PE – Castle Mead Academy | TMET Leicester MAT

At Castle Mead Academy, we will enable all scholars to access physical activity and competitive sport, breaking down barriers to participation and inspiring all scholars to succeed and excel.

Our PE department extends many varied opportunities to compete in sport and physical activities that help to build character and to embed core values, such as fairness and respect. The curriculum aims to ensure that all scholars develop the ability to excel in a broad range of physical activities and are physically active for sustained periods of time. PE is a vehicle for social change, enriching lives through sporting experiences, increasing the social and cultural capital of our scholars’ and inspiring scholars to lead a healthy and active lifestyle with skills that will allow them to succeed in life after school.

What makes the Physical Education curriculum so special?

Our vision is to enable all scholars to access physical activity and sport, breaking down barriers to participation and inspiring all scholars to succeed and excel in competitive sport and physical activities. There are extensive opportunities to compete in sport and physical activities that help to build character and to embed the values such as fairness and respect. The curriculum aims to ensure that all scholars develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities and are physically active for sustained periods of time.

At Castle Mead we want our scholars to “DIVE” into PE;

Develop competence and confidence across a range of sports and physical activity.

Increase knowledge of sport and physical activity.

Value physical activity and prepare all scholars for success in life.

Enthuse and empower all to engage in physical activity for life.

Over KS3 and KS4 scholars will study:

Invasion Games
Gymnastics
Dance
Fitness
Athletics
Striking and Fielding
Net and Wall Games

Interweaving of the vital concepts (the “20%”) throughout the curriculum is used to deepen scholars’ learning. This will help them to retain information in the long-term, acquire new skills and improve existing skills and abilities. The “20%” consists of key terms and terminology, physical skills, tactics, leadership skills and theory that is vital to their understanding of the subject. These concepts are then interweaved through the curriculum planning to be frequently revisited to consolidate learning.

Castle Mead Academy’s Physical Education curriculum aims to inspire all scholars to participate and excel in sport and physical activity. It provides opportunities for scholars to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. By giving scholars the opportunities to compete in sport and physical activities it enables scholars to work hard, be kind and build character, embedding our school values alongside sporting values of fairness and respect.

Aims of the department:

Develop scholars’ competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
Ensure scholars are physically active for sustained periods of time
Engage scholars in competitive sports and activities
Enable scholars to lead healthy, active lives.

How is the Physical Education curriculum enacted in a way that honours its beauty, richness and distinctiveness?

In PE lessons at CMA, we deliver our curriculum through high-quality teaching that focuses on encouraging all scholars to participate fully at all stages of the lesson. Our teachers are experts and are highly experienced in teaching a variety of different sports and activities. Lessons start with knowledge retrieval questions, which allow scholars to consolidate prior learning and connect to new content being introduced. Teachers purposefully narrate the ‘Big Question’ for the lesson, so that purpose is clear. Modelling is a key feature in PE lessons, allowing scholars to be equipped with powerful new knowledge through observing and dissecting the expert’s demonstration. As scholars progress through the lesson, they have the opportunity to engage in practice under the teacher’s guidance and supervision, before moving towards independent practice where they develop fluency and mastery of their new skills in small-sided game situations.

We use an assessment model “Head Heart Hands”. Head is our cognitive ability, Heart is our attributes and Hand is our practical ability. This assessment model alongside our curriculum allows us to take a more inclusive approach. It is less “elitist”, allowing scholars to succeed in other areas of PE rather than just focusing on practical ability. This encourages higher level of engagement and enjoyment in PE.

How does the Physical Education curriculum equip scholars with knowledge that provides them with new ways of thinking about the world and has the capacity to take them beyond their own original experiences?

PE at Castle Mead Academy is not only as a participant, but also in leadership roles such as a coach, official or choreographer. The non-participant roles provide more inclusivity, learning transferable leadership skills such as communication, problem solving, organisation and dependability. These are essential in their future chosen career path.

Our extra-curricular programme, Castle Character Time, is open to all scholars who wish to participate recreationally or competitively. Scholars have the opportunity to represent the school team in a wide variety of sports for all abilities in local leagues and festivals. The PE department has worked incredibly hard to strengthen links with local professional and amateur sports teams. The links with Leicester Tigers, Rider and City offer our scholars’ expert coaching and an awe-inspiring experience, which in turn helps to transition our scholars to local sports teams and regular participation.

At CMA we firmly believe that PE will be a vehicle for social change, enriching lives through sporting experiences, increasing the social and cultural capital of our scholars and inspiring scholars to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. The Castle Mead Academy PE department want to develop lifelong skills and abilities in our scholars that will prepare them for life after secondary school, providing them with skills that will allow them to succeed in life after education.