P.E/Corpoideachas
PHYSICAL EDUCATION POLICY
Physical education provides unique opportunities for children to move with ease and confidence as they enjoy actions such as running, twisting, turning, chasing, striking, floating, catching and balancing. They are encouraged to respond to challenges to the mind and body, to participate, to compete and co-operate with others. It can teach children to relate to and communicate with others and to develop self-esteem and confidence. Children are encouraged to develop initiative and leadership and to acquire positive attitudes towards physical activity. They are helped to make informed decisions about a healthy life style. As part of our review process, and our application for the Active School flag, we will hold an Active School Week every year. This will incorporate activity every day – both inside and outside; visiting coaches from the local, and wider communities; an activity that is inclusive of the whole school as a unit, eg, a school walk/sports day; and Active Homework every day.
AIMS OF OUR PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME.
- To promote physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of the child
- To develop positive personal qualities
- To help in the acquisition of an appropriate range of movement skills in a variety of contexts
- To promote understanding and knowledge of the various aspects of movement
- To develop an appreciation of movement and the use of the body as an instrument of expression and creativity
- To promote enjoyment of, and positive attitudes towards, physical activity and its contribution to lifelong health-related fitness, thus preparing the child for the active and purposeful use of leisure time.
- That children will come to appreciate safety aspects in physical activity
BROAD OBJECTIVES
SOCIAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The physical education curriculum should enable the child to:
- Experience enjoyment and achievement through movement
- Interact and co-operate sensitively with others
- Develop qualities of self-esteem, self-awareness, confidence, initiative and leadership through movement
- Develop an understanding of fair play and team spirit through participation and competition
- Develop positive attitudes towards participation in movement activities
- Experience adventure and challenge.
PHYSICAL AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
- Develop strength, speed, endurance and flexibility through engaging in a wide variety of activities.
- Develop agility, alertness, control, balance and co-ordination through movement
- Develop personal competence in the athletic skills of running, jumping and throwing
- Perform dances with confidence and competence
- Develop personal competence in a range of gymnastic movements
- Develop personal competence in the games skills of sending, receiving, and travelling using a variety of equipment, and to apply these skills in a variety of games situations
- Build water confidence near, in, on and under water
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
- Develop understanding and general knowledge of movement activities and derive benefit as a participant and as spectator
- Develop an understanding of travel and weight bearing as the basis of efficient body management and control
- Experience and develop an understanding of the use of space, speed, effort, direction and level in the performance of actions
- Be inventive, make decisions, solve problems and develop autonomy through movement activities
CREATIVE AND AESTHETIC DEVELOPMENT
- Create and play simple games
- Use the body as a means of expression and communication using a range and variety of stimuli
DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH RELATED FITNESS
- Maintain and enhance health related fitness through vigorous physical activity that helps promote a healthy life style
- Understand and practice good hygiene and posture
- Appreciate the benefits of relaxation and cope with challenges
DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY
Adopt safe practices in all physical activities. Emphasise and ensure a proper warm up to every session. Make sure the area to be used is safe and secure;eg, goalposts to be pegged down; basketball posts to be padded for safety; emphasise the appropriate and safe use of all equipment; wearing protective equipment where necessary, eg hurling helmets, cycling helmets, etc. Any defective equipment is to be discarded and replaced, not “made do with.”
CURRICULUM CONTENT
The curriculum is divided into 6 strands
- Athletics
- Dance
- Gymnastics
- Games
- Outdoor and adventure activities
- Aquatics
ATHLETICS
This strand provides a variety of opportunities to engage in the natural activities of running, jumping and throwing. The child needs to learn to associate these activities with enjoyment and fun. Running activities can be devised to encourage children to run and to accept challenges to their personal performances by running faster or over longer distances. Throwing activities can experiment with objects of different sizes, weights and over different distances. Jumping activities can involve developing techniques for height and distance. Special emphasis will be placed on the ABCs of movement; Agility, Balance, Co-ordination and Speed
DANCE
The dance strand is closely linked to many subjects in the curriculum particularly to music and drama through movement and exploration. All classes both formally, as part of the P.E. curriculum and informally as a wet day activity, enjoy every aspect of dance through GoNoodle. This programme channels classroom energy with short interactive dance sessions. Desk-side activities help children achieve more by keeping them engaged and motivated throughout the day. Dance genres include guided dance like hip-hop and disco, free movement and stretching. The school also participates in The Peace Proms or Hallelujah Concert which provides a platform for children to learn and perform dance moves on a stage. Irish dance will be taught to all the classes by Mr. Flanagan for a block of 6 weeks every year. The class teacher will take Mr. Flanagan’s class while he has theirs. Dance will, where possible, be incorporated into Christmas concerts, and other “exhibitions”. Different types of dance could include, jive, Irish, free movement, hand movements, line dancing, the Macarena.
