Opening the door to more.

My very first lesson as a qualified teacher was also nearly my very last. I was teaching Olympic Gymnastics to 34 Year 11 boys; rings, pommels, parallel bars, vaulting and floor work. Thankfully I had the chance to tweak my lesson as I had the opportunity to watch Noel, a very experienced member of the […]

Role Models

It’s performance management season again and I’m really beginning to despise it. Not for what it is trying to do, but what it has become. There is a pernicious idea that has taken hold in my experience of performance management that more is always better. No matter what you may have done last year, no […]

Back to Basics: Time Management

This post was originally post on the PE Circle on 4th October, 2015 Students need time in PE to be active, to practice, to develop knowledge and skills and ultimately learn. Time is one of the most precious commodities within our subject, however it is also in short supply. Effective PE teachers are ones that are able […]

Back to Basics: Pupil Organisation

This post was originally post on the PE Circle on 27th September 2015 Organising pupils during a lesson is an essential skill that needs to be developed by the PE Teacher. There are two main types organisation of pupils within PE lessons; grouping and transitions.  Ensuring these are well planned helps to keep disruptions to […]

Back to Basics: Routines

Originally posted on The PE Circle on 20th September 2015 As soon as pupils enter the changing room to the moment they leave we are expected to respond to all manner of scenarios that are both expected and unexpected as PE Teachers. Routines are a simple way of organising the expected and managing the unexpected. […]

Routines through Cooperation

I once wrote this about Cooperative Learning within PE: I have always taken quite a behavioralist approach to building trust with my pupils. Rules, routines and expectations, clearly communicated and firmly but caringly followed up. I feel it is my role to ensure not just the physical safety of pupils in my class, but also […]