Physical Education Department Who we are What we do Where we’re going
This document The idea of this document is to provide you with the opportunity to find out about all that we do, what we stand for and where our department is headed. The document is designed in such a way as to inform you about the P.E. team but also to be a living document used by the team members in delivering our vision.
1. Who we are We are a compact department with a wealth of experience Meet the team; Alan Rogers Bsc (hons) PGCE A teacher of 8 years, Alan was previously a 2nd in department for 4 years before joining Duchess’s High School as Head of PE in September 2010. Alan has an active interest in all things sport and PE. He plays rugby for Tynedale RFC and spends a lot of time learning about training and fitness. Alan has ambitions to lead the department towards the delivery of an outstanding PE experience for all students. Lv 2 Rugby Union Lv 1 Basketball Lv 1 volleyball, cricket, track and field athletics Sport Leader UK tutor RFU Referee
Stuart Harrop Ba (hons) Human Movement Sport and Recreation PGCE Stuart has been teaching for 21 years, 19 years spent as a teacher of PE at DCHS Lv 2 Rugby Union, badminton, weight training Lv 1 basketball, volleyball, rugby league, cricket, track and field athletics Sport leader UK tutor RFU Referee
2. What we do We believe that we provide an effective overall PE experience but recognise that there is a lot of work still to be done in providing an outstanding experience for all. Each new intake of student requires a fresh look at what we do. We follow the National Curriculum programme of study for our year 9 students providing a broad range of traditional PE and Games activities over 2 50min periods. Our primary aim for year 9 PE is to engage all of our learners in a challenging yet accessible environment, bringing together the different experiences of the students from their middle schools. In year 10, our students have the option of following Btec Sport which is a 2 year level 2 course. All students still receive ‘core’ PE over 2 50min periods where the primary aim is to develop knowledge and understanding of health and fitness and improve depth of understanding around selecting and applying skills. In year 11, Btec Sport students continue to work towards their qualification with assessments being made in Practical Sport and Anatomy and Physiology. Core PE students experience only 1 50min period and we therefore have to work hard in order to provide a well rounded delivery. The primary aim for our year 11 students is to develop their capacity to evaluate and improve their own performance and make informed choices about their healthy active lifestyles. We provide year 12 students with the popular AS PE option. This course is a difficult AS level that looks at Anatomy and Physiology, Acquiring and Developing Movement Skills and Socio-Cultural Studies as well as students being assessed as a performer within 2 sports. Natural progression for the subject is for our students to study A2 level PE where we deliver Exercise Physiology, Psychology of Sports Performance and Comparative Studies and the students need to be assessed as a performer in 1 sport. Students have many opportunities to take part in competitive and non competitive extra curricular sport and it is a focus of ours to evolve this process to meet the changing needs of the students. We support the University of Northumbria Initial Teacher Training course, using our wealth of experience to support trainee teachers through the school centred degree.
3. Where we are and where we are going The end of year department survey revealed the following statistics about our students. At KS3&4 - 53% of students took part in extra curricular sporting activities - 57% of students took part in some for of community sporting activity - 77% of students took part in at least 3hours of Sport and PE in a normal week - 43% of students took part in competitive sporting activities against other schools - 37% of students took part in competitive sporting activities against other students within this school - 22% of students represented the area or county for one or more sports Overall, the statistics are pleasing, but also provide us with a great base from which to build in the coming year. We aim to increase the number of students taking part in extra curricular activities to 60% through providing a more diverse activity program including more non competitive options and better use of lunch times. Dance, table tennis, badminton and basketball were identified by students as areas of interest. We feel it is important to provide greater opportunity within school to take part with and against fellow students. We have therefore set a target of 50% for the coming year through redesigning the house sport system. At KS5 -
43% of students took part in extra curricular sporting activities 30% of students took part in some for of community sporting activity 58% of students took part in at least 3hours of Sport and PE in a normal week 28% of students took part in competitive sporting activities against other schools 20% of students took part in competitive sporting activities against other students within this school 24% of students represented the area or county for one or more sports
There is a general feeling that our 6th form students do not receive the same opportunities to take part in structured PE and sport as their lower school counterparts. We aim to increase provision for 6th form students in the coming year by timetabling fitness, team games, dance and indoor activities into lunch and recreational time. As well as this, funding for exclusive equipment has been established with the aim of making the activities more appealing. The degree to which the percentages can change are restricted by our facilities and staff, but we recognise that we could still probably do more with what we have.
