Our aim at Claremont is for all children to leave primary school enjoying sport and to help encourage a lifelong involvement in exercise. We promote healthy physical development through the acquisition of skills, co-operation and confidence. We endeavour to achieve this in an atmosphere which encourages individual and team effort. The children take part in a wide variety of sports and activities including movement and dance, apparatus work and educational gymnastics, team games such as football, rugby and cricket, swimming and athletics.

We believe passionately these activities to be a crucial part of every child’s development and not only for their physical health but also their mental well-being. Sport and exercise is actively encouraged across all subjects and this is a key part of our provision here.

Children are expected to participate unless there are special grounds for exclusion. If your child is unfit for an activity, please inform us and we will make alternative arrangements. It is important that your child is provided with appropriate school PE kit which must be in school Monday to Friday.

We run a variety of clubs throughout the year to cater for all children across many different sports. During the autumn term, our newly introduced house cross-country event is held with all children – from EYFS to Y6 – completing a set distance depending on their age. In the summer, the whole school takes part in a Sports Day. This includes a wide range of activities which are fun and enjoyable while also adding the competitive edge of which school house will lift the trophy. We also take part in numerous local festivals throughout the year such as cross country, tag rugby, football, netball, tri-golf, indoor athletics and cricket.

We have had multiple success not only locally, but also at county level with teams winning in cricket, athletics and hockey.

Outdoor Learning

Helping children become active learners is a fundamental principle of teaching and learning for all at Claremont and we incorporate outdoor learning opportunities into all areas of the curriculum.

Pupils take part in a variety of different outdoor lessons including forest school activities, cross-curricular orienteering, local walks, curriculum enhancing trips and active English and maths lessons to name a few. We are always seeking new and innovative ways to teach.

We recognise that outdoor and active learning opportunities not only embed learning in the classroom, but also supports the following:

• children’s well-being and improved mental health
• children connecting with nature and recognising its importance to us all
• an inclusive approach
• building children’s independence skills, resilience, self-esteem, self-confidence and communication skills.

Swimming
Swimming is part of the National Curriculum. At Claremont, pupils from Y3, Y4 and Y5 each spend one long term a year learning to swim. Lessons take place on a weekly basis at Tunbridge Wells Leisure Centre with swimming instructors tailoring the lessons to meet their needs. We aim to provide the children with the best opportunity to meet the National Curriculum expectations as follows:

• swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke]
• perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

If children do not meet the end of Key Stage 2 expectations, we seek to find further opportunities for them to succeed. For those children who already meet the National Curriculum targets in Y5, they will remain in school taking part in a PE lesson.
At the end of Key Stage 2, we report on the PE and Sports Premium Report the percentage of children who meet the expectations stated above.

Extra-curricular Clubs

At Claremont, we offer a variety of different extra-curricular clubs. These are provided by the school and external providers. A list of all the clubs provided can be found on the clubs page.

Sports Team Selection

The Sports Team Selection Process throughout the school aims to encourage children to enjoy all aspects of sport, whether it is competitive, non-competitive, team, individual or creative. This consequently encourages participation for life, and will benefit health, well-being and increase social opportunities in the future. The aims are as follows:

1. Inspire a love of sport and of physical activity.
2. Raise the profile of Physical Education and sport across the school.
3. Increase participation and enjoyment in activity and sport.
4. Seek opportunities for as many pupils as possible to represent the school in a sporting event, club or activity over the year.
5. Ensure that the selection process is fair for all, by providing consistency.

Please see the link on how we at Claremont select pupils for sporting events.

Primary School PE Funding

At Claremont we value the vital contribution that Physical Education makes to the health and well-being of our children. We believe that a varied and innovative curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities can have a positive influence on the concentration, attitude and achievement in all areas of a young person's life. As a result, we work closely with a variety of partners to provide excellent provision as well explore and trial new opportunities.

What is the Sports Premium?

The Sports Premium is a sum of money allocated to the school by the government to improve the teaching and learning of PE. Each year the PE coordinator creates an action plan looking at the areas that need improvement in order to enable all children and staff to have a healthy body and mind. Details of spending in previous years is detailed below.

What we have spent the money on so far:

2023-24
Funding: £19,770
Spending Highlights

1. Membership of LATSSP for CPD, clubs and competitions: £5850
2. Investment in cross-curricular orienteering course (inc. training and resources): £2250
3. Purchase of new equipment to support PE lessons, school sport and physical activity: £2541.53
4. Supporting the cost of living with swimming lesson: £1920

For a more detailed plan see the PE and Sport Premium Report below.

2022-23
Funding: £21,190
With carry forward: £29,051.19

Spending Highlights
1. Membership of TWKSSP for CPD and competitions £3850
2. Supporting the cost of living with swimming lesson £3840
3. Better Lunchtime Mark £1755.70
4. Investment in new PE equipment £2215.06