Physical Literacy

Connor Ratcliffe / / Behaviour Management, Organization

What exactly is Physical Literacy?

A disposition acquired by human individuals encompassing the motivation, confidence and understanding that establishes purposeful physical pursuits as an integral part of their lifestyle. (Almond & Whitehead 2012)

The main basis to this theory suggests that it is a concept that embraces moer than just physical competence and that being physically active also comes down to things such as motivation and having the commitment. Physical Literacy is important because it can help develop an active lifestyle as well as this once the fundamental motor skills have been mastered those individuals can contribute to a number of different sports and be satisfied with their performance.

 

The notion of physical literacy suggests that it can;

  • Identify the intrinsic value of physical activity
  • Overcome the need to justify physical activity as a means to other ends
  • Provide a clear goal to be worked towards in all forms of physical activity
  • Underwrite the importance and value of physical activity in the school curriculum
  • Refute the notion that physical activity is an optional extra of only recreational value
  • Justify the importance of physical activity for all; not just the most able in this field
  • Spell out a case for life long participation in physical activity
  • Identify the range of significant others who have a part to play in promoting physical activity.

(Whitehead, 2010)

The knowledge of physical literacy is there to help prevent things such as childhood obesity through the teaching of fundamental skills.

In my placement physical literacy is key because the school as a whole take sport very seriously so the majority of the pupils are taking part in sports at least 3 times a week, as well as teams outside of school time.

 

 

Creating a Club-Based Performance Environment

Connor Ratcliffe / / Behaviour Management, Organization

The term “Performance Environment” can mean a variety of different things all related to characteristics seen at any sporting club;

 

•Maximising Targets

•Punctuality

•Professional Approach

•Differentiation Ability

•Coaching Diversity

•Controlled Environment

 

All these characteristics can also be seen within the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model that shows the theory behind what athletes should learn over an extensive period of time in order to compete to the highest standard and develop them as athletes. The model is split into two different stages early and late specialization. Early specialization refers to the fact that some sports, such as diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and table tennis require early sport-specific specialization in training. Late specialization sports, including track and field, combative sports, cycling, racquet sports, rowing and all team sports require a generalized approach to early training.

With my placement being a rugby team they work together as if they were in a club situation and not a school sports team, each individual however has their own goal that they are looking to achieve so through the session I take adapting a game based drill each week will hopefully help them to achieve their various different goals.

 

Inclusive P.E

Connor Ratcliffe / / Differentiation

This points out the key values for including all school pupils in Physical Education

  • Entitlement
  • Integration
  • Accessibility
  • Integrity

According to the national curriculum ALL schools have the responsibility to provide a broad and diverse curriculum for all pupils. They have introduced this to include all individuals and groups of students.

  • responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs.
  • setting suitable learning challenges.
  •  overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

The practical inclusion solution to Inclusive Physical Education is to apply the STEPS principle;

›S – Space (change the space the activity is taking place in)
›T – Task (change the nature of the activity)
›E – Equipment (change the type, size, colour
›P – Participant (change the people, numbers and ways that hey are involved
›S – Safety (never change the safety issues)
As well as this principle there is also an inclusive spectrum that suggests different approaches to inclusive sports these are; ‘Open Games’, ‘Modified Activities’, ‘Disability Sport’ and ‘Parrallel Activities’
Inclusive PE
Although I have wanted to enhance my learning around Disability Sport and Inclusive Physical Education I can’t say that this applies to my placement because I do not coach any individual with a disability . I wanted to read around the subject so that when I am asked to coach a group with disabled individuals taking part i will know what to do and how to approach the situation.