The following data represents how our examination classes performed in their summer exams. GCSE A* A B C D E F G
4 4 10 18 9 11 2 1
table 1
Females Males Total
table 2
21 38 59
Table 1 represents the raw data of our GCSE groups; table 2 represents the split of males and females within the cohort. The grade is a combination of the students’ practical ability and their application of theory knowledge in a written exam. Although there were 3 teaching groups in year 11, all of the boys were taught by SH and all of the girls were taught by EDD OVERALL
%A*-G %A*-C
100 61
GIRLS
%A*-G %A*-C
100 57
BOYS
%A*-G %A*-C
100 63
Table 3
The data in table 3 shows the overall and gender splits for % of students achieving grades within the subject. The A*-C figure of 61% is below the national average of 71% (http://www.bstubbs.co.uk/gcse.htm ). Our aim for a full cohort following GCSE PE is to achieve 75% A*-C as our students are very capable as practical performers and should therefore be able to gain a large proportion of their overall grade from this area. The boys historically out perform the girls in the practical element whereas the girls out perform the boys in the theory element – this was the case once again this year. It is apparent from the raw data for our students, that the UMS scores for the practical element was adjusted down across the board this year. This had a significant effect upon our results, especially for the girls’ statistics where predicted grades were not as accurate as hoped.
% students above MEG
24
% students equal to MEG % students below MEG Table 4
17 59
Data in table 4 clearly demonstrates that ‘most’ of our students failed to reach their minimum expected grade. As mentioned earlier, part of the reason for this lies with the adjusting of practical grades. However, it has been identified by the team that tracking of our pupils at GCSE has not been as effective or well managed as it could have been. Inconsistencies of content delivery and an apparent lack of overall structure to some of the theory content has contributed to our underperforming students being let down at stages throughout the 2 year course. An issue that should not go without discussion here is the suitability of GCSE as an option for some of the students. History would suggest that many (successful) students choose GCSE PE as a result of their love for the sport and a genuine interest in sport science. These students will generally be performing at school, area or county level at one or more sports. Some students choose GCSE PE because they enjoy playing sport – it is our belief that with the structure of the course, such students should be able to access a ‘c’ grade. Some students however, make an ill informed choice, believing that GCSE is an easy option that does not require as much work as other subjects – these pupils are very hard to motivate within the subject as ultimately under perform. As there is currently no GCSE cohort for this year, it is difficult to suggest how we intend to improve on some of these issues. We have however, been forced to look at the pathways available to our students and plan to offer a number of courses at a range of levels in the coming years (providing an outstanding PE experience for all). DZIADOSZ Stuart HEDLEY Calum REVIS Christos TAYLOR Jordan Table 5
P A A A
B D D D
E E F F
Table 5 represents the students from the GCSE PE cohort who were on school action or action plus. The yellow column is the students’ MEG and the right hand column is their actual grade. The practical scores for these students was affected heavily by poor attendance and lack of preparation for the lessons (not bringing PE kit). The students concerned were a regular feature of department meetings when discussing ‘problem students’ but on reflection, I don’t feel that their particular needs were sufficiently addressed and this was perhaps an oversight on HOD behalf to not challenge their performance with teaching staff throughout the year.
AS Level
A B C D E U
1 6 table 6 2 1 Female 3 s 11 Males Total
6 18 24
Table 6 is the raw data for grades achieved by our AS PE students The AS cohort was taught in 2 groups with 3 staff teaching the different topic areas. 30% of the course is made up of performing and evaluating performance within sport and 70% written theory exam. Following the practical moderation, our students had their scores adjusted down by 4 due to an inconsistency of marking the EPIP component. OVERALL
%A-E %A-C
54 38
GIRLS
%A-E %A-C
83 66
BOYS
%A-E %A-C
44 27
Table 7
For 9 of the 24 students, PE was their highest or equal to their highest grade achieved. We are however very disappointed with the overall % of students who failed and believe that lessons learned from this year should help to shape the whole option pathway for our students in PE. A major reason for the 11 failing students stems from the appropriateness of the course for the students making option choices. Of the 11 students, 5 students had not studied PE to GCSE and 5 students failed to score over 55% in their theory paper at GCSE. 9 of the students got 1 or more U’s in other areas of study. Only 20% of our cohort achieved a grade equal to or better than their MEG. This has caused us to look at how we teach, track and monitor the learning of our students and for the coming year have introduced a number of strategies aimed at improving this aspect. A number of exam scripts have been ordered to help us ascertain where our students lost marks.
A2 PE A* A B C D E
1 0 1 6 2 3
table 8 Female s Males Total
2 11 13
Table 8 shows the raw data for grades achieved by our students at A2 level The course comprises of 3 theory areas, 1 practical performance and 1 oral evaluation of performance.
OVERALL
%A*-E %A*-C
100 62
GIRLS
%A*-E %A*-C
100 50
BOYS
%A*-E %A*-C
100 54
Table 9
We are pleased to have achieved a 100% pass rate at A2 which is above the national average of 96%. The figure of 62% A*-C is in line with national average. For 7 of our 13 students, their A2 PE grade is their highest or equal highest grade. Many strategies were introduced for students identified as underachieving, but not all of them took the opportunities on offer to improve their grades. We have identified that improved communication with parents and DOL for such students may help in the coming years. The organisation of the timetabled lessons has been changed for the coming year in order to provide students with a greater opportunity to develop specific exam practice in the 20 mark questions.