PE_Guidelines_english0

Section 3 School planning for physical education
The teacher must retain overall
responsibility for planning,
organisation, control and
monitoring to ensure that the
child’s physical activity is
coherent, consistent, progressive
and controlled.
Provision should be made for the
recording, storing and accessing
of all equipment.
The school should take on the
responsibility for ensuring that all
those involved in teaching are aware
of their different, although
complementary, roles. It should
consider the Code of Ethics and Good
Practice for Children’s Sport in Ireland
which offers guidance for personnel
involved in sport. While it may be
beneficial for sports coaches and
dancers to assist during curriculum
time, their role should be one of
support, not of substitution for the
teacher. The teacher must retain overall
responsibility for planning, organisation,
control and monitoring, to ensure that
the child’s physical activity is coherent,
consistent, progressive and controlled.
The in-career development needs of
teachers
During planning for the physical
education programme, the needs of
teachers for in-career development
education should be met. Any staff
members who wish to avail of in-service
training for physical education should
be encouraged and supported. Courses
designed to enhance the teacher’s
implementation of a strand or strands
of the physical education programme
should be provided. The co-ordinator of
the programme could identify the
relevant courses for teachers. Practical
advice on how a range of assessment
tools could be used in the assessment
of physical education will be required
by many teachers.
Managing and organising resources
and facilities
The availability of suitable outdoor and
indoor facilities and the large and small
equipment provided for use should be
examined. Provision should be made for
the recording, storing and accessing of
all equipment.
Use of indoor and outdoor facilities
It is possible to implement many
aspects of the programmes of athletics
and games using an indoor area.
However, an outdoor area provides
more scope for the development of a
comprehensive programme. An outdoor
grass facility is an additional feature
which can enhance both programmes.
Gymnastics and dance are best suited
to an indoor area, with only very small
aspects of each programme being
possible outdoors for a limited time
each year.
The organisation of aquatics will be
influenced by the degree of access to
pool facilities, the provision of
transport and the availability of suitably
qualified swimming teachers. For some
schools access to a facility for aquatics
is not possible, but every effort should
be made to provide even a short block
of time for each class at some stage
during the primary years.
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