it their all. Therefore, you must develop interest in order to help them gain competence.
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No one can deny the way sports can unite a nation. For brief glorious moments it seems that the entire nation is cheering for one person, or one team. The mood lifts and everyone is happy.
But what about the next generation of athletes, the school children who are watching these games: does cheering for their team translate into sporting success?
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At the beginning of this month, I was lucky enough to see the Tour de France go through my home town of Sheffield in Stage 2 of the Grand Départ. Taking my spot amongst the crowds, the atmosphere intensified as we waited to be a part of the magic by seeing the cyclists an arm’s breadth away.
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I was left wheelchair bound in 2012 and so many people told me I could no longer participate in sports. I proved them wrong and continued my life the way it was before, just slightly adapted.
I teach Taekwondo to children aged 3-17 years. I specialise in teaching children with special needs and I believe it is vital that these children are treated with the same respect, dignity and care as the children without special needs.
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The BBC reported on research today carried out by think tank and charity New Philanthropy Capital which suggested that ‘playing cricket can deter your people from joining gangs and committing crime’.
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May is National Golf Month, an initiative encouraging people of all ages to get playing golf.
As the New PE National Curriculum encourages a diverse range of sports to be offered in schools, the benefits offered in golf are extensive, making it a great sport to include in your department.
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American football delivered in a UK school will have little in common with the NFL (which tends to be the most common source of understanding and knowledge about American football in the UK).
The first barrier to successfully introducing it into either a primary or secondary school is to correct the many erroneous assumptions and beliefs about the sport that will be held by school management, parents and indeed the students.
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This month we found an interesting quote from Ken Green in his 2010 text Key Themes in Youth Sport. Green stated that “the contribution of extra-curricular PE (as with PE itself) to young people’s leisure sport is highly likely to be limited for the most part to those youngsters already committed to sport”.
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Across England, as in many other countries, an age-related decline in physical activity has been found in many studies and is a challenge which physical education teachers are trying to overcome.
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This autumn, I attended a PE conference where I was both disappointed and saddened by the negativity of the comments from some PE Teachers about the new PE curriculum and the proposed new assessment of pupils without levels.
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As part of a recent assessment of participation in sport at our school, we reviewed the number of students taking part in physical education lessons and also extra-curricular activities.
The results showed that something had to be done in order to raise the participation levels of particular groups of students: principally the girls and the Asian and Pakistani communities.
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There have been many different views on the importance of PE but one message is clear and underpins the majority of opinions, and it is that PE is fundamental in a child’s physical, social and cognitive development.
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