Is the Physical Education National Curriculum just doing a circuit?

2014 National Curriculum

 

When the first draft for the physical education National Curriculum for 2014 was released, it was widely criticised as many believed that it pushed for too much of a competitive nature between students (Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 2013). The overly competitive nature of the new National Curriculum was believed to be a deterrent to students who were not as physically competent, some students purely participate in sports for the enjoyment and not for the competitive aspect, so introducing the competitive aspect as a main theme to the National Curriculum could, in fact, deter students who would have previously enjoyed physical education.

By teaching a broad and balanced curriculum, ensuring that both individual and team games are taught as well as individual sports such as gymnastics, dance and athletics then students can find a sport they are interested in, enjoy and excel at. To ensure that student maintain a healthy, active lifestyle, it is essential that during school students find a sport or physical activity that they are interested in. Teaching students a broad range of sports or physical activities, including community and club links, as the 2014 National Curriculum does, ensures that students can find an activity they enjoy and can continue into their adult life.

However, due to the strong emphasis on competition, some believe that due to the competitive aspect added to the new National Curriculum, physical education is now becoming closely linked to sport and the distinction between the two is becoming blurred (Department for Education, 2012). Also, throughout key stages three and four of the National Curriculum for physical education it is stated that students should be performing competitive sports or physical activity outside of school and through community and club links, which again not only blurs the distinction between physical education and sport but is promoting the competitive nature of sport into physical education. Physical education has also started being called physical education and school sport, which further blurs the distinction. 

The National Curriculum released in 2014 allows teachers to be slightly autonomous in their teaching, accommodating teachers to make decisions regards their teaching based on the facilities that the school has and the experience and expertise of individual teachers. This however, suggests a reverse to the original aims of the National Curriculum, which is to teach a broad and balanced curriculum to students to allow for holistic development. 

Although the curriculum does allow teachers to make decisions in what they teach and gives teachers slight freedom regarding what they teach, it is still rigid in structure and sets out different aspects of physical education, activity and sports that teachers must teach and students must learn. The 2014 National Curriculum still sets out a broad and balanced curriculum so that students can develop physically.

Physical education is one of the few subjects which allow children to be developed holistically, developing students cognitively, emotionally and socially as well as the physical development that is nurtured and provided through a physical education lesson. To ensure that students develop the four domains in physical education lessons it is essential for students to learn a broad and balanced curriculum.