The foundations of our physical activity behaviours start in the earliest of years.

Children who develop physical literacy in the Early Years are more likely to enjoy being physically active, and they have lower morbidity and mortality across their life course.

Physical activity helps young children meet key physical development milestones, improve body control and strengthen bones and muscles. 

And it’s not just physical development, there’s a growing body of research linking physical activity to cognition and future academic performance.

But the Early Intervention Foundation’s parent polling suggests that less than 1 in 5 under 6s are getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity. 

Time, cost, and access are all barriers to children’s physical activity outside of a learning environment.

And so, it is crucial that children have an abundance of opportunity to be physically active within the learning environment.

Physically active learning not only boosts activity lev...

How can you not just survive but thrive when it comes to your school’s PE deep dive?

That’s what PE Consultant Vanessa King will be answering in our upcoming webinar series.

Drawing on her experience as a PE Lead with an MA in Primary Education, Vanessa will share her expertise over six half hour webinars to help you prepare for your school’s PE deep dive.

By the end of the series, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge and tools to demonstrate the quality of your school’s PE with confidence.

Each webinar will look at one of the six focus areas of an Ofsted PE deep dive:

Webinar 1: Curriculum

Thursday 12^th January - 4.30pm – 5pm

Webinar 2: Pedagogy

Thursday 19th January - 4.30pm – 5pm

Webinar 3: Assessment

Thursday 26^th January - 4.30pm – 5pm

Webinar 4: Culture

Thursday 2^nd February - 4.30pm – 5pm

Webinar 5: Systems

Thursday 9^th February - 4.30pm – 5pm

Webinar 6: Policy

Thursday 16^th February - 4.30pm – 5pm

You can join as many of the webinars as yo...

The Active Primary Schools Conference took place on 25^th November 2022 and was the biggest conference to date.

And no, we’re not just talking about the screen (see the photos below).

Over 90 primary school PE teachers, senior leaders, business managers and governors booked to join us at Millennium Point, all on a mission to boost their PE, school sport and physical activity offering.

The conference was a full day of:

• keynotes from industry experts;
• practical and theory-based workshops;
• and a marketplace full of innovative resources and services

…all with one core goal: To help primary schools engage more children in positive physical activity experiences, enabling those children to lead healthier and happier lives.

Valuable ideas, evidence, case studies, stories, insights, and good practice all were shared, providing schools with action plans they could embed right away.

Keep reading for a round-up of the day’s highlights:

Keynotes

The critical ingredient: ensuring physi...

We’re delighted to be headline sponsors of The Active Primary Schools Conference 2022 alongside The PE Hub!

Supporting primary schools to increase the quality of their PE, sport and physical activity is at the heart of the conference.

Which is why we’re a sponsor.

Because it’s at the heart of what we do too.

A bit about us

The first ten years of a child’s life provides a critical window for creating a lifelong commitment to physical activity.

And so, if physical inactivity is to be a thing of the past, high-quality PE, school sport and physical activity delivered by teachers who have heaps of confidence, in-depth knowledge and a clear understanding of those areas is essential.

That’s where Aspire:ED comes in. Launched by Aspire Training Solutions, Aspire:ED is a hub of courses and resources you can access wherever, whenever and however you choose; it’s on-demand CPD to master the delivery of primary PE.

The platform offers you a powerful new way to learn and develop your teachi...

We’re proud to be supporting The Wilson Stuart School Fund, our charity partner for this year’s conference.

The Wilson Stuart School Fund raises money to support Wilson Stuart School, a special school for students aged 2-19 years.

The school caters for students from early years all the way through to post-16 with complex physical disabilities and medical needs.

The Wilson Stuart School Fund is raising money to purchase an Acheeva learning station.

The Acheeva uses Symmetrisleep positioning elements to provide support in supine, prone or side lying, allowing students who cannot sit in their wheelchairs all day to join in all classroom activities.

As our charity partner, all profits from the conference will go to The Wilson Stuart School Fund, helping the school support all students to enjoy school and achieve their full potential.

