Physical Education 

Our PE curriculum aims to:

• Develop positive attitudes towards PE 
• Enable participation in a wide range of physical activities
• Engage and inspire participation in PE lessons  
• Encourage a lifelong love of physical activity, sport and exercise. 

Regular physical activity not only improves health, but also reduces stress, improves concentration, and promotes growth and development.  Participation in regular exercise has been shown to have a positive influence on academic achievement and physical and mental wellbeing. P.E. teaches our pupils about the importance of cooperation, teamwork and collaboration.

Our curriculum ensures that any new knowledge and skills taught builds upon our pupils’ previous learning. This allows our pupils to develop specific sporting skills across a wide range of physical activities.  Throughout the curriculum, there is a focus on agility, balance, control and coordination, which begins in Early Years. Physical Education is taught as a discrete subject through a range of competitive sports and games and physical education activities such as gymnastics and dance. Regardless of their starting point, pupils will receive a high quality PE education, with a broad and ambitious curriculum that is carefully structured to ensure progression and development of skills.

We believe in 'PE for all' and ensure that PE lessons are accessible for all pupils. Through the teaching of motor competences; rules, strategies and tactics; and healthy participation we build declarative and procedural knowledge about physical activity. At St. Dominic Savio we place a strong emphasis on building children's vocabulary, and this is also applicable in our teaching of PE.

Over the course of their school career, pupils begin by learning the fundamental movement skills and, as they progress though the Key Stages, will have the opportunity to play a broad range of sports including rugby, netball, hockey, football, tennis, cricket, basketball, rounders and take part in a range of athletic disciplines. During their time in KS2, pupils will have swimming lessons, taught by qualified coaches, and take part in cycling proficiency through 'Bikeability'.

Pupils have two hours of timetabled PE each week. In addition to lessons during curriculum time, our extra-curricular offer is a good way to broaden the opportunities for our children to learn new skills and be active. Many clubs are provided by staff, and some by external providers. Pupils have the opportunity to join one of our successful sports clubs, possibly representing the school in matches, races and tournaments. We pride ourselves on offering unique sporting experiences; these include: ballroom dancing, Gaelic football, martial arts and lacrosse. Our children are taught the importance of winning and losing and the importance of competitive and team sports.

Our pupils all have access to the athletics track that was newly installed in 2021. On our KS2 playground we have a range of fitness equipment that pupils can use during their free time.