Great Bowden Academy: Wellbeing 

PE and Sport 

We want physical education to inspire children to realise their full potential and to develop a lifelong interest in participating in physical activity and sport leading to a healthy body and mind.  We aspire to provide all children with high quality PE lessons, active breaks, sports clubs and out of school experiences which give them the knowledge and skills they need to flourish and succeed at physical activity.   Our PE curriculum aims to allow children to develop fundamental skills and attributes required for the modern world.

 We want our children to be physically active and mentally healthy and to understand the importance of exercise and its contribution to physical and mental health. We want children to develop good habits that they take with them through life. We want children to have opportunities to play a variety of different sports and to develop a range of skills that progress as they move through the school. We want them to enjoy sport and exercise.

Our lessons are taught by class teachers and by our sports coach who works with us and with our sister school, Ridgeway Primary Academy.   We follow the Rising Stars Champions scheme of work to make sure that our curriculum is well planned and structured and supports everyone who is teaching it and learning from it.

We also offer a diverse range of specialist courses led by skilled trainers throughout the year such as hockey, tennis and tag rugby.  These take place in addition to the timetabled two hours of P.E./ sport per week.  

Competitive sport is highly regarded at Great Bowden Academy and pupils throughout the school are given the opportunity to compete against fellow pupils and other schools throughout the year across a wide range of events. 

We also have forest school area on the school grounds, where children love getting muddy while they build dens, create slides, damn the stream, climb trees and learn forestry skills.  These lessons are supported by a specialist forest school teacher who visits the school one afternoon a week.  All the children in school are able to participate in these lessons on a rota. 

 

PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) 

Part of our vision as a school is for all our pupils to be caring, confident members of society who are able to live life to its fullness, to value each other and to support each other in flourishing in all aspects of our lives.  This vision underpins our teaching and learning in PSHE and all other subject areas.   PSHE and Relationships Education at this school enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally, socially and emotionally, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up in today’s society. We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

PSHE in action at GBA
We follow the Cambridge Primary PSHE scheme. This is a progressive framework which sets out expected coverage in each age group. It includes comprehensive teaching materials and linked resources.  It is updated regularly, its writers provide us with ongoing training and support and its resources are comprehensive.  All the schools in the Trust use the same scheme which means that CPD and subject networks support high quality teaching and delivery of the curriculum.  In consultation with Cambridge advisors we have linked the PSHE curriculum in with other units where possible to support links between learning and to ensure wide coverage of the curriculum units.  At Great Bowden Academy we also have a member of staff who is ELSA trained. She works closely with children who need extra support with their social and emotional wellbeing.   

Health Education 

In keeping with government policy, Great Bowden’s Local Governors and staff have agreed that sex and drugs education will form an integral part of the school‘s Health Education programme. We believe that every child has an entitlement to participate in and benefit from health education opportunities.

Sex Education 

It is our aim for sex education at this school to be an integral part of the learning process for all children. We aim to foster self-esteem, self-awareness and consideration for others. 

“The importance of sexual relationships in all our lives is such that sex education is a crucial part of preparing children for their lives now and in the future as adults and parents. In sex education, factual information about the physical aspects of sex, though important, is not more important than a consideration of the qualities of relationships in family life and of values, standards and the exercise of personal responsibility as they affect individuals and the community at large.” 

Year 6 pupils receive specific sex education lessons which are led by school staff in the context of our health education programme. The children watch a series of videos and there are opportunities for follow up discussions. Parents are always informed in advance of this. 

Parents may reserve the right to withdraw their children from all or part of the sex education provided, except that which is required as part of National Curriculum Science.