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PE and Sport Premium – how this is invested at Moortown Primary

We are required to publish details of  how we invest our PE and Sport Premium funding.

What is the Primary PE and Sport Premium?
The government provides funding to improve provision of physical education and sport in primary schools. This funding is ring-fenced and therefore can only be spent on provision of PE and sport in school.

For 2018/19, our grant allocation is £17,800.

How will we invest this at Moortown Primary School?
At Moortown we have developed a provision plan to ensure this funding is invested (rather than ‘spent’) to maximise the long term impact of our PE provision for pupils and staff. The funding is invested in various ways and the impact of these initiatives is closely monitored through assessment of children’s skills, staff and pupil feedback, uptake of clubs etc. At Moortown Primary, we pride ourselves on being a happy and healthy place to learn.

Our 2017/18 PE provision plan is now fully evaluated with impact from last year’s investment.

Our 2018/19 PE provision plan detailing proposed investment is also published.

Active Blasts

In Year 4, we are starting to incorporate more physical activity into our day by taking part in some ‘active blasts.’

The science behind active learning is that activity promotes better learning and behaviour, whilst improving physical health and mental well-being.  Just 20 minutes of exercise increases brain processes and enhances cognitive control for up to 1 hour. Active children develop strong self-esteem and become happier learners.

Our session today was a muscle based activity incorporating a chair. We began with a shoulder squeeze, followed by some bicep curls, shoulder presses, elbow squeezes, seated abs curls, spine twists, standing up and sitting down slowly and controlled, standing up hamstring curls, calve raises and  side leg lifts. After each exercise, we had a twenty second rest period.

Question your child about this new regime. Do they enjoy it? Does it help them to concentrate for longer? How do they feel afterwards? Which has been their favourite ‘active blast’ so far?

Leeds Art Gallery

Year 1 and 2 have enjoyed an art filled day at the Leeds Art Gallery to link with our current big topic, Katie and… There were no stepping in paintings for us today though.

First of all, we took part in a workshop session based on Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings which are currently being exhibited in the gallery.

We thought about the following.

• What could we see?
• How did it make us feel?
• What made Leonardo a great artist?

Based on his drawings, here were some of the reasons why we thought Leonardo was a great artist.  Then, each group had a challenge to find another piece of art in the gallery that showed the same property.

We presented our findings to the rest of the class.

We enjoyed our lunch in the art studio.

After lunch, it was time to explore the galleries and sketch our own versions of some of the art on display.

Finally, it was time to leave the gallery to return to school.  We wondered which paintings Katie would have stepped into and which bench Grandma would have taken a rest.

‘I learnt about Leonardo’s life.’

‘We saw that Leonardo da Vinci drew lots of horses and parts of the body.’

‘I learnt how old the pictures and sculptures were.’

‘I know there are lots of different types of art.’

‘I used to think that painting was easy but now I know the artists have to try really hard.’

‘I was amazed by the size of some of the paintings.’

Safety Week Summary

We have come to the end of our ‘Safety’ themed week. Year 4 have had many visitors relating to different aspects of staying safe. We would like to thank Mrs Taylor who works hard to organise the events during a themed week. She has provided us all with many interesting and exciting safety workshops.
Below are a few snippets from some of the sessions.

Canals and rivers – be safe!

There are lots of dangerous situations when near a river or canal. Luckily, Year 3 had an expert from the Canals and Rivers Trust to fill us in on how to be safe. 

We learnt:

• We can’t stand on lily pads. We are too heavy and will fall in!
• We can’t walk on ice – we’re too heavy and that will break too.
• We can’t swim against the current in the river. It’s too strong and we can get lost. 
• Say yes to life jackets. 
• For emergencies at a canal or river the operator will send a fire engine. 

Always:

• “Wear a life jacket when near water. Even if you’re a good swimmer!”Sasha. 
• Tell the person in the water that you’re going to get someone to help them. 
• Lie down on the floor when pulling someone out of the water. 
• Call 999 in an emergency. 
• Calm the person in trouble down by talking to them:

“Can you swim?” Evie. 

“Calm down, someone is coming to help you.” Edris.

“Use a life buoy!” Aadil.

Remember – always throw the buoy near the person so you don’t  hurt them.  

Never:

• Sit on the side of a river or canal. Water levels rise and fall, boats go past and you could fall in. 
• Swing on ropes from trees over a river. You could fall in. 
• Throw things into water. This is dangerous and could kill wildlife. 
• Go on a boat without a life jacket. 
• Jump into the water to save someone. 
• Use a life buoy like a hoop ring game. You could knock someone unconscious. 

Living and Learning: Staying Safe at home

I can stay safe at home is one of our main areas of learning this week.

We used this interactive story to consider different dangers that could be found in the home.

