Priority 1: To provide a world leading health and physical education curriculum which instils physical literacy into the lives of all young people.

Priority 1:

To provide a world leading health and physical education curriculum which instils physical literacy into the lives of all young people.

‘Quality Physical Education is the basis for healthier, happier and more productive lives, and everything starts at school. It has the potential to accelerate COVID recovery efforts and help engineer an “new normal”. We need to improve the teaching of physical education, to nurture talent, but also to instill the values that are conveyed by sports.’ Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO 2021

Positive Physical Education experiences can help to create active and healthy habits for life. At New College Leicester, we are committed to providing high quality health and physical education. To achieve this, our students will have the opportunities to experience a curriculum that examines theoretical concepts which underpin what it means to be healthy and active. Development of physical literacy is the bedrock of a practical curriculum, building the foundations to enable our students to become competent and confdent performers and fnd enjoyment in activity.

The impact physical activity has on, not only health, but academic achievement has been well documented. Moreover, in recent years, through the work of Youth Sport Trust (YST) and My Personal Best programme, the impact of physical activity on character development has become apparent. In true alignment with YST fndings, New College Leicester’s “This is Us” ethos signposts and celebrates the college’s values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Resourcefulness. We believe that through the power of high-quality physical education, the young people at New College Leicester can develop a skills set to allow them to function and be successful in any environment.

We endeavour to ensure that every young person at our college has access to daily activity. With this in mind, an important aspect of our strategy is the number of extra-curricular activities on offer. We will continue our active membership of the Leicester City School Sports Partnership and access the competitive opportunities available through the School Games, which will afford our students the opportunities to represent their school, their community and to celebrate their success.

A recent report shows that the number of children and young people who are members of a sports team or sports club lags behind the number of those who proclaim to participate because they like sport (Class of 2035 report, 2015). Continuing to offer elements of provision which steer away from formalised competition is key, as the class of 2035 report also claims that 96% of young people state that enjoyment comes before winning prizes when following an activity regime. Moving forward, post Covid19 restrictions, we aim to develop an extra-curricular model which appeals to all students. This would meet the needs of young people, both for those geared towards participation for performance and those geared towards participation for enjoyment.

Aims:

a) To provide a curriculum to ensure all our students can experience confdence, competence and enjoyment in physical activity. b) To create a holistic core PE assessment framework of success measures. c) Secure provision to normalise a physical activity routine for all students beyond the school day.