Physical Education

At Oak Tree Primary School, we believe that pupils of all abilities from ages 4 – 11 should benefit from a broad and balanced physical education programme. 

To deliver this, we teach dance, games, gymnastics, swimming and water safety, athletics and outdoor adventurous activities. Physical Education is a unique process of learning, educating the pupils in the knowledge of the body and physical activities; the skill to use their bodies efficiently, effectively and safely; the understanding of how their body moves and the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. It also encourages healthy competitiveness in and out of school, as well as highlights the importance of team building and forging social bonds. 

We train and run a Year 5 and 6 Sports Crew who assist with organising games, activities and whole school events such as Sports Day. 

All Year five pupils swim for at least two terms of the whole academic year. Any Year 6 pupils who cannot swim the National Requirements in Primary School are also offered a “Top Up” swimming programme. 

We are fortunate enough to employ a full time Dance Teacher, who teaches all pupils over the course of a week. Often, the lessons are designed to produce the final end point of showcasing dance performances such as Jungle Book and The Lion King, where parents and families are invited to come and watch. . In addition to this, children and parents join together with the teacher to make costumes for the performances in an after school club. 

We strongly encourage pupils to extend their understanding of physical literacy outside of curricular lessons. As well as promoting the “Daily Mile Run”, Oak Tree Primary has just introduced skipping challenges twice weekly, where pupils use countered skipping ropes to try and beat their previous score. 

Oak Tree is part of The Mid Sussex Active group which provides children of all ages and abilities with a wide range of competitions and workshops. These include traditional sports such as football, netball and cricket but also introduce more modern activities such as street dance, yoga and pickleball. 

Here at Oak Tree we enter as many competitions as possible and run school teams for these events as well as organising friendly fixtures with other local schools. 

When possible, we provide the children with exciting opportunities to become engaged with high level sporting events. We have previously run trips to Wembley and The Amex Stadium to watch both the England men's and women’s football teams. Annually, we visit the County Ground in Hove to watch a professional cricket match. 

In January 2023, two Olympic Athletes visited Oak tree Primary, providing every single child with a fitness session and an assembly with a professional Sports Person. 

We have recently invested in providing lots of new playground equipment using pupil voice as an indication to how the children really enjoy keeping active during their recess time. At the beginning of 2024, the school introduced Forest School Activities, where activities such as den building has been resourced to be used also as a playground activity.