Sports Grant
Sports Grant Spend and Impact
PE AND SPORTS GRANT
At Phoenix Infant and Nursery School, we recognise the vital role that physical activity plays in supporting our pupils' physical health, emotional well-being, and social development. The PE and Sport Premium funding helps us provide high-quality physical education and activity opportunities tailored to the needs of our young children. Our aim is to build the foundations of a healthy, active lifestyle while helping children build confidence, resilience and teamwork.
Purpose of the PE and Sport Premium
The Sports Premium is additional funding given to schools to enhance the quality of PE and sport provision. Schools must use the funding to improve physical activity opportunities but have the flexibility to choose how best to meet the needs of their pupils.
Here is the link for the Department of Education's Primary School's sports funding page.
The PE and Sport Premium funding enables us to:
- Ensure all pupils are physically active every day, meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 minutes of daily activity.
- Develop staff expertise to deliver fun, inclusive, and engaging PE lessons.
- Introduce children to a variety of physical activities, encouraging lifelong enthusiasm for movement and fitness.
- Enhance outdoor and indoor spaces to support active play and learning throughout the school day.
- Build key movement skills like balance, coordination, and agility, which are vital in early childhood.
- Offering swimming lessons for Year 2 pupils, laying the groundwork for swimming instruction in later years.
How We Use the Funding at Phoenix Infant and Nursery School
1. Developing Lunchtime Play to Increase Activity for the Least Active Pupils
A key focus of our funding is improving lunchtime play so that all children, particularly those who are less active, have meaningful opportunities to move, explore and be physically engaged. Through the development of OPAL play, the introduction of new equipment and staff training, we are creating inclusive playtimes where every child can take part at their own level. This helps build confidence and ensures physical activity becomes a natural, enjoyable part of the school day.
2. Raising the Profile of PE and Sport Across the School
We use part of our funding to ensure PE and sport have a strong presence in daily school life. This includes celebrating children’s achievements, involving families, and ensuring staff are confident in promoting active, healthy lifestyles. By raising the status of PE, we support whole-school improvement, helping children develop resilience, teamwork, and a positive attitude towards being active.
3. Increasing Engagement in Regular Physical Activity
We invest in high-quality PE resources, active learning opportunities and a varied curriculum to motivate children to participate in physical activity every day. Staff receive support and training to deliver fun, inclusive lessons that build fundamental movement skills. Daily activity is encouraged through active playtimes, structured games, movement breaks and child-friendly equipment that invites pupils to be active throughout the school day.
4. Increasing Participation in Competitive Sport
Although our pupils are in Key Stage 1, we believe in offering age-appropriate competitive opportunities that help children develop teamwork, sportsmanship and confidence. Funding is used to support participation in multi-skills festivals, friendly events with local schools, and in-school challenges that allow children to experience healthy competition in a supportive and encouraging environment.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The impact of our PE and Sports Premium funding is carefully monitored. We review:
- Pupil, staff and parent feedback
- Children’s engagement in lessons and active play
- Participation in physical activities and events
- Improvements in movement skills, physical confidence and social development
We publish an annual report detailing how funds were spent and the difference this has made to our pupils.
Looking Ahead – Sports Grant 2025–26
For the 2025–2026 academic year, our priorities include:
- Expanding our age-appropriate PE equipment to support a range of movement activities
- Further developing our outdoor learning and OPAL play environments
- Enhancing water-confidence opportunities for Year 2 pupils
- Strengthening community connections to enrich children’s physical activity opportunities
- Continuing staff development to ensure sustainable, high-quality PE delivery