Sample Physical Activity Policy
This is a sample policy for Primary and Secondary schools and has been drawn up in partnership with healthy schools, b-active, School Sport Partnership and Suzanne Meehan advisor for PE. There will be parts of the policy that are not appropriate to your particular school situation and therefore need to be deleted or adapted to best meet your needs. Please refer to the Physical Activity Policy template and Guidelines for more examples on the Healthy Schools website www.healthyschools.gov.uk.
Rationale
Regular Physical Activity can improve quality of life, improve health, promote social inclusion, raise individual self-esteem and confidence and counter anti-social behaviour. Schools play a key role in promoting active lifestyles to young people through developing their attitudes, knowledge, confidence and competence to help encourage a lifelong commitment to Physical Activity.
Derby City partnership has a target to increase children and young people’s Physical Activity levels by 13.5 % by 2009 and then an increase of 4 % per year by 2011. Therefore this policy promotes practices within schools to reinforce our vision, and to remove or discourage practices that negate them.
Background information
Name of School: Any School
Date policy formally approved: 1st September 2008
Date of next review: 1st July 2009
Person responsible for drafting the policy: Mrs J Jones
Who was consulted in drafting this policy: Children, young people, all staff, parents/ carers, governors.
Person responsible for implementing and monitoring this policy: Mrs J Jones
Relevance to other school requirements/targets:
OFSTED self evaluation criteria: 2a 2b 4a 4b 4d
Every Child Matters: being healthy; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution
PESSYP Strategy PSA target: 2 hours high quality PE and School Sport +
In addition to at least two hours per week of high quality PE and sport in school for all 5-16 year olds, all children aged 5-19 will be offered opportunities to participate in a further three hours per week of sporting activities provided through schools, FE colleges, clubs and community providers.
School Travel Plan in place by 2010.
Relevance to other related school policies/strategies:
§ School Development Plan
§ Physical Education Policy
§ Healthy Eating Policy
§ PSHE Policy
§ Health and Safety Policy
§ School Travel Plan
§ Teaching and Learning Policy
Resource provision and facilities
The annual budget for Physical Activity is £1000. Additional equipment is also purchased using voucher schemes offered by commercial companies. The Head of PE is responsible for overseeing this budget.
Some additional resource is available via activities and developments offered by the School Sport Partnership.
Facilities available for Physical Activity include:
Onsite: sports hall, two all-weather hard courts, floodlit Astroturf pitch, playing fields.
Offsite: swimming pool, climbing wall, orienteering course, dance studio.
Staff co-ordination and development
Responsibilities:
Physical Education: Mrs J Jones
Out-of-School-Hours Learning: Mr S Smith
Community links: Ms R Rich
Active Travel: Mr B Broad
§ All staff/ASLs involved in promoting, supporting or leading Physical Activity are provided with regular opportunities for continuing professional development and are given a leaflet outlining the school’s ethos regarding Physical Activity.
§ All Adults Supporting Learners (ASLs) involved in out of school hours provision have appropriate training/qualifications and have undergone a CRB check.
Aim(s)
§ To increase the Physical Activity levels and wellbeing of the whole school community by developing a supportive environment conducive to the promotion of Physical Activity.
§ To develop an understanding of the importance of regular Physical Activity amongst the whole school community for maintaining a healthy life.
Objectives
§ To ensure that all children and young people have the opportunity to develop the confidence, competence and enthusiasm to participate in Physical Activity for at least an hour each day as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer (Department for Health) and to establish and maintain an interest in regular Physical Activity.
§ To improve children, young people, parent/carer and staff knowledge, understanding, experience of and attitudes towards participation in Physical Activity.
§ To provide a wide range of quality Physical Activity opportunities both within and outside the curriculum for children, young people, staff and parents/carers and enable children to participate in at least two hours of high quality PE and School Sport each week.
§ To ensure that Physical Activity provision in the school reflects the cultural, personal, social and medical needs of all children and young people.
How our objectives are delivered
Ethos and environment
§ All those leading Physical Activity sessions adopt a caring and supportive approach and have a commitment to every child.
§ The school identifies children and young people who do not participate regularly in Physical Activity and those who need extra support to participate, and implements strategies to encourage and support them to be more active.
§ Facilities are improved and developed to promote increased participation in Physical Activity in consultation with children, young people, staff and parents/carers.
§ We have adopted a whole school approach through working towards/achieving Healthy School Status and are currently working towards the b-active Enhancement.
§ The participation of children and young people in Physical Activity is recognised and celebrated through presentations in assemblies, information on noticeboards and in newsletters.
See Special Educational Needs policies in the PE Policy and School handbook for more information.
Curriculum
§ The school is providing at least two hours curricular physical education for all year groups.
§ The PE programme is broad and balanced, complies with statutory requirements and is accessible to and meets the needs and interests of all children and young people.
§ All staff look for opportunities to plan active lessons where possible and appropriate. The School uses short bursts of Physical Activity to break up learning using resources such as ‘Take 10’ and ‘Activate to Concentrate’.
