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New Lesson Support Cards

3 October 2018

26/09/18

The Association for Physical Education (afPE) and Fitmedia have joined forces to create a bespoke resource to help support the teaching of physical competence in primary schools.

Together they have developed Lesson Support Cards, showing primary school teachers how to easily teach fundamental movement skills.

The cards enable teachers, irrespective of their background in physical education (PE), to teach and improve the basic building blocks of physical activity, such as throwing, catching, running and jumping.

The lesson support cards will be launched today (National Fitness day) at one of afPE’s Quality Mark schools: Prior Weston Primary School & Children’s Centre in Islington.

Sheila Forster MA, MD of Fitmedia, said:

We are delighted to have collaborated with afPE to produce this great resource for primary schools. Without fundamental movement skills, children struggle to take part in any kind of physical activity, and watching children struggle to do simple things like catch a ball made us realise how physical literacy is declining among children. Effective teaching is at the heart of inspiration, and we are delighted to play a part in inspiring the next generation to greater levels of activity, participation and enjoyment.

Sue Wilkinson MBE, CEO of afPE, said:

We believe that high quality teaching is what inspires children and young people to learn. Teachers with excellent knowledge and understanding will drive standards to improve attainment. From our experience of designing and development of  teachers’ and the wider workforce materials, we know that there is a significant impact on pupil outcomes. By developing teachers’ skills in areas such as ‘improving physical competence’ we will see greater progress, through more confident pupils who will also continue to achieve their maximum potential.

Research has shown that physical literacy is declining in the UK, with some pupils starting secondary school without even knowing how to catch or throw. A survey by Virgin Active found that nearly half of primary school pupils are leaving school without the basic movement skills to engage in physical activity, whilst a third leave unable to swim.

The vast majority of teachers recognise PE is as important as the other subjects they teach. And studies from Britain, Europe and the US have shown that improving core skills can impact positively on academic achievement.

However, teachers often feel they do not have the experience to teach PE effectively. The Virgin Active survey found that a third of teachers lack confidence when it comes to teaching PE, while over a quarter said they don’t feel adequately qualified to teach the subject and more than half want more professional development opportunities for PE.

And with many primary schools lacking the resources for a PE specialist, it is difficult for head teachers to know what quality and effective PE looks like.

New Lesson Cards!

The brand new lesson cards from afPE and Fitmedia are a simple and practical way for educators to deliver effective PE to their pupils. They contain 11 lessons, each focussed on a different fundamental movement skill, such as catching, throwing, jumping or running. Each card shows how to teach that skill and activities to practice it.

The cards are handy and easy to use, and are specifically designed for Key Stage 1 children, whether they are learning the skills for the first time or consolidating previously learned skills. They can also be used with older children, to reinforce their existing learning or as warm up activities before games.

Click HERE for more information and to order the resource or visit www.afpe.org.uk

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