In Cloverfield N.S. we have a Whole School Physical Education plan which clearly outlines the manner in which the Physical Education curriculum will be covered by the children in all classes. PE is an important aspect of education in Cloverfield N.S. and great effort is put into ensuring that all pupils are as active as possible throughout the school day. Click the button below to view this plan.
Physical Education
All teachers work together to ensure that 60 minutes of discrete physical education lessons are timetabled for each class group on a weekly basis. These timetables sessions include lessons delivered by visiting coaches and lessons planned for/delivered by the class teachers. Each year the strands of Athletics, Games, Gymnastics, Dance and Outdoor and Adventure are covered by all classes.
We are lucky enough to be very well resourced in terms of Physical Education/Sporting equipment which is stored in our storage shed. Donations of equipment from local sporting clubs, sponsorships from parents/local businesses, fundraisers and the use of school funds allow us to maintain our sporting equipment and to purchase new equipment when necessary. Our sports teams take great pride in wearing our new school jerseys which were kindly sponsored by Stephen Ryan Electrical.
We endeavor to provide accessible and inclusive physical education experiences, meeting the needs of all individual pupils in our school. Teachers plan accordingly when preparing for PE lessons/physical activities and where required, children are supported to participate by SNAs. As a staff, we collaborate to ensure that our PE lessons and any other active opportunities provided to the pupils are of high quality. We make use of many different resources to support our PE lessons. Examples of such resources include the Move Well Move Often programme, Limerick Sports Partnership lessons, Action for Life lessons (Irish Heart Foundation), World Athletics lessons, Primary Schools’ Sports Initiative lessons and the Smart Moves programme.
Physical Education is viewed as an extremely important aspect of the curriculum, therefore, is discussed with parents at Parent Teacher meetings and is also included on End of Year reports.
Our Focus Strand 2025 – Athletics
We selected Athletics as our focus strand. Below are some of the specific actions we have taken to promote this strand during the 2024-2025 school year:
Limerick Sports Partnership
We reached out to the Limerick Sports Partnership to seek out support in relation to our focus strand, Athletics. We were provided with lesson plans based on the different Athletics strands. These lessons were used with all class groups
Sports Hall Equipment
As a school, we have access to a large variety of PE resources, however, we felt we did not have ample resources relating to the jumping and throwing aspects of the Athletics strand. We were delighted to be afforded the opportunity to borrow equipment from the Limerick Sports Partnership’s Sports Hall Equipment programme. All pupils got the opportunity to use foam javelins, long jump mats, side steppers etc. which greatly improved their Athletics PE lessons whilst we had access to the resources.
Visit from Phil Roche
On Tuesday, the 11th of March, we were delighted to welcome Phil Roche of Dooneen A.C. and Limerick Community Games to our school. Phil held sessions for each class group based on the different aspects of the Athletics strand. All pupils were shown how to long jump, jump hurdles and throw javelins. Each child got the opportunity to practise these skills whilst receiving tips and advice from Phil. The children were also working on relays, sprinting and starting positions with Phil. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and were encouraged to join athletics clubs or participate with the local Community Games area if interested!
During the Summer Term, all children will complete the PAWS (Primary Aquatics Water Safety) lessons for their class group. Water Safety Ireland’s PAWS programme outlines the essential life-saving guidelines that every child needs to know. We encourage all parents to discuss water safety with their children prior to the summer holidays.
Click on the image to access the PAWS resources and games at home.
Physical Activity Homework
Active homework replaces written homework on Wednesday evenings across the school. We provide the children with PDST glance charts based on the strands of Gymnastics, Games and Athletics. The children can make the choice of which activity/activities they would like to complete at home. QR codes have been placed on the back of the glance cards which can be scanned by parents/children to access further explanations of the activities when required. The glance charts can be accessed below along with the explanations of the different activities.
