To think that PE could be reconsidered in order to be a more meaningful and enjoyable experience for secondary aged pupils (and primary too!)?

[EveSix]

This week, I'm hearing so many of DC1's school friends and parents express their frustration with the experience of PE in school (secondary age in our case, across several schools, two counties / local education authorities). So many pupils seem to loath it and struggle to participate with any real sense of enthusiasm or enjoyment.

In DC1's friendship group, PE gives rise to lots of anxiety about changing bodies and comparison; nobody seems to feel better for a stint on the field. I'm an active adult now and love physical exercise on my own terms, but remember feeling very much like DC1's friends when I went to school.

Looking at the National Curriculum for PE (KS3 copied in below), I can't help but to feel as if there could be another way of teaching young people to actually enjoy physical activity and feel good and safe in their bodies. There are so many ways to be active, and some of them, if approached sensitively and creatively, would be bound to appeal to kids who don't feel there is a place for them in PE lessons at the moment.

Across the schools I know, there seems to be a big focus on competitive team sports and track, which just isn't going to be everyone's idea of fun. I'm sure many more pupils with SEN and anxiety are exempt from PE than geography or food tech because it's can be such a high stress environment. When I exercise, I'm definitely not looking for a stressy time.

Does anyone care to join me in musing on what alternative provision and activities might be enjoyed more broadly if made available?
If you didn't like PE the way it was taught at your secondary school, is there an activity you think you might have enjoyed? Or perhaps a different approach to teaching PE altogether? Contributions from DC welcome!

YABU: young people just need to crack on with it; PE is character-building

YANBU: PE could be made more enjoyable and relevant to a wider range of pupils

My suggestions would be (some might involve travel to facilities not within easy walking distance):
Yoga
Pilates
Nordic walking
Mindfulness walking
Archery
Fencing
Badminton
Table tennis
Rollerskating
Ice skating (DC1's school is in spitting distance of an ice skating rink, for instance)
Gym sessions for cardio (exercise bikes, treadmills, rowing machines etc) and free weights

I am convinced that if I'd had the experience of learning to enjoy a range of physical activities that made me feel good about myself in a relaxed environment during OR lessons, I would have been happier in general at school.

Here's the the first part if the PE Programme of Study for KS3:

Purpose of study
A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness.

Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

Aims
The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:
 develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
 are physically active for sustained periods of time
 engage in competitive sports and activities
 lead healthy, active lives.
Attainment targets
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
Schools are not required by law to teach the example content in [square brackets].

@carefullycourageous

Well my kids do get a lot of choice in their PE lessons. I did too and I left in 2005.

Normal state schools so I just don’t recognise a lot of this thread. I think people are hankering back to the 1970s here!!

Well yes, that is what I would seek to change, I would want a complete overhaul so it was about enjoying exercise.

I don't think any sane society could ignore the need for physical activity, the mental and physical health benefits are proven and being sedentary is a massive killer. If we care for our kids, we want them to exercise.

My view is that the current PE curriculum and teaching methods are not good enough, not that 'exercise' should be removed from schools.

Interesting thread… I was terrible at ball sports and so embarrassed by swimming, but was fairly good at running which redeemed me… most of my teenage girl pals and I avoided PE out of embarrassment about our bodies, so I think options in terms of clothing (we had to wear “briefs” ffs! Why could we not just wear jogging bottoms?) and being in smaller groups would help with that. I love exercising now but being encouraged at the right level is so important, as is the opportunity to try different kinds of sport. At my school (state) in year 9 we had “activity week” where we got half day tasters of things like mountain biking, ice skating, archery, diving, which was brilliant and might be one way to deliver something..? But yes awful that my memories of school sport are mainly of hiding in the loo! Wasted opportunity.

you don’t stop kids being lazy and unfit by forcing them to do sports they hate.

You don’t stop them being lazy and unfit by making them feel utterly crap about themselves in team sports or running races.

you stop them being lazy and unfit by finding things that they enjoy doing. Even if that’s just walk around the pitch 10 times listening to music. It’s still better than not doing anything.

You offer them opportunities to try other things they might like - boxercise or yoga or whatever. And you look at why they are bad at the sports you are making them do - do they have terrible eyesight for ball sports? Or dyspraxia? Or unmentioned joint pain?

kids are lazy and unfit and obese because they’ve learned from school that they hate any sort of exercise… not the other way round.

