Thematic report |
Physical education for pupils with learning difficulties: identifying good practice - February 2009
In the schools surveyed, standards in PE for many pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are good or very good. In almost all of these schools, high expectations in teaching led to high learner achievement. Pupils often make very good progress in relation to their ability and the context in which they learn.Inspectors identified best practice in about 40% of the schools we visited. However, in a few schools, teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge to plan tasks to challenge pupils effectively. This means that learning is not productive and pupils lose interest easily.
Recommendations
The Welsh Assembly Government should:
- consider how best to extend the good practice in provision for pupils with special educational needs in physical education identified in this report.
Local authorities should:
- take steps to cascade the good practice in physical education in special schools to leaders and managers, and teachers of physical education in mainstream schools; and
- ensure that appropriate opportunities for professional development are available to help all staff meet the needs and raise standards of achievement for all SEN pupils in physical education.
Schools should:
- work with local authorities to share the best practice;
- ensure that all pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools are integrated appropriately in mainstream physical education classes; and
- improve the quality of assessment and target setting for pupils with special educational needs in physical education.