School focus: Nether Edge Primary School

Fit, fun and fabulous are just three words used to describe the PE and sport curriculum on offer at Nether Edge Primary School.
Nether Edge pupils Shayan, Isha and Jannat reading their favourite booksNether Edge pupils Shayan, Isha and Jannat reading their favourite books
Nether Edge pupils Shayan, Isha and Jannat reading their favourite books

The school near Abbeydale Road recently received the Gold School Games Mark Award in recognition of the excellent PE provision in both the school and the wider community too.

The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012 and facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition both across their school and into the community.

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Headteacher Michele Nott said: “One of the things that we are really proud of is our sports offer in school so we’re really thrilled to be successful in the School Games Mark. That came through the sporting achievements we’ve had in school so things like move fest, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball – a whole range of things.

Nether Edge pupils playing handball in the playgroundNether Edge pupils playing handball in the playground
Nether Edge pupils playing handball in the playground

“We also had 120 young people competing in local, inter-school sports competitions. Sport is built into the curriculum but we also offer after-school clubs as well so it's beyond the school day really.

“It’s really important to us that our children have an active, healthy attitude to life and that includes physical exercise but it’s also much more than that. It’s about collaboration with their friends and other children and meeting children from other schools, with the importance of the competition element as well.”

Throughout lessons with the schools dedicated PE teacher, students – no matter what their ability or individual starting point – are encouraged to develop skills and explore a range of sport such as ball games and team sport to gymnastics and dance.

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Every child has two PE lessons twice a week and, where possible, receive visits from professional coaches who are brought into the school to teach them extra skills.

Nether Edge pupils Jannat and Isha reading in the libraryNether Edge pupils Jannat and Isha reading in the library
Nether Edge pupils Jannat and Isha reading in the library

Previously students have been taught by Sheffield United football coaches, Sheffield Hallam University basketball coaches and Frisbee champions to name a few.

“We've worked really hard on our lunchtimes as well,” Mrs Nott added. “At lunchtime, we offer a rich range of sports activities but also things that would interest children perhaps who aren’t dedicated to sport as well.

“We’ve got a reading area outside, we’ve got a small world play area so children can play with little dinosaurs and animals but not just Reception children, we know that you’re never too old to want to play.”

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Elsewhere the school has recently overhauled its art department and revamped the visual art and design curriculum.

Nether Edge pupils Saqib and Humerah working on their art projectNether Edge pupils Saqib and Humerah working on their art project
Nether Edge pupils Saqib and Humerah working on their art project

It focuses on four main art skills – colour, drawing, painting and sculpting – helping the children to not only develop their creativity from a young age.

This also allows them to explore their own imagination and learn how to become innovative, using a range of different techniques to create different pieces of art which they develop as they move through the school.

Mrs Nott said: “Children also learn from the great artists from different periods in history as well as more contemporary artists. If you talk with children in our school you’ll find they have a rich understanding of a whole range of artists from Gaudí to Leonora Carrington who the Year 5s studied last year.

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“They made these animal hybrids that are linked to her dreams and it also gave us the opportunity to look at mental health issues as well which is a big part of her work.

“The materials they are exposed to, the amount of creativity that is developed and because they’re learning about these themes and the skills of these artists, they can then start to apply that to their own work.”

The children became curators for a day as they presented their work when the school was transformed into a sculpture gallery.

Producing the exhibition booklet themselves, the youngsters were on hand to talk to the visitors about the processes they'd used to create their work and the knowledge they'd developed throughout their time in lesson.

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In another attempt to prepare pupils for the wider world, the school ensures that everyone, from Nursery through to Year 6, learns a progressive conversational programme of French.

“Many of our children speak different languages anyway,” Mrs Nott added. “But, we teach all of our children French so that they leave our school really confident and articulate as French speakers. So even in our Nursery they’ll be singing and talking in French.”

But, most importantly, the best thing about Nether Edge Primary is the pupils, says Mrs Nott who describes them as being ‘enthusiastic about learning, about life in school and beyond’.

She said: “A big part of our curriculum is making sure that children are prepared and ready for life, firstly secondary school but further beyond that. We really try to make sure our children have a rich experiences so they do well academically but also have access to all sorts of other things as well.

“People repeatedly over the years have said to me that there is something special about our school and it is about our children's enthusiasm. They just love our school.”

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