Active Schools

What is the Active School Flag?

​The Active School Flag (ASF) is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. The process aims to get more schools, more active, more often.

Schools wishing to achieve the ASF begin the process by self-evaluating their current provision across 3 areas: Physical Education, Physical Activity and Partnerships. Schools must also organise an Active School Week programme and commit to having it as part of their annual school calendar. Schools that can say ‘yes’ to all of the ASF success criteria will be awarded with the active flag. The flag remains valid for a period of 3 years after which time schools will be invited to re-apply.

ASF is a Department of Education and Skills initiative supported by Healthy Ireland.

The Active School Committee and Playground Leaders

There are two representatives from each class from 3^rd to 6^th class on our Active School Committee and another two from each class are Playground Leaders. There are also two teachers involved in the Active School’s committee, the teachers involved are Miss Denton and Mr. Furlong.

The committee meets regularly and decides on how best to promote physical activity in the school. They also lead the school in activities. The committee decides what needs to be done and who is going to do it. The Playground Leaders help to implement initiatives. The committee update the active schools board and check the suggestion box regularly. They do a great job encouraging and motivating the whole school community!

Active School Committee

Playground Leaders

We are lucky to have a lot of equipment available to us, which the Senior Classes and the Active School Flag committee regularly re-organise and monitor. This year, we have labelled everything in the PE room to make it easily accessible to all.

Active Slogan

We had a slogan/poster competition in the senior end of the school at the beginning of the year. Check out our winning slogan below!

Physical Education

The Active School Flag Programme has helped us to focus more on our provision of physical education in the school. Teachers use the PE curriculum, PSSI lesson plans and the Move Well, Move Often Resources in their planning for physical education lessons. All of our mainstream teachers have completed ‘Move Well, Move Often’ online training. The Active School flag is discussed at all staff meetings.

All classes are taught 5 different PE strands each year: Athletics, Gymnastics, Games, Dance, Outdoor and Adventure, Aquatics (Water Safety). Swimming lessons take place every second year. The school plan reflects each of the strands of the curriculum and pupils receive 1 hour of Physical Education a week in the Halla and the school yard (weather permitting!).

Check out our P.E. timetable, yearly plan and pictures below that document the provision of PE across the strands of the curriculum!

PE TIMETABLE

This year the school will focus on Gymnastics from Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

The Strands of the Gymnastics Curriculum include:

Movement

• Understanding and appreciation of Gymnastics
• The following content objectives will be covered at each level:

Infants:

• Develop the basic movement actions of running, stopping, jumping, rolling, climbing, transferring weight, balancing, twisting and turning wrong body parts – exploring space
• Practice rocking and rolling activities
• Develop body awareness through variations of direction, pathways, levels, shape, speed etc….
• Work together to create and perform a sequence
• Talk about movement and answer questions about it.
• Develop ability to lift, carry and place apparatus safely.

First and Second:

• Basic movement actions: g. balancing, rolling, turning, twisting, stretching, climbing, transferring weight (variety of rolls)
• Body awareness through movement (direction, levels….)
• Travelling on apparatus
• Individual and pair sequences
• Take off and landing skills
• Posture/good body tension
• Ability to lift, place apparatus

Third and Fourth:

• Sequence of movement, vary direction, pathways etc.
• Move and travel on floor and an apparatus
• Handstand
• Forward and backward rolls (at the discretion of the teacher)
• Produce and perform sequence
• Develop good body tension and posture through gymnastics
• Show increased control in take-off, flight and landing
• Observe and describe movement and ask and answer questions about it.

Fifth and Sixth:

• Select and link a range of gymnastics actions to travel on the floor and on apparatus
• Practice and perform a range of skills
• Produce and perform more complex sequences with a partner on the floor and using apparatus
• Show controlled take off, flight and landing
• Produce group sequences

Our Plan:

All teachers will deliver gymnastics lessons at the same time. (January- February)

Active Schools’ Teacher representatives will provide both the PSSI lesson plans and the relevant fundamental movement skills for teachers planning. The teachers will also use the PDST resources at the following link: PDST Gymnastics

Teachers will use a range of assessment techniques including observational checklists, photos, rubrics and checklists to assess pupils progress.

Pupils will assess the work of their peers.

Physical Activity

Our school loves to stay very active!! The whole school have two breaks and go to the yard twice daily and are allowed to run on the yard.

Here are some of the additional physical activities and initiatives that we participate in:

Our school facilitates the use of sports equipment and music during break times.  Wednesday and Friday are our days for bringing equipment out to the yard

The school has sign posted an Active School WALKWAY. We encourage pupils to “Do their Talking While They are Walking” during break times and before school every morning.  We also “Train on Tuesdays”.  All classes participate in running for up to twenty minutes at lunch time on Tuesdays.  Rewards are earned for this physical activity and can be built up to earn a night off homework

It is school policy that on the days when children are unable to play outdoors, that every classroom teacher will incorporate an extended classroom-based physical activity break into the school day.  Teachers use 10@10, Go Noodle and Chair Yoga to incorporate this physical activity into the school day.

The school incorporates physical activity into annual calendar events throughout the school year such as a Halloween Witch’s Walk, a Santa Run and Seachtain na Gaeilge.

The school acknowledges physical activity effort and success both during school and outside of school hours.  We have a whole school assembly every Monday and Friday morning.  The children are encouraged to bring in any medals or trophies they may have won for sporting endeavours and to report on any matches etc they may have played.

Walk On Wednesday

Every Wednesday we gather together at the local park at 9AM to walk to school together. We do this to reduce traffic congestion outside the school for at least one day a week and encourage children and adults to walk to walk to school and to reduce our carbon footprint.

Feel Good Fridays, Active Lines, Climb the Heights and Run Around Ireland Challenges.

The Active Schools’ Committee members and Playground Leaders love to keep our school active with Feel Good Fridays, Active lines, Climb the Heights and Run Around Ireland Challenge!

Partnerships

Partnerships within and outside the school are an important aspect of the Active School Flag. When a school participates in the Active School Flag Programme it is vital to interact and engage with other organisations and clubs.

We are very fortunate to have had a variety of partnerships during our Active Flag mission.

We have an extremely supportive and ongoing partnership with Cloughbawn GAA Club. We have participated in the Hurling 365 initiative over a couple of years.

In conjunction with the Parents’ Association, we organise a fun run in June each year. It is always a great success and a great fundraiser.

We take part in Rackard League and Mini Sevens every year in both Gaeilc Football and Hurling/ Camogie

The children in our school are very active and there are a huge variety of clubs and activities in the area that they take part in outside of school to keep fit. The Active School Committee carried out a survey to see what sports the children do outside of school. They graphed the results, which you can see below.

We have had a number of outside coaches who work with the staff to provide training including Wexford County GAA coaching, Tag Rugby and Cricket.

Active Week June 2022

We carry out an Active Week every June, the most recently in June 2022. We had a jam-packed week filled with lots of fun activities! Check out the time table and photos below!

As part of Active Schools’ Week, the children have no written homework, they are challenged to get out and be active in the evening times by completing Active Homework!

Active Week 2023

We plan to run our Active Week in June again this year. Planning is well under way. The committee are currently working on the timetable and are designing posters to advertise and promote it.