Physical Education

PE Curriculum

At Mary Queen of Ireland National School, children receive a varied and balanced P.E. curriculum. Students receive 60 minutes of timetabled PE each week.

The P.E. curriculum is divided into 6 strands: Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics, Games, Outdoor and Adventure Activities and Aquatics. Teachers use the PSSI lesson plans and the Move Well, Move Often resources to support their delivery of the PE curriculum.

More information on the primary school PE curriculum can be found on the NCCA website.

Fundamental Movement Skills​

The teaching of the fundamental movement skills is imbedded in our teaching of the PE curriculum. We focus on a set of the FMS each year with every class to develop and improve:

• Year 1 (2020-2021) Running, jumping, balancing, catching, throwing.
• Year 2 (2021-2022) Walking, hopping, landing, kicking, striking.
• Year 3 (2022-2023) skipping, side stepping, dodging, striking with implement.

Below, you can see in more detail about some of the strands covered during our PE lessons throughout the year.

Games

When learning about games, children practice sending, receiving and travelling, creating and playing games, and developing an understanding and appreciation for games.

GAA

Nigel is our GAA coach who we work closely with each year. Nigel comes in to coach a half hour lesson with each class and their teachers on Wednesdays for a block of time each year. During their GAA time, children cover lots of the games and athletics strands of the curriculum. Activities include:

• Sending the ball-(e.g. rolling, underarm and over arm throw, catching, kicking, and striking).
• Receiving the ball (e.g. catching, stopping the ball with foot).
• Travelling with the ball (bouncing, dribbling).
• Playing games (playground games, games in pairs and teams).
• Walking, running and jogging.
• Jumping.
• Throwing.
• Understanding and appreciating the activities and tactics.

Athletics

During athletics PE lessons, children learn to run, throw, jump and understand and appreciate athletics. It is one of our most popular strands with the students!

Sports Conditioning

Our Fingal Local Sports Partnership offer us a 6 week strength and conditioning workshop each year. As well as covering the games and athletics strand, it also integrates with the games and dance strands of the curriculum.

​It was designed to improve skills such as balance, running, ball skills and travelling.

​Here are some of last years photos of our classes taking part in the Sports Conditioning workshop.

Aquatics

The students cover the strand ‘aquatics’ in March and April, when they are taken to the ALSAA swimming pool for lessons. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 restrictions we were unable to take part in swimming lessons this year, but we look forward to taking part in them again as soon as we can.

We will also be covering the PAWs water programme in school this year, which teaches us how to be safe around water.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a very enjoyable strand to cover with all classes, where they have the opportunity to get down on the mats to practice their rolls, balance and travels. The strand units of movement and understanding and appreciation of gymnastics are covered in lessons.

Dance

Our school places a huge emphasis on dance and performance throughout the year, as well as delivering PE dance lessons to all classes each year to encourage the exploration, creation and performance, understanding and apprecitation of dance.

Outdoor and Adventure Activities

Covering this strand allows us to go outdoors and put our orienteering and adventure skills to use! The strand units walking, orienteering, outdoor challenges and understanding and appreciation of these activities are covered during these PE lessons.

Here are some photos of our students taking part in their GAA lessons with Nigel and their teachers.

5th class taking part in their athletics and FMS lesson outside.

6th Class Fundamental Movement Skills Games

While practicing the FMS of ‘balance’, here is a game made up by the 6th class for students to practice for homework:

1. Get a book. if you don’t have a book, get something flat like a book 📖
2. Get a partner it could be your mum, dad, sister, brother anyone.
3. Put the book on your head.
4. Walk in a straight line for 10 seconds then stop.
5. If you drop the book you have to run up and down somewhere open 5 times!
6. You can switch with your partner as much as possible.

Here is a FMS game made up by 6th class for the skill ‘Catching and Throwing’ for students to practice for homework:

1. Get a partner or a parent.
2. Get any sort of ball. eg, basket ball football gaa ball tenis ball. if you dont have any you can use a rolled up sock.
3. Find a open space like your sitting room {if it has enough space} or a garden or even the park!
4. So what you need to do is, throw the ball to your partner and someone counts to ten. when you it 0, whoever has the ball has to do a trick it can be anything like a cool dance, a cool football trick anything.