"Mens sana in corpore sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body"
Juvenal
At Gillas Lane we believe that physical development is just as important as reading, writing and maths.
Physical development is the pre-cursor to many academic skills and is essential for cognitive, social and emotional growth.
We value the time we have to play and be active across the school day, but our PE lessons are where things really get exciting!
Here are our Long Term Plans for PE:
PE Milestones
Our PE Milestones contain the disciplinary knowledge needed to understand the disciplinary concepts. Our mid term planning specifies the substantive knowledge the children will learn.
Disciplinary Knowledge – Thinking Like an Athlete
When thinking like an athlete, children learn to move with purpose, control, and awareness. Athletes consider:
- Balance – how to stay steady and centred during movement
- Coordination – how different parts of the body work together smoothly
- Agility – how quickly and easily they can change direction
- Strength – how muscles are used to support and power movement
- Speed – how fast actions are performed, both in isolation and in combination
- Endurance – how long they can sustain physical activity
- Spatial Awareness – understanding their position and movement in relation to others and the environment
- Value & Appreciation – recognising the importance of teamwork, effort, fair play, and personal growth through physical activity
Take a look at our Progressive Milestones in Disciplinary Learning:
Substantive Knowledge – Understanding Physical Education
Knowledge about physical activity and sporting history:
- The work and impact of key athletes and sports figures (current, historical, local, and international)
- How sports and physical activities have evolved over time (rules, equipment, and participation)
- The role of physical activity in different cultures and communities
Knowledge about elements of physical education (skills, techniques, and disciplines):
- Fundamental movement skills: running, jumping, throwing, catching, balancing
- Team games and individual sports: tactics, rules, and fair play
- Dance and gymnastics: movement, expression, and sequencing
- Health and fitness: understanding the body, exercise, and wellbeing
Take a look at our Substantive Knowledge Progression Map:
The Importance of PE in the Early Years
Physical Education in the early years is vital for supporting children's physical development, confidence, and overall well-being. It helps our youngest learners build coordination, balance, and motor skills through fun and active play. PE also encourages teamwork, resilience, and healthy habits from an early age, laying the foundation for a lifelong positive attitude towards movement and health.
Take a look at our PE Early Years Link Documents to see what PE in the Early Years looks like. You can also see how the skills children learn in the Early Years supports them as they move into Key Stage 1 and beyond.
PE and SEND
At Gillas Lane, we know that PE is crucial for SEND children, contirbuting to their overall development and wellbeing. PE can improve physical health, emotional well-being, social skills, and even academic performance for our SEND children. We adapt PE lessons to meet individual needs, making adjustments to activities, equipment, and the environment to ensure inclusivity for all.
Celebrating PE Success
Miss Carpenter, our PE Lead, works very hard to make sure our Gillas children can take part in competitive sports across the year.
Read what our School Games Organiser said about Gillas Lane:
You are a school that epitomises the ethos of school games and this is extremely evident in everything you do. It has been fantastic to see your involvement in many events and festivals as you strive to ensure that all children within your school are given those opportunities to have positive experiences within sport. You regularly engage with the Sunderland SGOs, with your pupils engagement, enjoyment and participation at the forefront of everything you do. Due to the amount of events and festivals you attend, this allows your children to enhance their physical literacy skills as they are able to participate in a range of different sporting activities that are often delivered by coaching professionals. Enhancing this further, it is clear to see that you provide a pathway after these events, to allow your children to be signposted to clubs/after school activities where they can participate further in sports they have enjoyed and practice skills they want to develop.
As a school, your extra curricular offer is thriving, which shows your development and co-creation of your offer with your young people. You have shaped this offer through student voice, providing equal opportunities for your students, with varied and engaging activities for your students.
It is clearly evident that - as a school - you pride yourselves in ensuring all children are getting active 60 minutes. This is no more evident than you being a gold opal school, allowing your children to learn and explore new and exciting equipment all whilst being active. The inclusion of teachers within their play also builds relationships and encourages all students to participate.
You have implemented a healthy, physical activity based ethos within your school where you track your pupils engagement in physical activity. There are many example of this with OPAL playtimes, brain breaks, JumpStartJonny etc as well as your daily travel offer to students. This, alongside a prevalent student voice, again demonstrates how you co-design an offer to suit your school to offer all students positive experiences within sport.
It is clearly evident that a pupil focused approach is at the heart of every decision at Gillas Lane with a Physical Education being a key part of this. A thriving PE and School Sports offer runs through the day to day with the inclusion of professional sports coaches ensuring children receive specialised PE lessons enhaving and honing in on skills and techniques.
A school that are should be proud of what they offer and their engagement with School Games. I am delighted to be able to award you a Platinum Level School Games Mark.
A HUGE well done to everyone involved at Gillas Lane Primary Academy!
Promoting Physical Wellbeing
A recent Sport England study found that less than half (47%) of children in the UK currently meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity a day
