To think 'jumping' is a bit naff for a year 2 PE lesson

[orangechairs]

My DD had PE today. She's 6 and in year 2. Her PE lesson was jumping. Doing a quarter turn, half a turn and a full turn jump. Then they jumped in pairs. She said that's all they did for the full PE lesson. They did some jumping to music, but mostly the teacher telling them what jump to do. Some on their own and some in pairs.

I asked one of the other parents and her child also said the same, so I think it's correct. I also think it's pretty reflective of their general PE lessons. (My 4 year old says they just run around outside during his PE lesson, which is what they basically do most of the time in reception anyway).

Is this what a year 2 PE lesson is? It just seems a bit basic to me. I thought they'd be learning how to play a sport in year 2, or inside doing some more movement type classes. I remember at infant school we climbed up the walls, ran along benches, climbed ropes and jumped over the vault in PE lessons, like a mini obstacle course. Or we were learning actual sports.

Please help me and share what your year 2 child does in a PE lesson!

This is state school BTW. But I am interested to hear what all year 2 PE lessons are like, state and private.

YABU - jumping is a perfectly normal PE lesson for year 2

YANBU - jumping is not a good PE lesson for year 2.

@Peanutbuttercupisyum

In our school in y2 they do 3 pe lessons a week - dance, gymnastics, and games - tennis/netball/hockey/football. So tbh i do actually think jumping is a bit of a bizarre way to spend an hour for 6 year olds (unless they’re just playing with their friends outside obvs!) This is an independent school though

At our school(bog standard primary) gymnastics is taught by an actual gymnastics teacher from a club. Many a lesson have been spent on jumping. Some of our kids still can't jump and definitely need the practice,some can but lack the discipline to do it properly. Landing safely is essential for all kids and those able to, should execute the moves properly, ending in the correct landing shape. On top of that, various shapes and jumps are the foundation for various moves. A good teacher will ensure the children can master the basics to an appropriate level first.

My off ice training for figure skating includes lots of "just jumping". Doing quarter, half, full and then multi rotation jumps in both directions. Even the kids who are on the national/international competition track use it as part of their warm up for stability and body positioning awareness.

Isn't knowing a half and quarter turn both clockwise and anti-clockwise specifically a box to tick on the KS1 maths curriculum?

@BananaPB the ballet offered at exclusive prep schools will still cover the same things;
Ballet positions, holding body strength, standing on one leg, working with a partner and... jumping 😂

I'd always assumed that primary school physical education was there to teach the fundamentals of movement and fitness. If your kid has an interest in a particular sport then you do that outside of school. My eldest does trampolining and swimming and goes to a mountain bike club, none of which are anything to do with the school. It's my job as her parent to facilitate her interests and activity, if other parents choose not to do so with their kids then surely that's up to them? There's only so much we can expect of a cash strapped school system.

If rather all the kids jumping and having fun than all the girls pissing about at the back of a rugby pitch while the boys refuse to pass them the ball (my experience of PE!)

Sounds like the beginning of gymnastics block- mine did jumping, the different types of rolls, then other types of gymnastic type stretches (sorry no idea about correct terms) and then they did routines incorporating all the things they learned.

@Shakirasma

I would think that controlled jumping could be a good introduction to gymnastics.

My 3 YO DD did more than that in just her first session at preschool gymnastics.

Controlled jumping as part of a circuit of other gymnastic skills would be fine, but an entire session on simple jumping is set to put kids off excercise for life.

They're teaching the kids physical literacy... There are several skills to learn and some kids need to catch up with other who are more advanced with these skills. Seems like a reasonable lesson for 6 year olds. My daughter is in dance class at 2 and they practice jumping and she's just absolutely awful at it! If dance class doesn't help, she'll probably need jumping lessons at 6 😂

Don't forget tho that Yr2 PE prob only 34-40 min with 10 mins getting changed & going to the hall. So prob only 1/2 hour to do loads different jump types.

I am very pro state schools but sadly the bit that does not even slightly compare to private schools is PE.seems like the government are not interested in getting children ready to play actual sports. It’s an absolute travesty

National curriculum for PE at KS1:

Pupils should be taught to:

• master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and coordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities
• participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending
• perform dances using simple movement patterns.

Controlled jumping as part of a circuit of other gymnastic skills would be fine, but an entire session on simple jumping is set to put kids off excercise for life.

Why? They're 6 and 7 yos.

It's a while since I taught PE but iirc it was jumping, rolling, travelling, balancing and weight on hands. Then joining elements together to make a sequence on floor or apparatus. So doesn't sound off to me.