§ All children and young people learn how active they should be, and activity levels are regularly monitored.
§ Healthy Lifestyles Themed Day/Week.
Specific time is allocated each school year to focus on promoting healthy lifestyles, which includes physical activity taster activities where children can try new activities not currently offered by school. Links are made to healthy eating, risk taking and drugs, road safety and first aid. Parents, staff and local community resources, such as the b-active team are involved in activities during this week.
See PE Policy for additional detail on curricular provision.
Out-of-School-Hours Learning (OSHL)
§ All children and young people are provided with opportunities to be physically active through out-of-hours activities via a wide range of activities including both individual and team/group, non-competitive and competitive.
§ The emphasis is on participation and enjoyment and the opportunities are open to all children and young people, regardless of ability.
§ Physical Activity is promoted before school, during breaks, lunch-times and after school.
§ Specific events are organised throughout the year that promote Physical Activity and raise its profile across the whole school community.
Staff will make every effort not to deny a student's participation in break time or other physical activity as a form of discipline or punishment. There maybe exceptional circumstances where this is not possible.
See Appendix 1 for the range of activities offered.
Community Links
§ The school links with School Sport Co-ordinators and the b-active development team and other relevant individuals and organisations in the community, to utilise the available expertise and enhance the quality and range of provision.
§ Children and young people are made aware of Physical Activity opportunities beyond school through a variety of means.
Active travel
The school has a travel plan that has developed safer routes to school and encourages active methods of travelling. There is a traffic free zone outside school at critical hours. There is secure cycle storage, cycle safety and maintenance courses offered by the school.
Kite Marks
This school works hard to achieve recognised status for physical activity and school sport, for example; Activemark. These awards will be determined by the data gathered through the annual PESSYP data collection rather than an application process.
Consultation
§ Children, young people, staff and parents/carers are consulted and involved in decisions about the range and type of Physical Activity opportunities offered.
§ Consultation takes place through the School Council, staff meetings, a short questionnaire at the end of each year and a ‘suggestion’ box placed in the entrance hall.
§ The school takes steps to remove barriers to participation identified by consulting with children and young people and, where possible, involves them in these developments.
Involving staff and parents/carers
Staff opportunities
§ There are planned, established, and implemented activities to promote physical activity among staff and provide opportunities for staff to engage in regular physical activity. Activities involve badminton, yoga and staff walks. Staff are made aware of sporting opportunities provided by the local council. Also, staff often participate in and support sponsored events such as the ‘Race for Life’ to raise money for charities.
§ There is an annual focus on Staff wellbeing through a planned programme of activities which are ongoing throughout the year as well as one specific wellbeing focus week each year. Staff offer activities and external agencies are invited into school during that week.
Involvement with Parents/Carers
§ Family members and other adult volunteers are encouraged to become involved with school activities. All volunteers receive an induction about relevant school policies, procedures, and standards of conduct and will be subject to background and reference checks.
§ Parents are invited to a Healthy Schools Parent Roadshow to inform them not only about physical activity within the schools but wider holistic health messages.
§ An information leaflet is sent out to parents/carers highlighting the benefits of Physical Activity for their children, the ethos of the school and the opportunities available at the start of each year.
§ This school actively involves parents in physical activity to gain their support and encouragement, which is essential if pupils are to participate in physical activity outside of school.
Parents are encouraged to play their part in teaching their child to swim by helping them to develop water confidence and swimming skills at an early age. Children can then build on this learning during school swimming sessions. Parents are also encouraged to consider additional swimming development activity such as the Council’s ‘Learn to Swim Scheme’.
§ The school’s activity facilities are made available for staff and parents/carers to use before school and during late afternoon/evening and a range of clubs have been established.
Safety
§ The school is committed to safe and effective exercise procedures and these are clearly stated within the PE Policy and the Health and Safety Policy.
Monitoring and evaluation
The curriculum and out of school hours learning programmes are monitored on an ongoing basis through a formal assessment process plus teacher/pupil and parent self-evaluation and reviewed annually.
Aspects that are monitored include:
§ children, young people, staff and parents/carers’ knowledge of and attitude towards Physical Activity
§ progress/attainment in Physical Activity for children and young people
§ the range of Physical Activity opportunities offered to children, young people, staff and parents/carers and the levels of participation
§ the percentage of children and young people participating in two hours per week of high quality PE or school sport within the curriculum and towards a further three hours beyond the curriculum
§ the number of links to clubs/activities within the community and the participation of children and young people in these
§ the number of children and young people walking or cycling from/to home
§ the number of children and young people who achieve an hour of Physical Activity each day
§ the number of professional development courses attended by staff/activity leaders
§ how and when children, young people, staff and parents/carers have been consulted.
The methods of evaluation include:
§ assessing the achievements of children and young people
§ reviewing schemes of work
§ reviewing programmes of activities
§ reviewing registers for activities
§ children, young people and staff discussions
§ minutes of School Council meetings
§ questionnaires
§ annual participation awards
§ annual PESSYP survey
§ annual school travel survey.
Key Development targets
Give examples: