Ofsted have accussed primary schools of not retaining a high intensity throughout a P.E lesson, with children often, ‘stood still while the teacher introduces the lesson.’ From my own experience, there isn’t enough dance in the curriculum that could even begin to work up a sweat. Yes, I have used and adapted Val Sabin, yet I still struggle to make children (even those who are less-fit) force out a bead of sweat. It’s the dance element of the P.E curriculum I find the most disturbing. In the Ofsted document, it is claimed that part of the drive to improve standards in the P.E curriculum have come on the back of the legacy of the Olympics. I’m failing to see what part of the Olympics it is required to excel at primary school dance.
In order to improve overall fitness and longevity within endurance throughout P.E lessons, surely we should focus on more physical sports, which might produce the next generation of genuine Olympians. I understand that dancing can be a fantastic activity for children, and to eradicate it entirely is not the answer, however, the time could be reduced for children to participate in more focussed, competitive sports. Some element of P.E is often covered through PPA, in two schools I have worked in,this has been evident. This can often make assessment difficult for the class teacher, within their document, Ofsted show some uninspiring data regarding overall effectiveness and achievement of P.E. which suggests that a third of P.E lesson in schools are only satisfactory. This is pretty poor. As a country steeped in sport history we must spend time, prior to the release of the new curriculum, to allow teacher’s to provide more effective P.E curricula, based on their skill set and subject knowledge. Then we’ll see children sweat, like a Findus horse.
Where teacher’s provided with a more flexible curriculum, not focussed on rudimentary, uninspiring sports, then the overall effectiveness may well improve.
