It’s been in the pipeline for a while and now we are thrilled to be launching a brand new Aspire:ED online course.  

Designed and taught by Helen Battelley, Inspiring Early Years PE, physical activity and physical development is, as you may have guessed from the title, a course for those who work with (or aspire to work with) younger children aged around 3 – 7 years.  

 As with all of our courses, it offers you the flexibility to study wherever, whenever and however you want to. You can learn in short bursts or do longer stints if you have time. You can pause if you’re interrupted or go back and repeat anything you’re unsure about. With Aspire:ED, you are in control.  

What is the course about?  

The three-module course will help you to develop an understanding of how best to support children physically in the Early Years. Combining both practical and theoretical content, you will gain:  

• A depth...

We’ve recently added two new printable resources which are bound to be popular this winter. Make sure you check them out!  

Wet Weather Task Cards 

Wet play can ruin everyone’s day. Children feel cooped up and can’t get their excess energy out; Lunchtime supervision staff spend the time sorting out arguments and trying to get the volume down; Teachers have to deal with the fallout for the rest of the afternoon. 

But what if it could be different? 

This set of cards is packed full of ideas for how to get children active even when they need to stay indoors. We’ve got ideas for games which require minimal equipment but that will help burn some energy, keep children engaged and hopefully make wet play a lot less painful for everyone.  

English on the Move Christmas Activities 

These festive, physically active learning English activities will keep your pupils active, engaged and thinking during the...

One of the teachers who attended the WMPESS Conference said,  

“It’s been a really good opportunity to get to know some of the different things available to us as a school and to get to know some other people around Birmingham leading PE in different ways.” 

Words like these make us incredibly proud, because they sum up the very reason why we created the conference in the first place.  

With 50 delegates, 3 keynote speakers, 7 workshop leaders, 2 movement break leaders and 18 stands in the marketplace, it was an action-packed day with an abundance of learning and networking. Although Covid-19 still casts a bit of a shadow on everything at the moment, everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the chance to meet in person and chat in ways that just don’t quite happen on Zoom. 

As everyone made their personal selection from the range of...

Whole school improvement is no small matter. As a teacher, SLT member, or school governor, it is your responsibility to plan for and make changes that will have a positive impact on not only assessment data but also the wellbeing of all members of the school community.

As an experienced school governor, Andy Heald  is no stranger to school improvement and he believes that physical activity is key to success.

Listen to this week’s episode of The PE Huddle: Physical Activity for Whole School Improvement to find out more.

In the podcast, we discuss

• The importance of asking “What is the bigger picture?” when looking at the PE curriculum
• Why you should focus on the WHY, before the How and the What
• Andy’s belief that Activity + Achievement = Fun
• The need to create great physical activity experiences for children
  
  

Available to listen NOW wherever you get your podcasts

This year's WMPESS conference will be held on 12^th November in Edgbaston. For those who have been following the journey of this exciting event, you will probably know that two of our keynote speakers have already been announced. Our final keynote speaker for this year's conference has now been confirmed and we are delighted to announce that Greg Dryer will be presenting on 'Supporting all your pupils in developing a physical activity habit'.

In this keynote you will have a chance to think about:

• The key messages children hear about physical activity and whether or not they are effective
• How we might be able to present physical activity in a more inclusive way to support more children
• How this would play out in curriculum content and in school sport and physical activity

Greg will also be leading a workshop: Defining (and staying in) our lane.

He explains: “Physical education, school sport and physical activity is pulled from pillar to post by policy makers, the...

Traditionally, CPD looks something like this:

You sign up to go on a course.

The day before the course, you spend hours putting together everything for a cover teacher.

On the morning of the course you travel to the specified location, do the course (sometimes broken up by some coffee and custard creams) and then you travel home.

Courses can be great. You get a day away from the hustle and bustle of the classroom, you might get a free pen, and theoretically, you come away with some new learning about a particular topic.

But what if the course you want to go on clashes with a parents’ evening?

What if the trainer you really want to meet works at the other end of the country?

What if, on the day of the course, you are tired and just not feeling it?

 Well, you might have to provide your own beverage and biscuit of choice, but in Aspire:ED we think we have the solution to all your CPD problems, and it’s so much more than just a one-day course.

Aspire:ED is an...

Continued Professional Development (CPD) makes several appearances in 7 top tips for spending the Primary PE and Sport Premium.

(Shout-out to the Association for Physical Education (afPE), Youth Sport Trust and Active Partnerships for putting this together.)

Why is CPD a sustainable use of the primary PE and sport premium?  

CPD directly relates to point three of DfE’s five key indicators of effective PE and sport premium spending. But, when you look at the other four, it’s clear that CPD can contribute to achieving all five. 

By increasing the confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport:

• more children can be engaged in regular physical activity
• the profile of PE and sport can be raised across the school as a tool for whole-school improvement
• broader experience of a range of sports and activities can be offered
• and increased participation in competitive sport can be achieved.

It all starts with...

In response to the market’s need to provide more accessible and flexible training opportunities for primary school teachers keen to enhance physical education provision, Aspire has launched Aspire:ED.

Aspire:ED delivers on-demand training through digital technology, making it possible for teachers to train anytime, anywhere and on any device

Paul Griffiths, Owner at Aspire and creator of Aspire:ED, explains: “Even before the pandemic, busy educators found it difficult to make time for professional development. Now, whilst schools focus on the maintenance of a safe environment during the global pandemic, this issue is compounded.

“Schools are reluctant to allow external training providers on site, many schools are battling low staffing levels whilst teachers isolate and the provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers has slipped down the priority list.

“Despite the challenges, the importance of CPD,...

Design your primary school’s physical curriculum with this easy-to-use process.

A process based around Ofsted’s new inspection framework which Crichton Casbon, internationally recognised expert in the physical curriculum, will take you through in the webinar:

The Importance of a Powerful Physical Curriculum

Thursday 26^th November at 4pm

Join Crichton and Dan Hays, Development Executive at Aspire, as they chat live about the effectiveness of a quality physical curriculum and give you the steps to achieve this at your primary school.

Save your seat here!

What you will learn:

• The steps of setting out intentions for your children – what you want children to learn and become as young people
• How to use the four tools available to you to implement your physical curriculum – Time, Place, People and Pedagogy
• How to measure and build on your impact with a simple 6-step process

Plus, all delegates that sign up and join us for...

School is many children’s only chance to be active.

And being in the midst of a pandemic in which restrictions abound, this is ever more pressing.

Lockdown number one saw a drastic drop in children’s activity levels, with only 19% meeting the recommended 1 hour of physical activity per day.

Since returning to school in September, children have been 47% more physically active. 

As we write this, however, we’ve entered lockdown number two spanning November and edging into December.

Lockdown two has one significant difference though, schools are to remain open. But, with sports clubs closing and time outside limited, the pressure on schools to keep children’s activity levels up weighs heavy.

To support schools, the Association for Physical Education (afPE), Active Partnerships and Youth Sport Trust have put together 'Covid-19 and school funding: 7 top tips for spending the Primary PE and Sport Premium'. Used effectively, this funding has the potential...