Frequently Asked Questions Please find below answers to a selection of the most frequently asked questions the PE Department gets asked. I hope these help to clarify how things are done in PE but if anything is unclear please just ask. Kind Regards, Miss Brown- Head of Physical Education- r.brown_jps@gemsedu.com General Q) 1) How can I find out about what is going on in PE? A) 1) As a department we do our utmost to communicate effectively with you, the parents/guardians, to keep you well informed about all PE related issues. Here are a few ways in which we do this: - PE noticeboard (Located by the Astroturf). -PE Weebly (Specifically for squads, fixtures and tour information) http://pejps.weebly.com/ - PE Twitter (Results / Sporting opportunities) Username: PE_JPS1 - School Newsletter (Student achievements / Upcoming key dates) - School Calendar (Key dates Sports Days / Swim Galas / Sports Awards) - Information Evenings and Reports (Student attainment and progress) Q)2) What are the PE changing/uniform rules for different year groups? A)2) - FS1 to Year 4 students should come to school in their JPS PE kit on the days that they are scheduled to do either a dry side PE lesson or swimming lesson. After their lesson they will get changed back into their JPS PE kit. This new changing policy has been designed to reduce time lost getting changed into school uniform and reduce the amount of clothing being misplaced/lost by our younger students. - Year 5 and 6 students should come to school in their JPS PE kit on days that they are scheduled to do either a dry side PE lesson or swimming lesson. After their lesson they will need to get changed back into their JPS School Uniform (Even if they are doing a sporting ASA,
squad session or fixture after school). Our older students are asked to do this for hygiene reasons and are provided with additional time within the structure of their PE lessons to change. Q) 3) Why do I need to send both sets of PE kit to school on the days my child has PE/swimming? A) 3) Asking children to bring both sets of kit gives us greater flexibility to ensure students never have to miss a PE lesson due to unforeseen circumstances where a sporting area might be out of action. We have also found that children are able to get changed into their swimming kit quicker from their PE kit than from their school uniform. Q) 4) If I have a question or concern about PE who should I contact? A) 4) Please contact your son/daughter s PE teacher first, either by email or by trying to catch them in the PE office at the end of the day/collection time for a quick chat (staff need to be preparing for extra-curricular sessions at 2:15pm). If after this dialogue the matter has not been resolved, please contact the Head of PE (Miss Brown) to discuss the matter further. Q) 5) If I email a member of the PE Department when will I receive a reply? A) 5) All staff will endeavour to reply promptly and within 48 working hours of receiving a message. Please remember that, due to the nature of our subject, we have limited access to emails during the day while teaching and, as specialists teach across the whole age range at JPS (Approximately 1500 students), we can receive high volumes of emails. Therefore, if a response is slower than hoped it is not due to it being deemed unimportant rather staff have not had the opportunity to respond yet. However, if you do not receive a response in adequate time please let the Head of PE (Miss Brown) know to chase it up on your behalf or feel free to drop into the PE office at collection time to speak to staff. Q) 6) If my child is ill and can t do PE what do I need to do? A) 6) As a school rule, we believe that if your child is well enough to be in school they are well enough to participate in PE. However, if there are medical reasons as to why they can t, please provide either your child s class teacher or the PE teacher with a doctor s note stating the reason for not participating and the length of time this absence from PE is for. Please be assured we are committed to developing all children s love of physical activity and their access to it so will always work with parents to find solutions to any barriers being faced.
Q) 7) Are children allowed to wear jewellery in PE lessons? A) 7) No. For health and safety reasons we ask students not to wear jewellery when exercising for the safety of themselves and their peers. If any student has an item of jewellery that they are wearing for religious reasons, and that they need to keep on, we ask that they please come and collect an appropriate letter from the PE office for you, the parents/guardians, to sign. Swimming Q) 1) How are children taught/grouped in their swimming lessons? A) 1) FS1 Year 2 students are taught in their form class while in Years 3 6 students are taught boys and girls separately. Each swimming lesson has up to 3 members of PE staff on poolside along with a lifeguard and, if appropriatem a class TA. This enables groups to be divided into smaller teaching groups so that students receive the highest standard of swimming tuition possible in small numbered groups. Q) 2) Can my child move groups during the year? A) 2) Yes. As with all activities in PE, students can move between groups if they make the progress needed to do so safely and appropriate teacher student ratios can be maintained. Q) 4) Do students do different things in lessons? A) 4) Each group focuses on different aspects of swimming to match the ability levels within the group and confidence in the pool. Q) 5) Can my child wear swimming goggles? A) 5) Yes. However, all students are required to show/be taught how to put their face in the water whilst not wearing goggles confidently. This policy has been created to ensure students can make maximum progress with their swimming technique whilst maintaining their ability to stay safe in and around water, in and out of swimming lessons. Q) 6) What does my child need to bring onto poolside when doing swimming? A) 6) JPS Swim kit (Swimsuit/Swim Shorts), JPS Swim Hat, Towel, Flip flops or trainers (for health and safety reasons), Goggles (Optional students must be able to confidently put their face in the water without the use of their goggles). Q) 7) How are children selected for swim squads? A) 7) Children are timed in lessons and the fastest students are invited to take part in second trials. (As long as stroke technique is sound/legal).
