PE

PE Curriculum Leader – Mrs Eleanor Waller

PE Opportunities Leader – Mr Aaron Armstrong

At Northstead, Physical Education is led by the enthusiastic and dedicated team of Mrs Eleanor Waller and Mr Aaron Armstrong, who share a passion for promoting healthy lifestyles, teamwork, and personal growth through sport and physical activity.

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to enjoy being active, discover their strengths, and build confidence through a wide range of inclusive sporting experiences.

Through PE, pupils learn the value of teamwork, respect, and responsibility, both on and off the field. With high expectations and strong encouragement, we help all children strive for their personal best—celebrating both effort and excellence in every form.

Mrs Waller and Mr Armstrong are committed to making PE fun, engaging, and accessible for all, while also providing exciting opportunities for competition, leadership, and personal development.

Swimming at Northstead

At Northstead, all children in year three take part in weekly swimming sessions for up to 10 weeks. Following this, some children will then complete an additional block of swimming lessons with the aim to enable all children to be water confident, know how to stay safe in water and confidently swim 25m using any stroke.

Physical Education at Northstead – A Guide for Parents

At Northstead Community Primary School, we believe that Physical Education plays a vital role in supporting every child’s physical, emotional, and social development. PE helps children develop important life skills such as teamwork, resilience, communication, and confidence — all while having fun and being active!

PE at Northstead:

• Builds physical fitness, strength and coordination
• Supports children’s mental wellbeing
• Develops teamwork and leadership skills
• Encourages healthy habits and an active lifestyle
• Promotes resilience, fairness and self-discipline

We aim for every child to enjoy PE and to feel confident in trying new things, no matter their ability.

Children and staff wear their PE kits to school on PE days — this means more time moving and less time changing!

What Scheme Do We Use?

We use ‘Complete PE’, a high-quality interactive scheme that supports all staff in confidently delivering engaging and inclusive lessons. The scheme helps us deliver a curriculum that is:

• Well-sequenced and progressive
• Fully inclusive and adaptive
• Fun and engaging for all children

‘Complete PE’ provides video examples, visual aids, support cards, and vocabulary prompts for each lesson.

How Often Do Children Do PE?

Children at Northstead take part in two PE lessons per week, except during the first half of the spring term (Spring 1), when we may only teach one indoor session due to seasonal demands on space and the British Weather!

To maximise active time, children wear their PE kits to school on PE days — this means more time moving and less time changing!

What Scheme Do We Use?

We use ‘Complete PE’, a high-quality interactive scheme that supports all staff in confidently delivering engaging and inclusive lessons. The scheme helps us deliver a curriculum that is:

• Well-sequenced and progressive
• Fully inclusive and adaptive
• Fun and engaging for all children

‘Complete PE’ provides video examples, visual aids, support cards, and vocabulary prompts for each lesson.

What Do PE Lessons Look Like?

Each PE unit consists of six sequenced lessons and includes:

• A clear learning objective and key questions
• A recap of previous learning with ‘Show what you know’
• Small-sided activities and games to build key skills
• Printable support cards to reinforce learning
• Visuals and demonstrations to help children understand the activity

Whether indoors or outside, children are encouraged to explore, practise, and improve their physical skills in a safe, structured, and enjoyable way.

PE Vocabulary

We put a strong emphasis on physical literacy – helping children learn and use the right words to talk about movement and sport.

Children are taught and encouraged to use key vocabulary like:

• “In unison”, “canon”, “sequence” in dance and gymnastics
• “Possession”, “contact”, “tactics” in team games like hockey

Vocabulary is displayed in the hall, on slides, or introduced through video so children understand it before the lesson begins.

How Is PE Assessed?

PE is assessed formatively, which means:

• Teachers observe and give feedback throughout the lesson
• Children revisit and practise skills when needed
• Lessons are adjusted based on children’s needs and progress

Teachers use their judgement to decide when pupils are ready to move on or need more time on a skill. The Complete PE platform also includes adaptive teaching strategies to ensure that all children succeed.

Our Aim

Above all, our goal is to ensure every child:

• Enjoys being active
• Gains confidence in their physical abilities
• Develops a lifelong love of movement and sport

If you’d like to know more about how we deliver PE at Northstead or how you can support your child’s physical development at home, feel free to speak to your child’s class teacher or the PE lead.