At Brierley Hill Primary School, we believe that Physical Education is fundamental to developing physical competence, confidence, well-being, and lifelong participation in physical activity. Our curriculum is structured around Real PE, which is a holistic and inclusive PE scheme that focuses on the development of the whole child through six key ‘cogs’:
1️⃣ Personal – Developing resilience, self-motivation, and a positive attitude towards challenges.
2️⃣ Social – Encouraging teamwork, communication, and collaboration.
3️⃣ Cognitive – Teaching children to think strategically, make decisions, and evaluate performance.
4️⃣ Creative – Encouraging imagination, innovation, and problem-solving through movement.
5️⃣ Physical – Developing fundamental movement skills, coordination, and fitness.
6️⃣ Health & Fitness – Ensuring children understand the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle.
By following Real PE and adapting it to align with CUSP principles, we ensure:
🔄 Retrieval and fluency focus – Using connect cycles to revisit and embed key knowledge and skills.
🗣 Vocabulary-rich instruction – Explicitly teaching movement and sporting terminology.
🤝 Oral rehearsal and partner discussion – Embedding verbal reasoning and articulation in PE.
🏅 School values embedded into learning and awards – Encouraging ambition, perseverance, respect, and excellence.
🏆 Competitions for all – Ensuring both intra- and inter-school sporting opportunities are accessible to every child.
🌟 PE as an inclusive intervention – Used for SEND support, fine and gross motor development, and social-emotional growth.
💪 A whole-school commitment to movement – Including Wake Up Shake Up, breaktime and lunchtime activities, and after-school clubs.
🎯 Inspiration through real athletes – Bringing local sports stars into school to motivate and encourage ambition.
Our ambition is that every child leaves primary school physically literate, confident, and motivated to participate in physical activity for life.
In EYFS, Physical Development is a core area of learning, ensuring children develop:
🏃 Gross motor skills – Running, jumping, climbing, balancing, and coordination.
✍️ Fine motor skills – Developing dexterity, grip strength, and control for handwriting.
⚖️ Spatial awareness and movement control – Understanding body positioning and movement patterns.
🎯 Agility, balance, and coordination – Fundamental skills for later sporting success.
Through structured play and guided activities, children:
These early movement experiences provide the foundation for structured PE lessons in Key Stage 1 and beyondCUSP-Physical-Developme….
We explicitly teach subject-specific vocabulary to ensure children:
🗣 Use precise terminology – Pupils learn the correct language to describe movement, strategies, and skills.
🎤 Engage in oral rehearsal and partner discussions – Verbalising learning helps to embed knowledge.
🤝 Collaborate and reflect through structured discussions – Developing articulation and critical thinking.
For example, in a gymnastics lesson, children would:
🔹 Rehearse key vocabulary such as balance, flexibility, core strength, rotation, and control.
🔹 Discuss movements with partners, explaining why certain positions improve stability.
🔹 Evaluate each other’s performances using structured sentence stems.
This oracy-driven approach ensures that pupils can discuss and explain their physical learning with confidence.
To develop long-term knowledge retention and skill fluency, we structure learning through connect cycles:
✅ Connect to previous learning – Revisiting skills and techniques from prior lessons.
✅ Connect to vocabulary – Using retrieval activities to reinforce movement terminology.
✅ Connect to real-world application – Understanding how physical skills translate to different sports and activities.
For example, in a ball skills unit, a connect cycle might include:
🎾 Recalling prior learning on grip, stance, and hand-eye coordination from previous PE sessions.
🎯 Revisiting key vocabulary such as dribble, pivot, and trajectory.
🏀 Applying these skills to a new context, such as learning basketball passing techniques.
By using connect cycles, we ensure that PE is not just a series of standalone lessons but a continuous journey of skill development and deep understandingCUSP-Physical-Developme….
At Brierley Hill, PE is not just limited to timetabled lessons – it is embedded into daily school life.
We provide both intra- and inter-school competitions, ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to experience competitive sport, regardless of ability.
We invite local sports stars and professional athletes to visit the school, allowing pupils to see real-world sporting success and develop aspirations.
Our in-house sports coach runs:
PE is also used as a targeted SEND intervention, supporting:
By embedding physical activity into every aspect of school life, we ensure that pupils develop a lifelong love for movement and fitness.
📊 Ongoing formative assessment – Observing skill progression, participation, and engagement.
🏆 PE awards linked to school values – Recognising resilience, teamwork, and excellence.
📝 End-of-unit skill evaluations – Tracking improvement in movement fluency and application.
⚽ Competition performance reviews – Assessing tactical awareness, decision-making, and sportsmanship.
Assessment in CUSP PE is not just about physical ability but about effort, attitude, and progress, ensuring that every child can succeed and improve.
By the time pupils leave Brierley Hill Primary, they are:
🏃 Physically literate – Equipped with fundamental movement skills for lifelong participation.
🏆 Competitive and resilient – Ready for secondary school sport and challenges.
🤝 Team players and leaders – Confident in teamwork, strategy, and leadership.
🌍 Committed to lifelong health and fitness – Understanding the importance of regular exercise and well-being.
CUSP PE, rooted in Real PE but adapted to enhance fluency, vocabulary, and whole-child development, ensures that every child leaves primary school confident, active, and inspired to continue engaging in physical activity.
For more details, including:
📌 Real PE Planning with CUSP Adaptations
📌 PE Competition Calendar
📌 Wake Up Shake Up and Club Timetables
Please contact our Curriculum Lead, Tom Amphlett, at info@brierleyhill.dudley.sch.uk.