PE
PE Department.
Hello, I’m Mr Bennett head of PE here at Egerton High School. I work alongside Mr Bisson who is the full time PE Teaching Assistant. I have been here for almost 10 years now and have worked with Mr Bisson for nearly 2 years. We both possess an immense passion for sport. We aim to share our experiences with the students at Egerton through a fun, vibrant and safe learning environment. Our ultimate goal is to make a difference in our young people’s lives and help inspire, motivate and change each individual’s mind-set to enable every student to be positive, confident and resilient. Furthermore, we aim to instill the importance of PE and motivate students to continue to be physically active and lead an active lifestyle when they leave Egerton at the end of year 11.
Hi, my name is Jonathan Bisson, and I am the PE Teaching assistant at Egerton High school.
I attended Liverpool Hope university where I studied and obtained a BSC Sports Science and Exercise. During my time University, I was the President and Captain of the Basketball Team for 4 years. After my first year of coaching, the university won their division and moved up to the next division and finished in second position. When I was in college, I did Athletics for Sale Harriers in sprinting. In high school, I won medals in football, athletics and basketball. Throughout my life I’ve took part in a variety of sports ranging from squash to swimming.
I chose to study this subject because I enjoy all types of sports and recognise how different topics are connected such as Maths, English and STEM subjects. Sport teaches us the skills to handle difficult situations, problem-solving and many significant lessons.
I worked as a lifeguard at a private Gym. I enjoyed meeting people and ensured they adhere to the health and safety rules.
In my spare time I continue to play football, basketball and go to the gym during the week.
Here at Egerton we aim for PE lessons to be fun and safe in a positive learning environment accessible to all pupils. We encourage all our young people to engage in the vast array of sporting activities we offer. The PE department wants to ensure that our young people have the opportunity to access exercise and physical activity on a daily basis. This is because of the many benefits being physically active brings to an individual for example, improve self-esteem, improve physical health and lifts our mood (impacts positively on our mental health).
"When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." That feeling, known as a "runner's high," can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life."
Sportsmanship and Fair Play are at the forefront of everything we do. I am a strong believer that participants should play fairly and follow a clear set of rules in every PE lesson. Since my arrival at the school I have worked tirelessly to embed my philosophy. The environment I have created allows the children to feel safe. They have the freedom to express themselves without the fear of failure. We have many mantras in our PE department including; ‘mistakes are proof that you are trying’, ‘effort = progress’, ‘be the best you can be at what you do’ and ‘progress doesn’t happen in straight lines’ to name a few. Staff are relentless in their pursuit to instil a growth mind-set in our students on a daily basis.
We offer a wide range of sports which include; Football, Basketball, Dodgeball, Cricket, Handball, Softball and Ultimate Frisbee to name a few. Furthermore, we offer our students in years 7 & 8 a Fitness for
Learning (FFL) programme which they access first lesson every day (please refer to the Specialist Approaches tab on the website). The idea behind this initiative is to help certain students to wake up in a morning and burn off built up energy. Research has proved that physical activity improves student’s concentration and focus so they are ready to access their academic learning in other lessons throughout the day.
Development of PE since my arrival
I started at Egerton in October 2013 and I walked into a bare looking sports hall, no curriculum in place and very little equipment at my disposal. I was informed that PE was basically give the students a ball and let them have ‘a kick about’. With my professional background, determination and high standards, I slowly but surely embedded my ideas and philosophy into PE. Lessons became structured and I introduced different sporting activities at a steady pace. Seven years on and PE is now one of the strengths of the school offering various qualifications including AQA units, Duke of Edinburgh and Sports Studies National Certificate. Students have access to a variety of sports including Handball, Basketball, Football, Badminton and Ultimate Frisbee to name a few. One of our key strengths is the use of video analysis in lessons. This provides instant feedback to pupils and enhances progress amongst many individuals. Students enjoy the many challenges of PE both physically and tactically and thrive to meet expectations which are achievable and aspirational.
Over the past few years the PE department has developed some exciting links with Sale Sharks, Manchester Giants and the Helly Hansen water sports centre in Salford. We have also improved connections with other local schools in the borough. These links have provided extra-curricular opportunities for our students and some have recently participated in a wheelchair rugby scheme run by Sale Sharks. Due to the success of these schemes, we have arranged for Sale Sharks to visit us again in spring 2021 and run another scheme which will support part of the practical section of the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. We have also completed another 6-week programme of water sports activities for the second year running. Our students have had and will continue to have the opportunity to watch home games for Manchester Giants Basketball team as a result of our partnership with them. We have also had several visits from a member of their team who has worked closely with some of our students.
