Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Our objective was to improve pupils’ attainment in PE by using core tasks throughout the school.

What did we do?

Our PE subject leader had trialled the use of video in gymnastics to measure pupils’ progress and help them evaluate their work, and we had already blocked units of work to encourage continuity and progression. However, some staff and pupils were still showing little enthusiasm for aspects of PE, especially gymnastics. Teachers followed a scheme of work, teaching skills without any real focus on the outcomes.

We released our PE subject leader from her class commitment for one afternoon a week so she could work alongside colleagues. She talked through plans and the core tasks and undertook some team teaching with individual teachers, working first with year 3 and 4 teachers, then with year 2 on games and finally with year 5 and 6 staff. This extra staffing meant that the pupils could be videoed during the lessons more easily.

One lesson each week was dedicated to teaching skills, with the follow-up lesson concentrating on a core task, evaluating progress in skills and taking the task further. We used specialist coaches for dance and for key stage 2 football. The year 3/4 team concentrated on gymnastics during the autumn term without the extra input of a specialist coach. They worked towards a display of pair work, which parents were invited to watch.

We videoed each group at the beginning of the unit, after three weeks and at the final stage. The pupils were fully involved in setting the success criteria. The success criteria were revisited every lesson and the video material encouraged the pupils to ask themselves what they needed to do to improve.

What difference did we make?

The year 2 pupils became much better at understanding rules and strategies after they saw themselves on video. They also improved their ability to make positive, constructive evaluations and began to use more specific language when describing their skills.

The pupils in years 3 and 4 buzzed with enthusiasm from the start. The focus of a performance at the end of the unit made them work hard. They used the video to evaluate their performances and to define how to improve a particular movement, or decide what to do next. More able pupils worked on extension activities and adaptations of the core task. This usually resulted in 25 per cent of each class rising to the challenge of incorporating variations. The enthusiasm shown by all 90 pupils was impressive, with even those who were less able in PE keen to participate. Whereas on average five or six pupils would previously shy away from participating fully in gymnastics lessons, all took part, and were rewarded by a full house of parents and friends to share their achievements.

Staff who continued to work with a coach in dance or football and followed up the skills with a core task found the experience of PE more enjoyable. They could see the benefits to the pupils of the new ways of working and were more confident about delivering PE. They reported that the football coaching had encouraged the quieter girls to participate with greater confidence and the dance coaching encouraged more boys to take part. A survey carried out by the subject leader was full of positive comments and experiences, both about teacher confidence and pupils’ achievements.

How did we collect information?

We collected information to show the success of this work by:

• monitoring short-term planning
• videoing pupils’ performances
• monitoring non-participation logs and reviewing attendance records for clubs and lunchtime activities
• taking part in moderation meetings with other schools
• reviewing year 5 optional test results and year 6 teacher assessments.