That's great. I would want to make it even better for your kids and for mine

PE in its current manifestation is not delivering national sports people (they come from extra-curricular activity) and is not delivering healthy habits at the level it could. I think it could be better and I think it could deliver increased health benefits if it changed.

You obviously had much better teachers than I or dd have had. I’m not a physio and I can see there’s something weird in her gait- you’d think someone with presumably a sports science type degree would spot it too??? But they would rather assure she’s not trying…because that’s vastly less work - and it’s much more fun to coach the good kids so they can win everything than to get the rubbish ones to enjoy what they are doing.

I'm going to say this to you once only, @Dadaya having seen the post about how your are overweight, smoke and sit in front of a screen all day.

This. Is. Not. About.You. But you obviously harbour trauma from your own pe lessons. That's on you.

Being unfit doesn’t mean you’re lazy.

Despite your obvious towering intellectual abilities at algebra, reading comprehension isn't your strong suit is it? i have never said that at all. But again: PE teachers are there to teach PE not get unfit kids fit. That is for them to do, and if young , their families to encourage.

@DorotheaDiamond

Well I hated girls football, hated it. I would ask my PE teacher to run around the track instead as an alternative and she never refused. Infact I think she was pleased someone took the initiative to ask for an alternative as opposed to point blank refusing to do anything (which many did used to do because they couldn’t be arsed).

Looking back one of the main reasons why a lot of my friends didn’t want to participate in PE lessons was because they didn’t want their mascara/foundation to run.

Also kids are not obese because of the schools current PE curriculum that is a wild statement. It might not be perfect but it’s a tiny piece of the childhood obesity jigsaw.

Rubbish!

Kids hate exercise because they’ve never been encouraged to do that by parents!

It is not the fault of a nation of PE teachers we have generation of unfit kids who don’t exercise.

They exercise at most two hours per week at school.

Do not blame 2 hours out of a 168 hour week, where parents can encourage their kids to do all manner of things, for kids not liking exercise.

Cop out!

Again, tell me how, in a state school, with limited resources they are going to offer all these extra activities for a bunch of kids who can’t even be bothered to try and participate properly as it stands!

And pack it in with the physical disability reasons - it’s getting really tired.

My eldest two, are both seriously myopic, they both play and excel in a wide range of sports!

Sometimes in life we have to do things we don’t like - get used to it!

They can go walking around listening to music outside of school if they love it so much; bet many don’t.

It should be in ability groups or optional. I'd have enjoyed it much more if I could've been with all the other rubbish people. I really resented being in a group with people of much higher ability and being humiliated when this wasn't done for any other subject. Imagine placing those who struggle with maths or English in with the top sets- there'd be uproar.

@DorotheaDiamond

A PE teacher in a secondary state school with a sports science degree? Lol if you’re lucky. The reality is many secondary PE teachers don’t actually have degrees anymore as they are unqualified.

The ones that do have degrees and qualified teacher status are usually in head of department/leadership roles in schools.

So many schools now do this!

Big able rugby/football/bball players would potentially seriously injure those with no skill and not enjoy it themselves either.

In many schools they aren’t put in the same groups!

And my eldest - elite at rugby, football as basketball, was nowhere near as good at tennis!

Guess what, he just got on with it

Shock horror

😱

disclaimers about disabilities/sen aren't needed are they?
Yea, they are. I was called ableist for saying most people had the basic skill of running in hand.

I meant on this thread but obviously those with kids who can't do things are being a bit... focussed only on their kids. Which i get but PE is for the whole class.

pp mentioned daughter with hypermobility. I get that's a problem. You know about it, and you can research how to help your dd with it, or not? PE teachers know a lot of general things, you could approach your DDs teacher and ask? and then she'll know. But if she doesn't know, or doesn't know techniques, what is she supposed to do?

Yes, kids who are less able need to be catered for. But why are they less able? Lazy? get a grip, and try harder. Some kind of disability? parents speak to teacher who adapts lesson for that child. Maybe occasionally, if it's a mobility issue for eg, they could play sitting football as a class? There are lots of things that can be done but sports teachers like all other teachers have limited resources and 30 kids to cover. Of course they are going to focus on what the majority can and should be doing. They should also be encouraging the others within their abilities. But the notion that by shouting encouragement they are being ableist bastards? nope.

The problem on this thread is too many people are only talking about their own kids. What the thread was really about is what the national PE curriculum should be like.

My kids have all been different, but my views on what the national PE curriculum should be like is not really about what would suit one or more of my kids.

