RB GYM AND SPORT

One of the aims of the Sport Premium Funding is to increase Confidence, Knowledge and Skills of all staff in teaching P.E and Sport. The Funding encourages you to do this by: Providing staff with professional development, mentoring, training and resources to help them teach PE and sport more effectively and embed physical activity across your school. Hiring qualified sports coaches to work with teachers to enhance or extend current opportunities.   To ensure you are getting High Quality CPD, below are some Key indicators that you should consider when choosing your provider of CPD and areas you should be questioning.   Can the impact of the CPD be measured? Do you receive impact reports at the end of the academic year/term to outline how teachers have developed their knowledge, confidence and skills after undergoing CPD? Recorded Evidence: Effective CPD should re...

You’ve probably heard about it by now, the idea of physically active learning. Gone are the days when pupils would spend an entire hour sat behind their desks.    Okay, we may be being bit optimistic suggesting this no longer happens, but we can dream, can’t we?   And why do we dream this to be a thing of the past? You only have to look at the facts…     Enhanced academic achievement   Did you know that after 2 years of physically active learning , a child could be 4 months ahead in maths and spelling in comparison to seated learning?   There’s no shortage of research that supports the use of long-term physically active learning. A study looking into the effects of physical activity on academic achievement found the impact to be strongest in maths, yet all academic subjects were proven to benefit.   Improved attention   Physical activity has a significant impact on the focus of an individual. You may be thinking, surely getti...

You know the saying ‘It does what it says on the tin’? Well, that’s Maths on the Move. It’s doing maths whilst on the move.   Of course there’s a whole lot more to say about this innovative programme designed by teachers for teachers; but the concept is that simple.   First, some hard hitting facts   ·         33% of 4 to 11 year olds in the UK are overweight or obese   ·         Children aged 5 - 16 spend on average 6hrs per day in front of screens   ·         On average, 70% of children’s classroom time is spent sitting.     Think of a classroom. What do you picture? Teacher standing at the front and pupils sat behind desks? Yes, because so often that is the picture, shown by the 70% statistic.    But why is it? Perhaps more importantly, why does it have to be? Turns out it doesn’t.   We know because we’ve seen ...

Why Gymnastics is Important for Children! Parents often enrol their children in gymnastics hoping they will be the next Olympic gymnastics star...and may  be they will! But more likely than not, their time in the sport won’t be on such a worldwide stage. However, that doesn’t mean that if your child never wins a gold medal there is nothing to be gained from participating in the sport.  From the very first day they step foot on the floor, children gain so much from the sport of gymnastics. Even if a child never makes it past the first level, they will learn lifelong lessons.  Here are just a few.  1. Commitment Even if their class is just once a week, they learn the meaning of commitment. Gymnastics class is somewhere children go regularly, and they get used to going there at the same day and time every week. When they sign up, they are committing to going to every class, or at least most of them. From the first class to the last there are many weeks in between, and t...

  What is Balance-Ability? Balance-ability is the UK's first accredited 'learn to cycle' programme for children aged 2½ to 6 years old.  The programme is a structured course that combines unique ergonomic balance bikes with a schedule of fun activities that build confidence, spatial awareness and dynamic balance skills enabling young children to cycle without ever needing stabilisers. What is a Balance-Bike? A balance bike is a lightweight, pedal-less child's bike which facilitates balance and propulsion. Children run along whilst seated, push off the ground to create forward movement and use a combination of their feet- and a hand-operated brake to slow down and stop safely. Why is Balance-ability Important for children? Nearly half of the UK’s kids are unable to ride a bike by the time they turn six due to the increased pressures of modern lifestyles. By the time children reach year 5, only 50% of pupils on average can ride a pedal bike independently. Through a fun an...

Maths on the Move is ready to relaunch!   Navigating a new school year is tough enough at the best of times and this is not the best of times.   Lockdown saw teachers transform the way they teach, going above and beyond for their pupils. Yet the implications of four months without face-to-face learning are inescapable. Children on average have spent 2.5 hours a day doing schoolwork during lockdown. Only 17% have put in more than four hours a day. Over two million have done no schoolwork, or less than an hour a day. When you think that a typical school day is between six and seven hours, combine this with the fact that lockdown lasted for months, the reality hits of just how much learning time has been lost. With the switch to home learning comes the risk of widening the attainment gap , exacerbating existing inequalities as access to resources, home set-up and level of family support all have a role to play in children’s home learning experience. So, the question is...