Sport Squads / ASAs Q) 1) Which Year groups have Sports Squads? A) 1) Sporting Squads are run for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students. Q) 2) Where do Sport ASAs and Squads get collected from? A) 2) - If your child has been doing a sport ASA or squad session on the Astroturf, Tennis courts or Sports Hall, please collect your child from behind the Sports Hall (Sun-Weds at 3:30pm, Thurs at 2:30pm), accessed via Gate 2 (Nearest the Pool). If you wish to wait in school during the practise, please wait in the Main Reception area in the comfort of the AC. - If your child has been swimming, please collect them from the swimming pool corridor (Sun - Year 1&2 Development Squad at 3:15pm; Sun - Year 3-6 at 4:30pm; Mon Weds - Year 3-6 at 3:30pm). Access to be gained via the Main Reception. If you wish to wait in school, please do so in the swimming pool corridor in the comfort of the AC. - If your child has been doing a sport ASA or squad session in the Main Hall, please collect your child from the Main Hall (Sun-Weds at 3:30pm; Thurs at 2:30pm). Access to be gained via Main Reception. If you wish to wait in school during the practise, please wait in the Main Reception area in the comfort of the AC. Q) 3) How do students get selected for squads? A) 3) Students take part in trials run by the PE staff and often with the additional support of external coaches with a specialism in that sport (E.g. Football by It s Just Football, Swimming by Hamilton Coaches). Q) 4) Are students automatically selected for a squad if they were part of it the previous year? A) 4) No. All students have equal opportunity at the start of the trails to be selected. Q) 5) If my child doesn t get into a squad, can they still do that sport elsewhere? If so, could they be added to a squad later in the season? A) 5) Yes. Sport ASAs are run throughout the year in a wide variety of sports so that all children can do additional sport in the activities they love the most. If a child does particularly
well at a Sport ASA and PE staff feel it is appropriate for them to be added to squads part way through a season, this is allowed and celebrated. Q) 6) If my child is in a squad, does this mean they will play in every fixture? A) 7) Not necessarily. It is not always appropriate to take everyone as it could result in students getting limited game time. However, every member of a squad is guaranteed to play fixtures during the season. Q) 8) If my child is in a squad, how will I know if they have a game and if they have been picked to play a fixture? What do I need to do? A) 8) Details of fixtures and team selections can be found on the PE Weebly under the appropriate sport and year group drop down option. For any student chosen to attend, their parent must have given consent on the PE Weebly, which also states that they are able to organise collection of their child at the end of the fixture/competition. Q) 9) Can I come and watch fixtures and attend competitions? A) 9) We welcome parents coming to watch fixtures/competitions when hosted at JPS (Please follow guidelines included on the Weebly as to where you should spectate from). For away fixtures, we will indicate on the Weebly if host schools are happy for spectators to watch. Q) 10) Can I watch Sport ASAs and Sport Squad training sessions? A) 10) No. We please ask that parents do not watch these sessions. This has been decided to best manage our playing facilities while clubs/squad training are going, ensuring staff/coaches time is rightly focused on students and not other factors. Q) 11) Are Player of the Match awards or any other recognition given? A) 11) Yes. Player of the Match awards/certificates are given out at every fixture alongside praise for numerous other factors such as attitude, commitment, behaviour and improvement. PE staff will endeavour to ensure these are shared across teams throughout seasons and share students successes across school using the methods mentioned earlier. We are very proud of our children s performances, successes and improvements during the year and will celebrate these as much as we can.