PE_Guidelines_english0

Section 3 School planning for physical education
Planning for physical
education should
• create a common
understanding of physical
education
• aim to utilise fully the
interests and expertise of the
teaching staff
• provide real help to the
teacher
• involve an examination of the
facilities and resources
available to the school
• contribute to the overall
school plan which will be
reviewed by the board of
management
• determine how the school
intends to phase in the
introduction of the new
programme
• involve review and evaluation
• involve communication
between teachers, parents
and the board of
management
Organisational planning
Developing the school plan for
physical education
Planning for physical education should
• create a common understanding of
physical education. Organisational
planning for physical education
should be a collaborative and
consultative process. The principal
has a key role to play in encouraging
the contribution of all staff and in
fostering a shared responsibility for
planning the programme. The
planning process should help to
build a common understanding of
physical education. This
understanding will be fostered by a
process of consultation and
collaboration involving the principal
and teachers and, where appropriate,
parents and the board of
management.
• aim to utilise fully the interests and
expertise of the teaching staff. Some
members of the school staff may
have developed expertise in one
particular strand of the curriculum,
others may have developed and used
a variety of approaches. While the
class teacher is the most appropriate
teacher to teach the physical
education curriculum, the
implementation of the programme is
enhanced when teachers share
expertise with other staff members.
This may extend to teaching physical
education or a particular strand of
physical education to another
teacher’s class. However, it should be
remembered that in order to
implement the programme a teacher
does not need to be a specialist in
the teaching of physical education
or to be able to demonstrate or
perform the skills to be taught.
• provide real help to the teacher. The
written statement that results from
the process of planning provides a
valuable reference for the staff. The
process of planning itself, however, is
equally important in giving the work
of teachers a clear sense of direction
and purpose.
• determine the roles of the
principal and the teacher in
the planning and
implementation of the
programme.
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