SPORTS PREMIUM

At Holy Family Catholic Primary School we believe that physical education, experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is a unique and vital contributor to a pupil’s physical development and well-being. A broad and balanced physical education curriculum is intended to provide for pupils’ increasing self-confidence in their ability to manage themselves and their bodies within a variety of movement situations. Progressive learning objectives, combined with sympathetic and varied teaching approaches, endeavour to provide stimulating, enjoyable, satisfying and appropriately challenging learning experiences for all pupils. Through the selection of suitable differentiation and logically developed tasks, it is intended that pupils, irrespective of their innate ability, shall enjoy success and be motivated to develop further their individual potential and take part in lifelong physical activity.

What is the Sports Premium?

All children and young people should live healthy active lives. The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that all children and young people should take part in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day, with the recommendation for disabled children and young people being 20 minutes of physical activity per day.

It is important that schools are supporting children and young people to achieve this aim. This is particularly true of primary schools where the foundations of positive and enjoyable participation in regular physical activity are embedded.

The Department for Education (DfE) wants all children to have equal access to high-quality PE provision and opportunities to experience and participate in a wide range of sports and physical activities. Schools should aim to provide high-quality PE and sport for at least 2 hours a week, complemented by a wide range of extracurricular sport and competitive opportunities. By providing this it can help improve children’s health and wellbeing, personal development as well as academic attainment.  

Schools should use the PE and sport premium funding to support children to meet 60 active minutes and achieve the above aims. This funding must not be used for core-type school activities. Schools should use it to:  

• make additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide
• provide or improve equal access to sport for boys and girls
• ensure teachers have the relevant skills and knowledge to confidently teach PE in a structured way, prioritising continued professional development (CPD) and training where needed

Any use of the PE and sport premium must be in accordance with the terms outlined in the conditions of grant document. This means schools must use the PE and sport premium to:

• build capacity and capability in the school and make sure that improvements made to the quality of PE, sport and physical activity provision now are sustainable and will benefit pupils joining the school in future
• develop or add to the PE, sport and physical activity that the school provides

Effective ways to spend the premium

It is important that schools make the most effective use of the premium. To best achieve this, spending should focus on making improvements in 5 key areas, to assist in:  

• increasing confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sporting activities
• increasing engagement of all pupils in regular physical activity and sporting activities
• raising the profile of PE and sport across the school, to support whole school improvement
• offer a broader and more equal experience of a range of sports and physical activities to all pupils
• increasing participation in competitive sport

These may be achieved by: 

• embedding physical activity into the school day by encouraging active travel to and from school and having active break times
• providing targeted activities or support to involve and encourage the least active children
• helping to provide equal access for all pupils to the range of sports and physical activities that the school offers
• providing continued professional development (CPD) for all staff (as outlined previously)
• providing extra-curricular opportunities for children to enable them to access other sporting activities or specialist sport instruction
• providing top-up swimming and water safety lessons for those pupils that do not meet national curriculum requirements after they have completed core swimming and water safety lessons
• providing specialist support to help children with additional needs to access and participate fully in PE lessons
• entering local school competitions and holding inter-house competitions in the school to encourage participation

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents for their continued support in our sporting activities.

This truly represents our mission statement of 

'Living, Loving and Learning together with Jesus'