Movement Skills

Since September, the P.E Department at Bloxham School has been running two schemas of work during the Autumn/Winter term. The first half of term focused on types of fitness (strength, endurance, speed etc.) and how to define, measure and improve them; this is an area which the children had already been exposed to whilst at the school. The second half of the term’s main focus then fell onto Movement Skills. This was uncharted territory for both the children and the majority of the P.E department; however, with a structured and professional schema of work put together by Louis Yates, we found it to be very enjoyable and successful.

The below table gives you a small example of what was focused on during the 6 week half term

 

Lesson number	Overview	Objective
1	Flexibility – Static & PNF	To educate and perform static and PNF stretching
2	Flexibility – Dynamic, Flexibility in games	Educate about dynamic flexibility, and try to apply into games
3	Stability skills - Balance	Pupils practice balance, learn how to improve and apply to sporting situations
4	Stability skills – Jumping and Landing	Pupils learn the correct and safe Jumping + landing technique. This incorporates leg strength training and the teaching of the triple extension and flexion of the ankle, knee and hip joint
5	Stability skills – Rotation	Pupils should understand the importance of being able to rotate in a controlled manner. Also links into power development and catching/throwing ability.
6	Uncommon positions (extended, Inverted, Brachiated)	Pupils learn to “get out of their chairs” these poses are the 3 uncommon poses and are not completed enough in day to day life. You don’t need to use all 3 as Brachiated is hard to do. Examples are – Inverted: headstand/partner handstand/handstand. Extended: hanging/dangling/seal rolls Brachiated: upside down from feet

Unstructured - structured

As the age groups ranged from 11-16 during this schema of work, it was important to keep the training vibrant and fun throughout. The younger age groups were centred on more of a discovery style method of learning; as we progressed up the age groups the learning and training became more structured, with sets, reps and recovery time adding focus. As you can imagine giving 11/12 year olds the opportunity to hang off monkey bars needs no volume control; given the opportunity they will play on these for hours.  For the older students, the ownership was on them to plan and complete the sessions from start to finish, with the teachers advising them and offering support throughout.

Pupil Feedback

The most satisfying aspect of this schema of work was the feedback gained from the pupils. Compared to just being taught to play games, this was a new and exciting style of learning for them, which meant they had to actively plan the sessions, perform them within small groups, and then review/evaluate the work they had just performed. They were able to see the relevance of what they were performing and how all of these movements are replicated in the sports they play. More importantly the students were able to come away from the lessons with exercises/movement patterns that they will hopefully perform throughout the year and especially before games/competitions

 

The above picture is an example of a twisting lesson, most likely from a year 10 or 11 session. The whiteboard, which is probably our most important tool in the gym, is covered with ideas and work put on by the pupils. Giving them ownership in this way provides the majority of the teaching material for the lesson, and ensures their involvement throughout the lesson is maintained.

 

Conclusion

Overall this schema of work has been a huge success, considering how new and different it is, both students and staff were very happy with the structure and depth of the material. I hope that we can continue schemas of work like this in the future, as it brings back Physical Education to its roots, which is to equip children with a set of movement skills so they stay fit, active and injury free throughout life. My thanks go to Louis Yates for putting the Schema of Work together and James Marshall for exposing myself and Louis to many of these ideas.