Comment on PE report

[ASpoolofBlueThread]

DS (year7) has just got his school report. It's a very good report and is "working beyond" in almost all areas.

However, he's been given "Limited Progress Towards" in PE. It's not a big surprise as DS has an IEP in relation to motor skills (gross and fine) and core strength.

What has annoyed me is the comment on the report. It says under development points
"Participate in competitive sports and extra curricular activities". Due to the motor skills issues there are exceedingly slim opportunities for competitive sports, in fact, I couldn't find suitable, competitive football provision at all locally. I also don't think competitive sports are a necessary part of physical education and it's a rather old fashioned attitude. He does participate in dodgeball outside of school as the dodgeball club is very inclusive. He also runs a bit, but doesn't enjoy it and other opportunities have been quite limited due to the pandemic.

I have a highly driven DS who is quite hard on himself and will be more disappointed by the low PE score than he will be pleased with his success across core GCSE subjects.

WIBU to flag this to the school or should I just let it go?

If it’s extra curricular so outside school. What the fuck has got to do with the teacher?

Not to make negative comments about children you can't even picture!
Its not a negative comment though is it?! All PE teachers want kids to do more sport, all English teachers want kids to read more books its just the way it is. You don't have to take any notice if you dont want to.

Yep. There's very little for PE teachers to say in reports! especially as they end up seeing hundreds of pupils and will barely know any of them!

It's a generic target picked out from a comment bank. So just use this as a teaching moment for your lad to learn not to read too much into that sort of report, and focus on the good stuff. It's not like the comment was critical, in fact. It was just a suggested target.

Not to make negative comments about children you can't even picture!

That comment really isn't negative!!

They probably have a bank of phrases they click on for targets…. Which in this case was used incorrectly!

I hated it when our school introduced lazy bank target phrases

The goal of physical education in school is to create a healthy population self-motivated to enjoy physical activity. A teacher who makes a comment like this for a kid who isn’t going to do well in competitive sports is missing the mark and possibly working against the main purpose by being discouraging. This is all too common with physical education classes. They are very much oriented towards the naturally sporty and generally do a horrible job of actually helping kids to find their fitness niche, instead demotivating the uncoordinated from participating at all. I would say something to the teacher.

I would also speak to your child about how the school is doing a poor job of provisioning the course and that it is important that he find something in his life he enjoys to stay fit and healthy as he ages so he should try some different options. Kids with motor difficulties often find more solo oriented sports a much more positive experience.

@Tippexy

How would he even know about the comment?

Reports are for parents, not children.

You're kidding, right?

I read every single one of my school reports when I was a kid. I suppose it may be different these days if they are emailed to parents, but I remember having to bring them home. Naturally, I read them first - I think that's pretty normal.

Now, parents' evenings - those were for parents, not children. Reports? Fair game.

I would have been disheartened by the PE comment.

How would he even know about the comment?

Reports are for parents, not children.

We give the kids 1 hour to read their reports before being sent home.

@Tlollj

If it’s extra curricular so outside school. What the fuck has got to do with the teacher?

Extra curricular doesn't mean outside school. It means outside the curriculum. So after school sports clubs and teams run by the school. And it's just a suggested target, which isn't enforceable or anything.

My DS got similar report, except his issue was not being able to do contact sports (not competitive). I waiting until parents evening and spoke to them then, it’s went in one ear and out the other. Old fashioned twaddle. If they are not good at football or rugby then they are not interested. My DS does lots of sports just not the ones the old stick PE teacher insisted on.

He is working beyond in most areas.

My ds has dysgraphia so English , art are a struggle. He doesn't particularly like this part of his report but it is acknowledging this part is a struggle for yoù to help him know pe isn't going to be his strongest subject.

So just ignore it then🤷‍♀️

Let it go. It could be nothing more than PE teachers suggesting he seeks "competitive" sports, meaning any activity with other kids , not necessarily strenuous , in teams etc. Just something like archery, golf, bowling , or swimming; more fun doing it with other kids his own age.

Don't give it a moment's though. I bet it was a cut and paste comment from an old report because when you're a PE teacher with 60+ kids to write reports for, you're not writing them all from scratch!

@Tippexy

How would he even know about the comment?

Reports are for parents, not children.

What a stupid comment @Tippexy. We were always given our reports to read and take home and the student should read it to see where they are doing well and where the teacher feels they need improvement.

@Cocopogo

My DS got similar report, except his issue was not being able to do contact sports (not competitive). I waiting until parents evening and spoke to them then, it’s went in one ear and out the other. Old fashioned twaddle. If they are not good at football or rugby then they are not interested. My DS does lots of sports just not the ones the old stick PE teacher insisted on.

Some PE teachers are a lot better than that.

My DD is not good at PE, and it used to be her least favourite subject. However this year (10) she has come home talking positively about just about every PE lesson - she's been enjoying the activities, mostly working in a group with her friends (but seemed to enjoy it even the odd time she wasn't). We saw the PE teacher at parents' evening, mainly to say how much she's enjoying it, and even before we said that he started talking about how much more confident she's become. He obviously does care about those who are not naturally sporty, and has worked to encourage them.

For me reports are for children, the parents are just interested parties, especially in secondary school!

On if competitive sport should be in the curriculum is a different question, most of the research does say competitive sport at all levels contributes, but like anything I'm sure there are some who it doesn't, and of course it's hard to manage competitive opportunities for some groups.

some events are self-competitive -- e.g., park run or geocaching. You're just improving on what you did before, don't have to care how others did.

I'd probably comment on it not being inclusive but then not worry too much if your DS is succeeding where it matters.

Plenty of children find PE difficult and there have been many threads about how it has put some off exercise for many years if not their lifetime.

How could the school encourage participation in individual sports, which are probably better, should be the question I think.