Gilmour Primary School

Physical Education (PE)

At Gilmour Primary School, we acknowledge the vital role that physical education (PE) plays in promoting both the physical and mental health of our students. Our goal is for every pupil to leave our school equipped with the skills and enthusiasm necessary to foster a lifelong love for sport, enabling them to reap the health benefits and social opportunities that come from an active lifestyle.

Through participation in sports, children develop essential qualities such as discipline, resilience, communication, teamwork, and ambition – skills that also enhance their classroom learning. We make meaningful connections between subjects, such as linking science and PE, to help students understand the importance of healthy living and the role of physical activity in their lives. We encourage pupils to pursue their sporting interests beyond school and provide guidance on community sports opportunities.

Our PE program is inclusive, ensuring that all students, regardless of age, gender, or ability, have access to activities and clubs both during and after school hours. We are committed to providing all pupils with a minimum of two hours of high-quality, well-structured PE each week, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle for every child at Gilmour Primary School.

We believe our PE curriculum and extracurricular activities significantly enhance students’ concentration, attitude, and academic performance. Throughout the school year, we offer a variety of extracurricular programs, including girls’ football, athletics, and multi-sport events. Our students also participate in inter-school competitions, benefiting from the extensive resources provided by our Trust’s secondary schools.

Early Years Foundation Stage 

Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe.  

Key Stage 1 

Pupils should develop Fundamental Movement Skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. They should be able to engage in competitive (both against self and against others) and cooperative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.  

Key Stage 2 

Pupils should continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. They should enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. They should develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.  

Swimming:

Swimming and water safety is a statutory element of the national curriculum for physical education in England. This means that every 11-year old child should leave primary school with the skills to keep themselves safe while enjoying swimming with friends and family.

Swimming is the only sport to be included within the national curriculum physical education programme of study. All primary schools must provide swimming and water safety lessons in either Key Stage 1 or 2. At Gilmour Primary we pride ourselves on offering swimming lessons to all classes throughout KS2.

Each pupil is required to be able to do the following:

  • Perform safe self-rescue in different water based situations
  • Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
  • Use a range of strokes effectively, for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke.