Selsted C of E Primary School

Active Kent & Medway visited Selsted C of E Primary School in Folkestone and Hythe on Tuesday 18 December to learn about their sport and physical activity provision as a school.

The school have currently got the Silver School Games Kitemark and are hoping to receive the Gold award next year. They were also nominated for the Shepway Sports Trust School of the year 2018 for their work in PE and sport. Selsted Primary School are assisted in PE lessons and various extra-curricular clubs by Team Theme coaches, who provide further knowledge and skills in sport that will be beneficial for the pupils. This was largely made possible by the Primary Sport Premium funding which was brought in a few years ago and has since been used to improve the school as a whole.

There is a determination to deliver effective training opportunities to all members of staff, which improves sustainability for the future by making them feel more confident in teaching PE lessons. This demonstrates they have made a a huge effort to prioritise sport as a key area and have noticed a real change in their pupils and staff members.

Teachers are always busy with other tasks, but if you really want your school to succeed in sport you have to make it a priority and put the effort in to ensure that everyone is engaged in physical activity within the school.

Mr Churchill, the PE Lead Teacher at Selsted Primary

Selsted Primary allow pupils to try a number of different sports and activities for the first time. These include, but are not limited to boxing, yoga, lacrosse, hockey and dance using the Just Dance videogame. The decision behind many of these choices are that some pupils are just not interested in the usual sports that are played in schools, and so by offering these unique activities too, it is likely to target some of their less active pupils. The school also work closely with Shepway Sports Trust and their School Games Organiser to offer the pupils additional sports events and competitive opportunities with other local schools.

Selsted Primary have also recently bought a plot of land next to their site, which they are currently developing into a larger playing field that will be useful for PE lessons and extra-curricular clubs. This will be particularly good for hosting events such as their annual sports day, as they have had to use a local cricket pitch as the venue in the past.  Some of the sports kits are being sponsored by a company owned by a pupil’s parent. This helps to reduce some of the school’s costs, that can now be allocated elsewhere.

Mr Churchill has indicated his desire to work with other local schools and businesses in the future to further develop the sports provision they have to offer to their pupils. There is the possibility to work alongside one another to share facilities, equipment and other resources to promote community cohesion and benefit everyone involved. The school recognises that historically many of the active pupils in the school are male, so there is a particular focus on getting more female pupils active through creating extra-curricular clubs in activities that they are interested in. There are constantly new ideas for training and opportunities, and with the ongoing support of everyone at the school they will be able to continue being successful in sport and physical activity the future.