Tiger the Cat sees Poppy being taken off to hospital in an ambulance and learns that she has been hurt at home. He is determined to go through the house and find out how she might have hurt herself, in order to make the house safer for the family. The story shows different rooms or areas around the house (kitchen, lounge, hall, landing, bedroom, bathroom, garden, garden shed) – each has a number of potential dangers.

Can your child remember the dangers found in the kitchen below?

Here is a summary of the Year 2 learning about keeping safe at home.

Living and Learning: Staying Safe with the police

Some of our local PCSOs came to visit school today.  They talked about their role helping people in the community and keeping them safe.  The class had some interesting questions to ask them.

‘I learnt what police community support officers do.  They don’t have handcuffs as they don’t arrest people.’

‘I learnt that they work in different parts of Leeds.’

‘We saw the different parts of their uniform and we heard someone talking on the walkie talkie.  On the top of the walkie talkie, there is a panic button so they can get help from other police officers.’

At Moortown Primary, we regularly seek the views of others. Last month, we let you know about feedback from a Leeds Health and Safety Advisor (news article on 31 January 2019, deriving from a Health and Safety inspection) and a Leeds Early Years Advisor (news article on 15 January 2019, deriving from a visit to the Early Years class).

In January, we also collected the views of staff for the second time in recent years. We asked staff to complete a survey very much like the one we ask parents and carers to complete in the Summer term. The survey was completed by 20 staff (in any role – premises staff, lunchtime supervisors, teachers, teaching assistants…).

The results were really positive: 95% or 100% agreed with all the statements which directly derived from Ofsted staff survey sample statements. These include ‘Pupils are safe at this school’ and ‘This school is well led and managed’. Comments include:

• ‘I feel motivated and respected by my head of school and head of federation.’
• ‘Unnecessary workload has been a focus in recent years and it has had a positive impact on my teaching workload.’
• ‘Mrs Weekes is approachable and very supportive.’
• ‘I feel that the school is well managed with children and staff supported effectively by senior management and parents.’
• ‘The school is a happy, healthy work place to be, always working towards improving its teaching and student well-being.’
• ‘I enjoy my job and the increased variety of work since we have federated.’
• ‘Moortown is a great school to be part of. Teachers in other schools regularly complain about leaders and staff, but everyone works well together here.’

We also asked for any strengths and areas for further improvement.

Strengths

We asked staff to comment in an open-ended question about the strengths of our school. Very many comments here referred to the staff themselves. but are so true – we’re really proud that Moortown Primary is a happy and healthy place to work!

• ‘All staff are very supportive and helpful.’
• ‘The staff, especially their willingness to try new things and reflect on them.’
• ‘Staff work as team.’
• ‘Staff are friendly and supportive.’
  ‘The staff morale. It’s a great place to work as everyone is friendly and is willing to offer support when it’s needed. I joined the school last year and was made to feel very welcome. From the beginning, I felt comfortable in asking leaders/middle leaders for support when I needed it.’
• ‘Dedicated staff who are willing to ‘go the extra mile’’

Some of the other strengths mentioned in the survey are:

• ‘Friendly atmosphere as soon as you enter the school.’
• ‘Lots of opportunities for development.’
• ‘Children are well behaved and happy at school.’
• ‘Leaders know all the children.’
  ‘A team of dedicated staff who are ambitious and open minded. A centralised and consistent approach.’
  ‘There is an understanding of the high levels of excellence expected by both staff and pupils which is evident in every area of the school day.’
  ‘Team work and presentation! As I have walked around other primary schools, I always get the need to tidy up and improve their display boards. First appearances count!’
  ‘Its ethos which is upheld by the vast majority of staff, pupils and parents.’
  ‘Consistency across school and the teachers’ willingness to try new things and be open to change.’
  ‘The reward and warning systems being the same throughout the whole school.’
  ‘Children are happy and feel safe.’

Next steps

We’re always wanting to keep getting better and better. Some aspects of school were mentioned that are out of our control (such as the size of classrooms). Based on the survey, the areas to develop are to support teaching assistants more with performance management and professional development. Like so many schools across the country, we also want to be even more mindful of teachers’ work-life balance to ensure their wellbeing.

Thank you to all staff who support our school, with special thanks to those who completed the survey.

Living Streets new badge design competition

We are proud to work with Living Streets to support our aim for active and safe travel to and from school.

WOW is Living Streets’ year-round walk to school challenge and every day our pupils log their daily journeys to school on the WOW Travel Tracker. Those that make an active (walk, bike, scoot or park and stride) journey to school at least once a week for a month earn a WOW badge. There are 11 to collect across the year all of which have been designed by pupils in their annual badge design competition.

Stay and play

Thank you for attending our ‘stay and play’ session this morning.

We hope you enjoyed looking at your child’s learning journeys. The children really enjoyed sharing them with you.