Physical Education

Vision

At Kennall Vale Primary School, we believe that Physical Education is fundamental to the growth, health, and well-being of every child. Our vision is for each student to thrive not only in sport but in life, developing physical confidence, mental resilience, and the social skills necessary to navigate a dynamic world. We aim to create an environment where every child, regardless of their starting point, feels empowered to achieve and find joy in physical activity. Through a diverse and inclusive PE curriculum, we equip our students with the skills, knowledge, and motivation to lead active, healthy lives.

We understand that physical activity goes beyond the benefits of fitness; it’s also a powerful engine for cognitive development. Research consistently shows that regular exercise enhances brain function, helping children improve focus, memory, and problem-solving abilities. Physical activity stimulates the growth of neural pathways that underpin academic learning, giving our students a vital boost both inside and outside the classroom. We recognize that PE is not just a break from academics but a critical component that fuels and reinforces it.

At Kennall Vale School, we are dedicated to nurturing a love of movement and a belief in each child’s potential. By fostering a culture where every child has the chance to succeed, we aim to inspire a lifelong commitment to health, learning, and personal development. Together, let’s build a generation that thrives, on the field, in the classroom, and in life.

Intent

At Kennall Vale School, we are committed to giving children the best possible start in life. Sport and physical exercise plays a huge role in child development. We aim to ensure all children have access to high quality PE teaching and sports coaching from EXFS to year 6. We aim to provide each child with access to a wide range of sporting opportunities and ensure they have the fundamental skills explicitly taught to give them the best start in their development. We use Real PE as our core steps and staff are fully trained in delivering high quality PE sessions alongside the incredible coaches from Plymouth Argyle. We follow Real PE's child centered approach to ensure all children are appropriately challenged. At KVS we recognise the importance of not only physical health but also mental health. We promote good sportsmanship as well as a healthy desire to beat individual personal bests. This ties in with the values of Real PE in all areas. Our aim is to give every child the physical literacy, emotional strength and critical thinking skills in order to achieve in PE, sport and life in general.

Implementation

Real PE offers an effective and efficient platform to teach PE. It ensures consistency throughout the school and gives confidence to all members of staff when delivering a session. Real PE is fully aligned to the National Curriculum and focuses on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning. We follow the 6 key values that make up Real PE. Creative, cognitive, health and fitness, physical, social and personal all link to our school values and this transcend everything we do at Kennall Vale.

The Jasmine platform enables is to teach effectively, inside and outside, utilising our 3G outdoor training surface throughout the year. With  iPads we are able to deliver an even more personal and targeted session catering to each individual's personal goal and next steps. In KS1 we develop the key abilities that children need to be successful within PE and sport. Throughout this stage we offer games and semi-competitive team and solo challenges whilst modelling and encouraging a positive attitude and a growth mind-set. In KS2, while the fundamental skills continue to be developed, there is a greater emphasis on skills based games leading to conventional sports such as rounders, handball, football, hockey and athletics. Alongside the Plymouth Argyle coaches we have developed a bespoke two year plan that focuses on a sport each term that links the individual sessions together. This gives each child the opportunity to really get to grips with a sport and, with the help of professional coaches and local clubs, we can demonstrate the pathways to develop further in the given sport.

Impact

We use the Real PE Assessment Wheel to track progress across all year groups. Pupil conferencing shows 99% of pupils enjoy PE with nearly 80% taking up a sport of physically active after school club and others attending local sports clubs as well. With enjoyment and passion from the staff we have built an ethos at the school that encourages trying your best in everything you do, working hard for each other an the team as well as striving to beat your own personal goals. This is evident in the attitude of our young sportsmen and sportswomen that compete on behalf of the school at local events.

At Kennall Vale we have an excellent track record in a wide variety of sports excelling in football, rugby, basketball and hockey as well as swimming and dodgeball in recent years.