Other success stories since my arrival include; two basketball festival triumphs (please see certificate and poster attached), and a football tournament victory which was run by Manchester City. Furthermore, we regularly compete in football matches against other local schools and the competition for places amongst our students has increased year on year. We now have around 15/20 students battling for a place in our 7/8 player squad.
Participating in PE lessons, Sale Sharks initiatives and the football and basketball tournaments as well as our recent Duke of Edinburgh activities, provides many opportunities for our young people to develop their personal and social skills. As a school we thrive on a core set of values, some of them which include teamwork, respect, resilience and responsibility. As a result, students are always challenged on a personal level in regards to our school values and references are made in lessons and morning assemblies to some of the most successful people within sport and business. We always make this statement: if our values are good enough for them then they should be good enough for us.
Progression Journey from year 7 – 11 .doc
Video Analysis
Video analysis is a major part of our PE lessons here at Egerton. We use this to monitor and measure progress, provide instant feedback to students and provide a model to students of their own performance during and after practice. We also use modelling from either a professional sports person (on the internet) or teacher/teaching assistant to analyse and compare these to how the students are performing in a particular skill or activity. Students respond positively to these visual aids and it enhances their understanding of the expectations of them to make progress. In addition to this, the sports hall is covered with visual aids and keywords which relate to some of the key aspects of their learning in PE. We consistently refer to these and challenge the students during lessons and we base most of our questioning around these displays.
Key Stage 3
Throughout KS3, students complete a series of AQA units in various team sports achieving either an Entry Level pass or a Level 1 pass dependent on the suitability for each individual. Students in year 7 & 8 in particular are taught all the aspects of a team sport ranging from passing and dribbling (technical skills) to attacking and defending (tactical skills). In year 9, students are introduced to individual sports including badminton and table tennis. They are taught how to use different tactics and strategies to outwit an opponent. All the learning material which students access during key stage 3 links in to the Sports Studies qualification which they move onto in KS4 (year 10 & 11).
Key Stage 4
All students who move into year 10 will start their Sports Studies qualification which was introduced into the curriculum in September 2019. This is a two-year course which consists of 2 mandatory units and 2 optional units. Students must complete all 4 units to gain a GCSE qualification at the end of year 11. The mandatory units are Contemporary Issues in Sport and Developing Sports Skills. Students explore a range of topical and contemporary issues in sport, such as participation levels and barriers, promoting values and ethical behaviour, and how sport contributes to society as a whole beyond simply providing entertainment. Students analyse their own performance or that of others and suggest ways to improve highlighting different practice methods. They further develop their knowledge of the use of tactics and strategies in both individual and team sporting activities as well as their understanding of the rules. Students also have the opportunity to officiate in different sports. Students learn about some of the knowledge, understanding and practical skills required to be an effective sport leader. They put their knowledge into practice by planning and delivering safe and effective sporting activity sessions. Afterwards they review their performance. Lastly, Students find out about a wide range of outdoor and adventure activities and the organisations that provide access to them. Through planning and participating in these types of activities they will learn about the risks involved and gain an understanding of health and safety, risk assessments and the importance of detailed planning for various scenarios and challenging environments. This will also help them develop their communication, decision-making and leadership skills.
Themed base curriculum KS3 ‘British Heroes’
Throughout key stage 3, students will explore a range of sporting heroes which relate to our themed based curriculum topic ‘Personal Responsibility’. Some of these heroes include current and retired football players including; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes to name a few. There will be a particular focus on how these players have had to overcome difficult barriers in their childhood years. For example; Cristiano Ronaldo was part of a big family whose parents were poor and struggled to put food on the table and provide clothes, shoes and bedding for their children. Ronaldo would find some old shoes to wear just so he could play football and pursue his ambitions of being a football player. Cristiano Ronaldo also had a unique heart condition, as it raced a lot even when he wasn't playing. While his family initially feared that his young career would end rather prematurely, Ronaldo was never bothered by these claims, as he knew he was destined for the top. We constantly use examples like this in our lessons but relate these to our students’ academic learning. For instance; we challenge students to take responsibility for their learning and don’t let any negative situation or experience define who they are or influence their ability to achieve the maximum progress possible.