Physical Education

Welcome to the PE & Extra-Curricular area of our website @ St James' Lower Darwen

The subject leader for PE at St James' is Miss Whaley.

Our Christian Vision for PE:

Our Curriculum:

Across school, we follow our own PE Scheme of Learning, carefully designed by our PE Lead, Miss Whaley. Our curriculum follows a skills-based approach, ensuring pupils build on their knowledge, skills and understanding as they progress through school.

Our scheme places a strong emphasis on high levels of physical activity, purposeful skill development and inclusive practice. The STEP approach (Space, Task, Equipment and People) is embedded throughout to support effective adaptations and ensure that PE is accessible and challenging for all pupils.

Our PE curriculum also links closely with our whole-school SKATs approach, supporting the development of wider learning behaviours and transferable skills alongside physical development.

Below, you will find links to our PE curriculum overview, progression documents, policies and key learning documents, which demonstrate how learning is carefully sequenced and developed across school.

See our PE curriculum overview below:

PE kit @ St James'

Please see below the expectations for our school PE kit. Children should come to school in their PE kit on their class PE days.

Please note that earrings should NOT be worn on PE days.

Clubs & Extra-Curricular

Please see below a copy of our Autumn 1 Clubs Overview:

60 Active Minutes

At St James’, we are committed to helping every child develop a healthy, active lifestyle. We encourage all pupils to work towards achieving 60 minutes of physical activity each day, in line with the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer for England.

We recognise the important role that physical activity plays in supporting children’s physical health, mental wellbeing, concentration, confidence and academic achievement. By providing regular opportunities to be active throughout the school day, we aim to help children develop positive habits and a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity.

Alongside our high-quality PE curriculum, children have access to a wide range of opportunities to keep active throughout the day, including:

Active playtimes with a range of equipment and activities
Coach-led games and activities during playtimes at least once each week
Breakfast Club activities
A varied programme of after-school sports and physical activity clubs
Active brain breaks, including resources such as GoNoodle
Active learning within lessons, including activities through Teach Active
Additional opportunities to take part in sport, competitions and physical activity across the school year

We also encourage children and families to choose active travel wherever possible by walking, cycling or scooting to school. For families who live further away, we promote Park and Stride, encouraging families to park a short distance from school and walk the final part of their journey.

Through these opportunities, we want every child at St James’ to understand the importance of being active, enjoy moving more and develop healthy habits that can continue into adulthood.

Year 3 & 4 Gymnastics (Champions) 2025-26