How we make school sport fun and inclusive for everyone

The benefits of fun and engaging PE sessions in primary school environments stretch far beyond the boundaries of maintaining and encouraging positive physical health.  

Primary school sport provides a platform for pupils to boost their social and mental health too by learning from new experiences, developing essential life skills and making friends.  

Delivering sessions to pupils of varied abilities can be challenging. It’s why schools work with Ignite Sport to provide an inspiring, challenging and creative solution to internal PE delivery in a safe environment.  

Ignite Sport Lead Coach Ellen Hopkins works in schools across the Thames Valley. In our latest blog, Ellen explains how inclusive sessions can inspire all pupils to reach their true potential in and outside of lessons.  

Session objectives  

Every Ignite Sport PE plan will be tailored to suit a school’s requirements – this includes frequency, content and end-of-term objectives.  

All sessions are delivered, though, to fulfil our core objectives which include:  

· Ensuring all participants are supported  

· Making sessions enjoyable, but challenging for all levels  

· Increasing participants’ confidence 

· Improving key skills such as agility, balance, communication and teamwork. 

READ MORE: Mental health champions make Ignite a supportive environment for partners 

Top tips!  

Ellen can work with up to 15 pupils of varying abilities and interests at any time.  

It means accommodating for different skillsets and planning sessions to make them fun for everyone is an important part of her role. Ellen lists her top tips to delivering a fun and engaging session below.  

1. Celebration   

Ellen said: “Coaches can celebrate the achievements of pupils at both ends of the ability scale. Sometimes, just turning up and taking part is a huge step in the right direction that is worth celebrating.  

“For pupils of good or outstanding ability, we’ll challenge them to improve their already high standards to keep them motivated.”  

2. Adaptation  

Ellen said: “Within one session, it’s possible to deliver different tasks to different individuals. For example, a confident footballer might be asked to complete a dribbling exercise by using the weaker part of their foot.  

“The key is to not discredit or demotivate other participants by making it obvious who is performing at a higher level, which is why celebration is so important and we recognise progress.”  

3. Competition  

Ellen said: “This isn’t about who is the winner and who is the loser. By competition, we mean giving pupils the confidence to aspire to beat their own personal bests.  

“We might match similar ability pupils together too and introduce some fun activities where both participants have the opportunity to experience success.”  

READ MORE: Getting to know, Ignite Sport coach Emma Bush 

School services  

Our school packages have been developed in line with the national curriculum and offer a flexible solution to KS1 and 2 PE delivery and assessment.  

Our team not only provides PE services, but also stand-alone multi-sport clubs, breakfast, lunchtime and after-school clubs plus wrap around care options.  

Ellen added: “School sport is where it all started for me. My first coaches inspired me to play football and I was fortunate to develop my ability and represent Oxford United growing up.  

“That pathway led me into the career I’m leading now, and helping pupils overcome challenges and reach new milestones gives us all a huge deal of satisfaction.  

“We’re all great believers that sport has the ability to change lives, and that passion is reflected in the sessions we deliver.”  

Contact our team today!  

If you’d like to learn more about Ignite Sport’s school services, why not contact our friendly team today.  

You can call 0300 303 0890 or email info@ignitesportuk.com to arrange a visit from our General Manager Hannah Bladen.