What is The Active Primary Schools Conference?

The conference is a full day event for primary schools to gain knowledge, confidence and a bank of actio...

Gain practical ideas to deliver effective Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA) lessons whilst making the most use of your own site.

Founder of Open Minds, teacher, consultant, Physical & Adventure Education, PSHE and behavioural expert Michael Chamberlain is joining us at this year’s conference to deliver a practical workshop you won’t want to miss.

 Who is Michael Chamberlain?

Michael has over 25 years of educational experience in and out of the classroom environment. Over the years, Michael has gained vast experience delivering dynamic activities to people of all ages and abilities, and providing schools with solutions which ensure that teaching and learning are fully inclusive, with children receiving an enriching experience throughout their school life.

What will you gain from the workshop?

For class teachers, PE co-ordinators, PSHE co-ordinators, Learning Mentors, Key Stage Leaders, this workshop will provide a full session of practical activities that promote co-operation, s...

How can you effectively evidence the use of your school’s PE and sport premium?

Jim Morris, National Development Manager at the Youth Sport Trust, will be discussing this and more in his workshop at The Active Primary Schools Conference.

Who is Jim Morris?

As National Development Manager at the Youth Sport Trust, Jim has responsibilities for strategic relationships across national contracts delivered on a local level through School Games and Barclays FA Girls Partnerships by England Football.

Jim continues to work locally across the West Midlands in education networks to support schools to develop the use of PE and School Sport to ensure high quality and the development of young people’s health and wellbeing. 

What key points will be covered in the workshop?

You will be supported to:

• Effectively evidence the PE Premium fund within your school, focusing on young people who need it most, ensuring the right activity for the right young person
• Deploy strategies to maximise senior
...

Get ready for your school’s Ofsted PE deep dive with Greg Dryer.

Greg is a national PE consultant and founding director of the Centre for PE, Sport and Activity at Kingston University. He’s also a qualified teacher, former senior tutor at Youth Sport Trust, and business owner. Greg is founder of miMove, a ground-breaking app that helps teachers, parents and coaches support young people’s physical activity journeys.

Greg joins us at this year’s conference to provide practical advice and guidance on:

• How to prepare for a PE deep dive
• What to do during a PE deep dive

Where can you get a ticket?

Head over here to find out more about this year’s conference on 25^th November in Birmingham.

See the full agenda and get your ticket here.

Aspire:ED members get exclusive discounts!

Find out more about our membership. 

Effective assessment supports pupils to succeed.

It can enhance both teachers’ teaching and children’s learning.

Take part in Jon Davies practical workshop at this year’s conference to see and experience effective assessment in action.

Jon Davies is Operations Manager at Aspire Active Education Group. With eleven and a half years’ experience in the education sector, Jon is an expert in the primary PE curriculum.

During Jon’s workshop, you will:

• Explore effective and simple assessment procedures that can be replicated across the curriculum
• Discuss the importance of assessment in PE
• Take part in a practical session that can be implemented in your school setting

To learn the theory behind this practical session, join Education Consultant Crichton Casbon in his workshop ‘Assessment in PE’. This linked workshop will take you through a process to support your understanding of the 3 stages of assessment and its central role in teachers’ planning and children’s learning.

Where can...

It’s in line with the national primary curriculum. It helps children master fundamental movement skills. And it can be transformative in its impact on a child’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social development.

And yet gymnastics is barely covered in initial teacher training.

As a result, it’s seen as a difficult and dangerous sport to teach, with teachers left apprehensive about delivering lessons.

But with the developmental benefits it offers, gymnastics is an essential component of the primary curriculum.

So how do you move from fearing the sport to making it one of your favourite to teach?

With this brand new course from Ryan Bradley, former international gymnast and founder and director of RB Gym & Sport.

What will you learn?

The course gives you the skills, knowledge and confidence to plan, teach and assess primary gymnastics.

It’s broken down into three modules. Module 1 focuses on KS1 gymnastics skills and progressions, Module 2 covers KS2, and Module 3 looks at ad...