Despite your obvious towering intellectual abilities at algebra, reading comprehension isn't your strong suit is it?

😂

It is no doubt. Leave it an hour and soon we will learn why Putin is responsible for kids not liking exercise in the UK - such are the assumptions, and tenuous links on here.

@carefullycourageous

I think they do a decent job under severe financial/time constraints. Some of these suggestions will never ever happen in state schools, not unless there’s a serious cash injection soon (which I highly, highly doubt).

Therefore we all need to exercise some common sense with our kids instead of complaining non stop as the likely end point is they would just simply remove the whole subject from the curriculum and that would then benefit absolutely no one.

If you really care about your child’s sports that you need to go the private school or a school that specialises in sport. PE has always been awful. The PE teachers despise the children they are meant to be helping which is why they allow them to constantly be demeaned in their subject.

@Brefugee

Change PE to maths in your post then re read it. We wouldn't put up with a maths teacher not differentiating work? We wouldn't put up with a maths teacher who couldn't notice that a child can't add numbers and not doing anything about it. You wouldn't be happy if the maths teacher was highlighting your child's incompetence buy shouting "encouragement" across the classroom? Or by telling them to do their work faster or better without checking how.

Why are PE teachers allowed to not know the basics of spotting physical issues? I am able to spot DDs issues and talk to the teachers - what about the parents who don't exercise because they were put off as children?

PE should be for the whole class - but there must be ways to make fitness accessible to all. And yes, parents should be doing it too - absolutely 2 hours at school doesn't make up for the rest - but 2 hours is better than nothing. And might inspire a child to do more. Putting them off sports by making them feel lazy, unfit, fat and useless is never going to do it.

A curriculum that would suit DD would be all dance - I'm absolutely not trying to come up with suggestions based around her - I'm looking at what is stopping her from wanting to do what is available in PE (and other posters have said their ideas). The curriculum should be focussed on finding things that will make them want to include fitness in their lives - and that can apply to everyone whether they can run, hit a ball, do gymnastics or whatever. There's plenty of workouts/dance fitness things online that only need a hall and a supervisor - no more training needed for PE teachers.

Why are schools allowed to have untrained PE teachers - I'm sure OFSTED would have something to say if all their maths teachers were really PE teachers making it up as they go so why is the other way round allowed?

@LetMeSpeak

PE teachers do not despise lower ability kids. Utter shite. They’re going to have a good rapport with sporty kids as that’s their subject. This isn’t unique to PE, it’s universal amongst all the subjects. Maths, English etc.

It is 2022, not 1972 😂. Many PE teachers additionally take up pastoral roles within school, so they are really quite knowledgeable about what’s going on in kids lives and they tend to have more time to care.

Happens at private school too!

@DorotheaDiamond

You don’t need to have qualified teachers with degrees in any subject in academies. This isn’t exclusive to PE. Ofsted wouldn’t say anything as it’s legal. Schools have a lot of unqualified staff now teaching allsorts of subjects.

Change PE to maths in your post then re read it. We wouldn't put up with a maths teacher not differentiating work?

well, @DorotheaDiamond there is a difference between maths and PE. And there is a certain responsibility on parents and their children to make sure that they turn up and do the lessons, no? And since plenty of posters here are absolutely against a teacher shouting any kind of encouragement that might send their children into a spiral of self-loathing and depression at being told to "run faster" I'm not sure how you want the teachers to do this.

Fitness is accessible to all - all children can do some kind of daily activity - everyone, hold on to your hats - taking into account any physical restraints or differences they might have. If it is merely being fat because they never move? then they start slowly. If they are in a wheelchair? they can often play catch. and so on.

As to why PE teachers appear to be an afterthought? ask your government about that. Ours do different sports for each half of a term, (or they did when mine were at school) and they got a grade. That went on their final report. Every year without fail, including the one when they left school. Some parts they loathed (football) some parts they loved (trampolining) other parts they endured because it's only half a term (volleyball, running). But all their teachers had at least a sports ed degree.

I'm also wondering how many people here are thinking that school sports lessons are all like Kes?

I disagree with lots of PPs. Competition is healthy. This country has a huge problem with obesity. Exercise has a huge positive impact of wellbeing as well as physical health, decreasing anxiety and also teaching how to work in a team, leadership skills.

We need to change the "PE is bad, competition is mean" mindset, find a way of encouraging kids to throw themselves in and understand that it's ok to not be the best.