We think it’s fair to assume, none of us were in the position to anticipate and adequately prepare for the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown and the subsequent dramatic adjustments that would occur for all our lives. Continue reading to hear more about how First Step PE are preparing for the new normal.

With that being said, we all adjusted very quickly and saw communities, colleagues and families come together to support each other during these trying times. Real and even stronger partnerships have been formed.

By putting partnership at the forefront of our strategy, we were able to become stronger and more resilient during this time. We can only thank our partner schools, parents and other companies in our community for the support we have been given to protect, what we think is going to be an even more valuable service to our children and young people.

As we begin to put what could arguably be the most challenging of these times behind us; leaders everywhere are now preparing for a post ‘Covid19 world’.
We too are in the transition of doing this ourselves, and if we have learnt anything from these times it is that, stronger partnerships are going to be key to all our success.

How do we prepare though, when there are obvious difficulties? It is hard to gauge the full impact this pandemic is going to have across the board and what expectations we have on schools to repair any of the lasting affects which will be seen in some children, whose experiences of the pandemic have been varied.

Our plans are simple, we think it is imperative to put the wellbeing of our children and young people first and, if we do this we won’t be far off. The need for wellbeing services are going to be high and we feel very privileged to have tried and tested restorative programmes ready to share with our partners to take some of the burden off making these preparations for the next school year.

First Step PE strategies for Positive PE

It goes without saying that PE has tangible benefits on young minds. Achievement, enjoyment, teamwork and communication are always at the forefront of our lessons. We have shared below some of our considerations moving forward:

Our key focus areas for Positive PE

• Positive behaviour management
• Encouraging communication
• Learning through fun
• Focusing on the Fundamentals and Physical Literacy
• Teamwork
• Incorporating mindfulness and wellbeing practice in all PE lessons

Our key programmes for Positive PE

• Yoga and Meditation
• Early years programmes and the power of storytelling, and incorporating that is our lessons
• A focus on sharing our creative arts and the positive impact dance will have on our pupils.
• A new 2020/21 offer for PE and School Sport