The Teaching of Physical Development Subjects
At Barons Court Primary School, Physical Education and Outdoor Learning are fundamental to the holistic childhood development that is at the heart of our creative and collaborative enquiry curriculum. Physical development at Barons Court focuses on increasing the skills and performance of the body through gross motor skills (activities requiring control of large muscles in the body, arms and legs) and fine manipulative skills (depending on small muscle co-ordination) and children acquire and develop their skills in many ways throughout our Physical Education and Outdoor Learning experiences. The progression through our physical development curriculums can depend on different influencing factors such as eating habits, emotional development and confidence in tackling new activities. By providing exciting and challenging experiences our children have the opportunity to enhance their physical skills, body and spatial awareness, personal and social development and their confidence and self-esteem. At Barons Court our children are active learners who enjoy learning through play and physical activities, they engage in learning experiences that require them to use a range of physical skills whether learning indoors or outdoors and we recognise that physical and cognitive development are closely linked. Please click on our physical development curriculum maps below to view our progressive curriculum in these subjects.
Physical Education
Physical Education is vital for children’s fine and gross motor skill development. At Barons Court we allow children to immerse themselves in a variety of different sports to ensure that they are able to access and transfer skills to achieve their potential. Participation is key at Barons Court - we aim to provide all of our children with the skills, understanding, desire and commitment to continue to improve and achieve in a wide range of PE, sport and health enhancing physical activities whilst participating safely and effectively in a fully inclusive and supportive environment. Children enjoy their PE lessons both within our school and on Milton Hall Primary School field and we provide further opportunities for children to participate in competitive sports and activities both in and beyond our curriculum through our links with local sports partnerships – this helps lay the foundations for a child’s understanding on leading a healthy and physical lifestyle. Children are encouraged to understand responsibility, learn respect and develop their communication and teamwork skills. Every aspect of our PE curriculum seeks to have a positive impact on confidence, health and mental well-being and opportunities to enhance these are at the heart of PE within our school.
Outdoor Learning
Outdoor Learning at Barons Court is integral to our curriculum and learning experiences for all children. Children are given the opportunity to become independent, resilient, creative and adventurous learners, engaging with the natural environment, taking risks, tackling challenges and improving their health and well-being. Physical development experiences are woven into our Outdoor Learning curriculum and both fine and gross motor skills are developed within the outdoor environment, as well as stamina and positive experiences, linking to our school value of resilience. At Barons Court we believe the outdoors is a great place for children to practice and master their physical skills. They can develop their gross motor skills like balancing and jumping as well as developing their fine motor skills like pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying movable objects and using a range of tools. We recognise that cognitive, social and emotional development are improved by spending time outside as children are more likely to invent games, developing creativity, communication and social skills - as they do this they are able to express themselves and learn about the world in their own way.
