PE Curriculum Intent

1. Our curriculum will represent, value and celebrate the diverse society in which we live.

Throughout our PE curriculum we aim to provide pupils with broad and varied sporting opportunities, updating our curriculum where possible to reflect the interests of our pupils.

2. All children will develop into confident, articulate communicators.

At Henry Cavendish, we promote an ethos whereby the pupils develop their understanding of the skills and techniques required to play a sport and are able to articulate how they can improve/adapt their performance whether individually or as a team. We place a huge emphasis on team work and positive sports conduct in order to help pupils feel confident regardless of their sporting ability.

3. All children will be challenged.

Being challenged in PE fosters pupil’s love of being physically active and ensures that children lead a healthy, active lifestyle. PE units aim to build on skills and techniques each year. Teachers seek opportunities in which to challenge and develop pupils’ individual talents and look for ways that they can share their expertise with their peers.

4. The topic and content of our Curriculum will be varied, immersive and engaging.

We provide a breadth of learning experiences in every year group, to build on the interests of all pupils. Alongside their rich diet of class-based PE, pupils have regular opportunities to receive teaching from specialist teachers. We seek to expose the children to a range of different individual and team sports in order to enable our pupils to make informed choices about the sports that they enjoy and will continue beyond their Henry Cavendish journey. We encourage pupils to take part in competitive sports to give purpose and opportunities to their learning.

5. All children will use their creativity.

Within sequences of learning, we seek opportunities for pupils to feel empowered to harness the skills that they have learnt. Playing sports requires pupils to think creatively to reach their desired outcome.

6. All children will become happy, empathetic and confident citizens.

Children have the right to be healthy. Team sports are proven to benefit pupils both physically and mentally, flourishing well-being and self-growth. At Henry Cavendish, our PE curriculum and enrichment activities promote independence, resilience, communication and confidence.

We constantly review our curriculum in order for it to be relevant and of interest to the children, providing them with the knowledge and skills they need for the next stages of their lives throughout and after primary school. The progression of knowledge and skills the children need to learn have been carefully sequenced, and the summary of their learning journey in PE is below or click the link to enlarge. 

Swimming at Henry Cavendish

In all year groups in Key Stage 2, Henry Cavendish pupils receive swimming lessons for half the year. Groups swim at the swimming pool located at our Balham site and are taught by our swimming instructor, Miss Palmer. We pride ourselves on the skill and the confidence the children develop as they move through the school.  Swimming is acknowledged as both an important life skill and a fun, competitive sport, which every child should access and enjoy. 

Click below to find out about the progression of swimming skills at Henry Cavendish.