PE at Hadrian Academy 

Achieving Excellence Together in PE

Here at Hadrian Academy, we fully adhere to the aims of the National Curriculum and are committed to providing a high-quality physical education curriculum for all our pupils. Our PE curriculum, based on Complete PE units of learning,  aims to nurture excellence and to encourage pupils to strive for their best and enjoy learning. It inspires our pupils to succeed and excel in a variety of ways, from improving knowledge in PE to representing the school in competitive sport and sport festivals, while also helping them embed the school values of resilience and ambition  They have the opportunity to develop their skills and enjoyment, and to become physically confident in a way that supports both their physical health and their well-being. This will help equip and encourage them to make healthy lifestyle choices beyond their primary education.

Implementation

At Hadrian, PE is delivered with the pupils’ development and enjoyment at its core. We adopt a knowledge-and-skills approach to delivering our PE curriculum. In the Early Years and Foundation Stage (EYFS), pupils in Reception are provided with an unlimited opportunity for outdoor play experiences and 90 minutes of directed PE, respectively. In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils receive 2 hours of high-quality PE lessons every week. Experienced practitioners and class teachers deliver these sessions to ensure that all pupils acquire the knowledge and skills needed to progress their learning. This enables our pupils to develop a sense of achievement, enjoyment, and a passion for PE, sport, health, and fitness.

Our PE curriculum map outlines the focus for each year group to be covered each term. We use Complete PE weekly lesson plans that detail the knowledge and skills to be taught during each session. These plans reflect age-related expectations, the progression within a session and across the unit. This ensures that the appropriate skills are covered and developed throughout the year and across the key stages.

In a typical PE lesson, our pupils are provided with time to:
• review and consolidate previous knowledge
• discuss objectives, key vocabulary and success criteria
• identify and develop (build on) their PE knowledge and key skills
• take part in independent and collaborative activities and performances
• self-evaluate and review their learning and that of others

Throughout the school year, the whole school takes part in a Healthy Eating, Fitness Week & Healthy Travel (Walking Bus) competition, where our pupils have the opportunity to experience a range of sporting activities, take part in healthy eating workshops, and link their learning in a variety of ways across other subjects, e.g. Science and PSHE.

Our pupils are also provided with many off-site and out-of-school opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and cultural capital. This is done through:
• Annual Sports Day
• Intra-School competitions
• Inter-school competitions (twice weekly)
• Sports festivals
• Sportshall competitions
• Multi-skills competitions
• Nutritional talks and workshops
• Early morning and after-school sports clubs
• Sporting Trips to local and national professional sporting events 

Impact

PE lays a foundation for lifelong learning and an active, healthy lifestyle. A high-quality and broad physical education curriculum inspires all children to succeed or excel in sport and other physically demanding activities. Children make secure links across the skills to help them learn more, know more and remember more. 

During PE lessons, pupils are observed and assessed by the PE Teachers to track how they are accessing the learning to ensure all pupils make progress. This helps to inform next steps for individual pupils and the planning of subsequent lessons.

All sports fixtures and competition winners and entrants, including those during the school’s annual sports day, are celebrated during whole school assemblies, the school website and our weekly newsletter. 

Physical Activities

As well as the PE curriculum, we ensure that our children can access a variety of physical activities. This includes activities such as enrichment experiences from outside providers and lunchtime activities organised by a play leader. 

During playtime, children can use a variety of equipment and join in games with their friends. They can also use the exercise stations located around the track.  

Every Friday at 8:30 am, our Year 6 sports leaders run a ‘Walk the mile’ session. Our children enjoy challenging themselves to see who can complete the most laps!

New for 2025-26!

This year has seen the addition of Drumba to both PE lesson and to use as a health and well-being strategy in class. Our Cook Kids Club before and after school use it regularly - and even our teachers use it to increase their fitness and well-being!  

Our school also now has a full set of orienteering signs around our grounds to use alongside  Commando Joe’s curriculum resources: we believe in the power of linking physical activity to successful learning and each year group is encouraged to build in orienteering tasks using these signs to engage our active children and to Achieve Excellence Together!