Physical Education 11-16

Becoming a physical education (PE) teacher offers an exciting pathway to inspire students and cultivate their physical abilities. In this role, you become a coach of confidence, guiding students through various sports and activities while promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Beyond teaching skills and techniques, you instil values of teamwork, resilience, and sportsmanship crucial for success on and off the field. By creating an inclusive and supportive environment, you empower students to explore their strengths and embrace the joy of movement. 

Being a teacher of PE means you will support young people to: 

• lead and understand the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle;
• develop not just physically but mentally and socially;
• develop as leaders;
• develop their creativity skills; 
• enjoy the sense of being part of a team;
• experience competition. 

What are the key concepts that underpin our approach to the teaching of PE?

• Competence – the relationship between skill and application of skill (tactics)
• Developing analysis and effective feedback skills within students
• Creativity and compositional ideas
• Educating students about leading a healthy active lifestyle
• Developing strength, speed, agility, flexibility, balance, coordination and endurance
• Understating teamwork and fair play
• Decision making

The entire SCITT programme was fantastic but my subject specialist sessions were one of the highlights of my time on the course. The sessions covered all the areas that we needed to know about and it was great fun getting together with other PE Associate Teachers and developing our skills together.

This course is built on an extensive research base in teaching PE and it is closely interwoven with our Central Curriculum Sessions as part of our overall Integrated Curriculum approach. Each year we review all aspects of our courses to ensure that they cover the most relevant components of the subject as well as introducing you to the most commonly taught ideas and concepts. Mentors and specialist teachers in our partnership schools also play a crucial role in reviewing the programme to ensure that it gives the very best preparation for becoming a great PE teacher.

Our carefully designed curriculum is structured so that you will have approximately one Subject Curriculum Session a week across the 2024-25 academic year. Alongside this, subject specificity is carefully woven throughout all aspects of the course, including the ongoing assessment process and the optional PGCE assignments, so that all content is relevant to you and your teaching. Subject Curriculum Sessions will develop on the ideas and theory raised in your general Central Curriculum Sessions so that you have expert guidance on how best to deliver strategies and techniques in your specific subject area. 

Our PE course prepares you to teach across the 11-16 age range, and you will be formally assessed in those key stages. In addition you will also have the opportunity to observe and teach KS5/ A level in at least one of your placements and your Subject Curriculum Sessions will include training that prepares you to teach KS5/ A level.

The links below will provide you with information about the curriculum and programmes of study for Key Stage 3 and 4 that schools are expected to deliver, these shape the content that your Subject Curriculum Sessions will cover, to ensure that you are able and confident to teach across the full range of topic areas included.

• PE programmes of study KS3 & KS4 Core PE national curriculum
• PE GCSE (KS4) subject content

The PE with Ebacc course is based on the standard PE 11-16 course. On this route your designated training subject will be PE, but it will be complimented with additional training and support in a second subject. The second subject will be one of the English Baccalaureate subjects: English, History, Geography, Maths, MFL or Science, and to qualify for this course you must have an A-level grade C or above, or recognised equivalent in the second subject.

The advantage of training on this route is to develop experience of teaching in another subject, PE is often a subject where there are a higher number of applicants than in other subject areas, so being able to offer additional expertise in a second subject when you apply for qualified teaching positions could be beneficial. For more information about this route please get in touch.

As well as introducing you to a wealth of relevant books, articles and research papers from our own resources and library, you will also have access to The Association for Physical Association, the leading professional body for PE teachers. 

Membership will be set up and arranged for you at the start of the course and your Subject Specialist will guide you on how best to use the resources, professional learning community and events from the association to support your subject development and the lessons that you will prepare and deliver. 

Emma Lomax has been a teacher and leader of Physical Education for 15 years. As well as being passionate about the subject in the classroom they have also worked closely with primary school teachers to embed high quality teaching, has delivered CPD on the benefits that Physical Education has on students wellbeing and mental health, and has supported organisations and government initiatives to increase activity levels in all students.