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Teaching PE in primary schools is essential for fostering a love of movement, improving fitness, and building confidence in young children. However, some outdated PE approaches are still being used, resulting in less engaging, child-centred lessons. Below, we’ll explore three outdated approaches to PE, their limitations, and how you can embrace a more effective, modern approach.
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1. Sport-Specific Programmes
Many traditional PE programmes follow a sport-specific structure, focusing on blocks of activities like football, hockey, or netball. While these aim to teach specific techniques, they often:
Prioritise teacher-centred delivery over child-centred learning.
Emphasise technique without connecting it to broader physical literacy.
Limit creativity and adaptability in children’s physical skills.
Modern approaches encourage a broader focus on movement skills and exploration, ensuring students build transferable abilities rather than mastering isolated sports techniques.
2. Competition-Centric Programmes
Programmes that focus heavily on competition and winning can alienate some children and create unnecessary pressure. While competition has its place in PE, it shouldn’t dominate lessons.
The most effective PE programmes use competition as a tool for:
Even Ofsted highlights the importance of understanding rules, strategy, and tactics, one of the three fundamental pillars of PE. Instead of focusing solely on victory, a balanced approach fosters skill development, strategic thinking, and enjoyment for all children, regardless of ability.
You can read about What are Ofsted looking for in a PE programme here.
3. Overcomplicated Planning and Resources
Teachers often encounter planning materials that are:
Confusing or overly complex.
Lacking clarity about what the lesson should look like.
Difficult to interpret, leading to a lack of confidence in delivery.
If teachers struggle to understand the plan, children are unlikely to grasp the intended learning objectives either.
A clear, well-organised Primary PE programme with plenty of supporting resources, like video demonstrations and simplified lesson plans—make it easier for teachers to deliver impactful lessons.
Visualizing Progress with Our Performance Tracker
Understanding student progress is crucial for delivering impactful PE lessons. That’s why our Performance Tracker is designed to give teachers a clear, visual overview of the childrens achievements and areas for development.
This easy-to-use tool helps:
Track skill progression across a term or academic year.
Identify where additional support might be needed.
Celebrate individual and class-wide successes, fostering motivation and confidence.
With our Performance Tracker, teachers can ensure their PE lessons are tailored, effective, and aligned with each child’s learning journey. It’s just one more way iMoves supports you in delivering outstanding PE lessons.
How iMoves Can Help
At iMoves, we’re proud to offer primary PE resources designed to address these outdated approaches. Here’s how we can help:
Child-Centred Learning: Our lessons focus on building transferable skills through fun, engaging activities.
Balanced Approach: We promote healthy competition while prioritising teamwork, cooperation, and skill development.
Teacher-Friendly Resources: With simple, intuitive lesson plans and video demonstrations, we make it easy for any teacher to deliver impactful lessons with confidence.
Plus, we’ve earned 7 Ofsted gold stars for excellence in education, ensuring you’re using the best tools to teach PE.
Ready to transform the way you teach PE? Explore our PE resources to discover how iMoves can help you create a child-centred, engaging, and effective PE curriculum.