In 1988 the Education Reform Act established the idea of a National Curriculum which aimed to “promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society”; and “prepare such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life” [1]. Through a combination of 10 subjects including Physical Education, the government provided the first structured foundation to contribute to the holistic development of children across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
More specifically, Physical Education in the National Curriculum intends to develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, to encourage children to be physically active for sustained periods of time, …show more content…
Physical Education typically has two sides; the practical side and the theoretical side. Through the theory, individuals can be taught about the importance of physical activity via facts and figures all backed up with scientific evidence for a quantitative outlook on Physical Education. These facts and figures can then be put into practice during the practical elements thus further improving the knowledge and understanding through first hand experiences whilst also furthering a foundation by combining qualitative perspectives with the quantitative. It is important to include a combination of the both for the most solid grounding. It also reduces the risk of injury as learning about how the body works in a theoretical manner via biology can inform the individual about how not to perform a move during the practical for example, by learning through diagrams and images that it is unsafe to turn both ankles out when landing a jump and the implications that may occur if the individual did do this, it will reduce the chances of the individual doing this during the practical. Although it is important to learn about the historical, social and cultural aspects of physical activity, the most important thing to understand is the importance of life-long participation in order to develop your physical literacy to the highest level possible. This is most successfully done via first hand experiences and seeing how your body positively adapts and changes through participation. The most physically literate will recognise the implications of participation on a deeper level such as how your participation may affect