Planning

Short term plan

Short term plans are the actual lessons we teach. We can use the strands to be covered in the activity to direct our teaching and learning. Our lessons should also provide feedback to pupils and to give credit whenever a pupil shines. This is where a teacher gives the pupils the opportunity to achieve the criteria for reaching the expected level.

Evaluation of programmes and individual lessons are necessary in the continuous planning process. It is our responsibility to evaluate and reflect on our own performance. We need to evaluate the programme to see if it can be improved. Is the programme challenging enough or too challenging? Does our teaching and learning give enough opportunities to achieve the expected levels or enough opportunities to express and evaluate? Evaluation increases the effectiveness of curricular planning. We evaluate our assessment procedures and should be prepared to change them if the need arises.

Medium term plan

Medium term plans contain more detailed information. They are used to identify the activity to be taught. They contain the appropriate level of work and the attainment targets set for the class. It contains the strands outlined in the long term plan to direct our learning and teaching. The strands allow us to decide which teaching methods we can use to fulfill the targets set. 

As this plan contains the attainment targets it can also be used in assessing and recording the pupils work.

The programme itself becomes the basis of the assessment. If each programme is set to a level and the pupils are participating at that level then only the 'outriders' need to be recorded. Teachers use their professional judgement in deciding the pupils who are not achieving the level and those who are achieving more than the level, [the 'outriders'] The vast majority of pupils can be said to have reached the expected level and need not be recorded. 

The activity specific attainment targets become the programmes of study. This ensures all pupils are working towards the same targets but also allows for individuality in lessons and teaching methods.

This cuts down the amount of information to be recorded and so becomes more manageable and less time consuming.

Long term plan

The long term plan can be for 1 or 2 years. It should contain:

Activities to from a broad and balanced programme – Games, Dance, Gymnastics, Athletics and Swimming if available. It can also contain outdoor activities.

Information on the strands covered. Although each strand is important they need not all have equal weighing. They often overlap and can be interdependent. Strands should vary within each activity. 

The plan should also contain the level of the programme. The levels are set out in the Expressive Arts National Guidelines.

For ease with planning using the body and applying skills can be combined as one strand. Equally, investigating and developing fitness should permeate throughout the programme and need not be covered as a separate strand. In the Long term plan example given, strands chosen for each activity are identified by the word 'major'.

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