Physical Education 
Physical education provides children with learning opportunities through the medium of movement and contributes to their overall development by helping them to lead full, active and healthy lives.
The 7 key messages of our PE Curriculum
- The importance of enjoyment and play: The child who associates fun and enjoyment with physical education lessons and who gains a sense of achievement will develop the positive attitudes so necessary for continued participation in physical education lessons and physical activity. Through play the child learns to move effectively, to think, to interact socially with others and to express feelings.
2. Maximum participation by all children in the physical education lesson: The desire by children for active participation can be seen as the starting-point for the teacher when planning and implementing physical education lessons. Lessons which can be identified as successful in achieving the pre- determined objectives will inevitably be those where the children were active throughout the entire lesson.
3. The development of skills and increasing understanding of the activities which the children are experiencing: The development of skills forms a significant part of the curriculum for physical education, beginning through structured play activities at infant level and extending throughout the class levels. As the skills are developed there should be an emphasis too on increasing the child’s understanding of the activities he/she is engaged in. This can be achieved by adopting appropriate teaching methods where discussion is an essential part of the process.
4. Providing a balance between competitive and non-competitive activities: Activities incorporating some elements of competition can benefit the child as he/she progresses towards the achievement of his/her potential. The positive opportunities presented include the development of respect for opponents, rules and classmates as officials. However, the pressures of competition can form barriers to progress for some children, and competition does not always present the ideal environment for development of skills. A balance should therefore be sought between provision for competitive and non-competitive activities.
5. Providing a balance between contact and non-contact activities: The needs of the individual child should be considered when selecting suitable activities. A balance should be sought which, for example, allows the child who favours non-contact activities to enjoy those activities and yet be able to engage in contact activities, where possible modified to suit his/her needs.
6. Providing opportunities for achievement for each child: It is essential that the child be presented with achievable tasks, regardless of the activity he/she is engaged in. The satisfaction of achievement is the factor that motivates many children to continue to participate in physical activity.
7. Providing activities equally suitable for girls and boys: Activities which have traditionally been associated with either sex can be presented, sometimes with modifications, to a mixed class. Single sex classes should be exposed to a range of activities from all six strands, where possible, thus ensuring that a balanced programme is presented to them.
All pupils in Kilcoole Primary School are provided with at least 60minutes of PE each week. We are very lucky in both the Junior and Senior building to have a hall and expansive green pitches where we can run, jump, skip, hop and play all the games we want! Recently the Junior Building have been very fortunate to have an extended playing field opened up to us with amazing views of the rolling Wicklow mountains and the Sugar Loaf.
Each class is timetabled to use the hall but we encourage classes to get out and about in the fresh air and use the yard or pitches for PE where possible.
Senior Building Timetable- This is for indoor activities if the weather conditions are not suitable for out side play but this year in particular PE / active movement breaks and ventilation breaks occur outside.
We teach all 5 strands of the Physical Education Curriculum (Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics, Games, Outdoor and Adventure).
Here is a snapshot of our activities from each strand:
Outdoor and Adventure
Athletics
Games
Gymnastics
Dance
All teachers work together to strengthen the delivery of the PE curriculum and as part of our first Active Flag we focused on Athletics.
'The athletics strand provides a variety of opportunities to engage in the natural activities of running, jumping and throwing. The child needs to learn to associate joyfulness with these experiences'. Primary PE Curriculum
These basic movements of walking, running, jumping and throwing make up some of the most basic fundamental skills that enable children to develop the correct techniques and engage in a meaningful way with the Physical Education curriculum and beyond that to a life of physical activity. 'Hip to lip' is always a popular phrase when we're running!
The 'Move Well, Move Often' Resource pack is used to explicitly teach the Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS). The children really enjoy the follow up activities as this allows them to explore the movement in a fun and enjoyable way. The PSSI lesson plans are a great source of guidance for our teachers. The Move Well Move Often FMS posters are displayed in both the junior and senior building halls, these tie in very well with the strand of Athletics and are a great resource in helping to keep us focused on a specific movement each week.
PAWS Water Safety Programme
We cover the PAWS Water Safety Programme at several class levels to teach children how to be safe around water in homes, farms, pools, beaches and on our waterways. The course outlines life-saving guidelines for children of every age and that is reassuring for us here in the coastal village of Kilcoole. See below the Infants enjoying the story of Splash and River, while 2nd class are busy working together to make Water Safety Posters.
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'Stay with a grown up, wear arm bands'.......Great advice!
PE Equipment and Audits
Our PE equipment rooms are busy, busy places and are checked regularly by the staff to ensure that all our resources are clearly labelled, well organised and accessible. The children carry out audits to ensure we have everything we need. As part of our first active flag audits were carried out by 2nd and 3rd class in each building.
PE classes, including school trips, are inclusive of all children and every ability level is valued and encouraged. Feedback of children's progress in PE is related to parents at both the parent teacher meetings and in our school reports. The development of fine and gross motor skills, as well as the fundamental movement skills, are a key part of a child's physical development and have a huge impact on their progression through school.
Professional Development
As part of the process in gaining our first Active Flag Ms. Frawley attended the Irish Primary PE Association Conference. She shared her ideas and knowledge with the whole school community. As part of Active School Week we created our very own 'Active Fairy Trail' in the Junior Building, where each class created their own unique magical fairy, deciding upon a name, favourite exercise, colour, fruit, shape and pastime. This inspiration was taken from a great presentation at both the IPPEA conference and the Active Walkway webinar by Suzie Griffiths of Arklow's SS Michael & Peter Junior School.
The orienteering section of the course was particularly informative when designing and mapping our active walkway, Senior building classes explored the Junior Active Walkway to ensure it was fully functioning for our junior classes. They also created questions suitable for the Junior Building pupils based around each Active Walkway point.
At the IPPEA conference Ms. Frawley found Dungarvan tricky to virtually navigate; let's hope our pupils find their way around Kilcoole with more ease. Classes are looking forward to exploring Kilcoole virtually and creating their own control points and clues.