GYMNASTICS
This strand is closely linked to dance, vis-à-vis the creative use of space and movement, allied with timing and rhythm. Children can be helped to enjoy and appreciate gymnastics while realising individual potential and limitations. Gymnastic movements that will form part of the repertoire could include; forward rolls, backward rolls, assisted hand-stands.
GAMES
This strand is concerned with the development of skills, the creation and playing of games and the understanding of games. Mini-games are modified to suit the environment and the students’ abilities. The emphasis will be on participation and enjoyment rather than winning. As proficiency develops, children can be further challenged by increasing difficulty levels and/or restrictions/conditions. A balanced programme of games of various types will be encouraged and implemented throughout the school, relative to the classes and their abilities. These will include, among others; Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, soccer, rounders, Olympic handball, kick rounders, tag/touch rugby, basketball, volleyball.
OUTSIDE COACHES:
Our school benefits from the knowledge and expertise of outside coaches coming in to help coach different sports’ skills and games. The local GAA club, Oran, and the Roscommon County board, part fund the coaches; in football, our current coach is Mr. Cillian Egan, while in hurling Proinsias Killian comes. Both these coaches take boys and girls out, as per our Equality of Access and Participation policy. They come in 10 week blocks twice a year, and at various times they take out the children from 1st class up to 6th.
Our soccer coaches are part of the Roscommon and District Soccer League FÁS scheme, and they also come for 10 week blocks, again coaching children from 1st to 6th class, both boys and girls. We also benefit from visits from Mr. Adrian Carberry, FAI Development Officer for Roscommon. As part of our Active School Week these coaches will be utilized wherever and with as many children as possible.
A retired principal Mrs. Peggy Cheevers, will be invited to the school to promote the Gaelic Game of Rounders.
We will invite coaches from Roscommon Handball Club out to the school for a session/sessions during Active School Week.
Roscommon Sports Partnership provide the facility for Safer Cycling Initiative. They visit the school and conduct theory-based and practical cycling workshops as well as basic bike safety and maintenance.
All outside coaches are expected to be garda vetted by their governing body and are made aware of our Child Protection Guidelines. They are given a copy of our policy in this regard.
OUTDOOR AND ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES.
This strand of the curriculum will be of a simple nature, with basic obstacle courses and orienteering, including map reading skills the order of the day. Also, school tours could be organised to incorporate adventure centres for fun, and further experience and learning. Some options could include; the Birr Outdoor Education Centre, with outreach activities at Portumna. Activities include kayaking, hill walking, rock climbing, pier jumping, orienteering and co-operative games.
AQUATICS
The school organizes swimming classes for the children in classes 1st to 4th in the school, every year. This helps to ensure that all children who go through the school have 4 years of where they attend formal swimming lessons, generally over a 7 week period. Water Safety is covered in all classes as part of the S.P.H.E. curriculum.
At all times, the physical education policy of this school will be to encourage equal participation among both girls and boys, with enjoyment also high on the list of priorities. The IDEAL principle will be generally adhered to
I -Introduce the activity and the rationale behind it
D -Demonstrate the activity
E -Explain any further clarification needed
A -Action, get into the Activity as quickly as possible
L – Look and learn, observe the children and affirm and reinforce their efforts and successes
As mentioned before, safety will also be a primary concern.
CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS
When planning a programme of work for the class, consideration is given to the learning needs of the children and to the different abilities of the children. A child with special needs may be time-tabled for extra physical activities, following a programme recommended by an O.T. or Physio. This programme would be implemented by a Resource Teacher, or under the direction of the class teacher with the help of the SNA. Every effort will be made to provide equipment for children with special needs.
RESOURCES TO BE USED:
Footballs, hurls, basketballs, sliothars, bean bags, cones, poles, bibs, tennis balls, agility ropes, parachute, hurdles, hoppers, skipping ropes, videos and DVDs about games and sports, healthy living, health promotion, eg anti-smoking. Goalposts, pop-up goals, music CDs.
INTEGRATION
Physical Education lends itself to integration with a number of subjects, e.g. Gaeilge, for giving directions and orders; Maths for computation skills involved in races and drills, Geography skills in orienteering, S.P.H.E. for safety, Music in dance
ASSESSMENT
The primary method of assessment will teacher observation, to determine the level of skill acquisition and proficiency. While Physical Education will be very much a subject to be enjoyed, there will by necessity need to be a success criteria upon which to judge the effectiveness and efficiency of the teaching and learning.
REVIEW AND EVALUATION
All teachers will implement this programme by December 2015. We aim to have our plan constantly updated and reviewed as the need arises.