Episode 79 - Exam PE Series: Deep Dive 1 - A deep dive into AQA GCSE Physical Education with Jackie Brookes

When we ask girls about their experiences of PE, how much are we prepared to change in response? In this episode, Nathan Walker is joined by Louise Lindon, Head of PE and Sport and PE Scholar Associate, to explore how listening to pupils can inform decisions about their learning and participation. Lou shares her experiences of leading a department, navigating change and addressing barriers to girls’ participation. We also discuss her reflections on being a female Head of PE, the value of professional networks, and finding the confidence to back yourself while remaining open to new ideas. A conversation for PE teachers and leaders thinking about their next step, whether that means taking on a new role or reconsidering something in tomorrow’s lesson. PE Insights is brought to you by PE Scholar. Want to take your learning further? Unlock exclusive PE resources, research and CPD courses with PE Scholar Membership—your one-stop hub for professional growth and impact. Use code POD10 at checkout or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://psch.la/POD10⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off today! We are excited to share our partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sports Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠. Through its “⁠⁠⁠⁠My School Rewards⁠⁠⁠⁠” scheme, your school will receive 10% back on every order, helping you make your departmental budget go further.

How can we help girls build a relationship with movement that lasts beyond school? In this episode of the PE Insights Podcast, I’m joined by Asha Riley, Head of Active Wellbeing at St Swithun’s Prep School, lecturer and tutor at the University of Buckingham, and creator of MOVE60. Asha shares how she’s working to build an active school culture where girls feel seen, supported and confident to participate. We explore the everyday choices that shape that culture: the opportunities we offer, the voices we listen to, and whose achievements we celebrate. Our conversation covers: • Listening to girls and using the Girls Active survey to inform change. • Creating different routes into activity, from lunchtime clubs to strength and conditioning. • Talking openly about periods, sports bras and barriers to participation. • Helping pupils develop confidence, physical literacy and the ability to adapt as life changes. • Balancing inclusion with appropriate challenge and positive experiences of exertion. We also reflect on Asha’s international teaching experience and what colleagues in different school settings might take from her approach. Throughout, we return to a shared ambition: helping girls leave school with the skills, confidence and positive experiences to keep finding their own ways to be active. PE Insights is brought to you by PE Scholar. Want to take your learning further? Unlock exclusive PE resources, research and CPD courses with PE Scholar Membership—your one-stop hub for professional growth and impact. Use code POD10 at checkout or visit ⁠⁠⁠https://psch.la/POD10⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off today! We are excited to share our partnership with ⁠⁠⁠Sports Directory⁠⁠⁠. Through its “⁠⁠⁠My School Rewards⁠⁠⁠” scheme, your school will receive 10% back on every order, helping you make your departmental budget go further.

Season four begins with Ben Mayes, Head of Physical Education at Bodmin College, for a thoughtful and practical conversation about creating PE experiences that support the whole child. Ben shares how the Know, Show & GROW framework shapes his curriculum thinking, lesson design and leadership. We explore how pupils can develop knowledge and movement competence while also learning to demonstrate resilience, empathy, persistence, independence and other qualities that extend beyond PE. Ben challenges us to consider whether we genuinely teach and assess personal development - or whether we sometimes offer little more than definitions and brief conversations. In this episode, we discuss: What Know, Show & GROW looks like within a PE lesson Why the GROW objective should be explicitly taught, modelled and celebrated Normalising struggle, failure and difficulty within learning Creating active arrivals and making purposeful use of changing time Using retrieval, questioning and conditioned games to reinforce learning Developing pupil autonomy, agency and ownership Using models-based practice, including Sport Education, Cooperative Learning and Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility The relationship between Know, Show & GROW and Move, Think, Feel and Connect Leading curriculum change and developing a shared departmental language What the future national curriculum might prioritise within PE Ben also poses an important challenge: Where does GROW rank within your PE lessons - and could your pupils explain how they have grown after the lesson has finished? This episode offers plenty of practical ideas for PE teachers, trainees and subject leaders who want their curriculum to remain physically active while becoming more holistic, meaningful and genuinely focused on learning. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn to follow his work and explore the resources he shares with the PE community. PE Insights is brought to you by PE Scholar. Want to take your learning further? Unlock exclusive PE resources, research and CPD courses with PE Scholar Membership—your one-stop hub for professional growth and impact. Use code POD10 at checkout or visit ⁠⁠https://psch.la/POD10⁠⁠ for 10% off today! We are excited to share our partnership with ⁠⁠Sports Directory⁠⁠. Through its “⁠⁠My School Rewards⁠⁠” scheme, your school will receive 10% back on every order, helping you make your departmental budget go further.

In this episode of the PE Insights Podcast, Nathan speaks with Matt about how Physical Education can develop much more than pupils’ physical competence. The conversation begins with Split Screen teaching, an approach influenced by the work of Guy Claxton. Building on the podcast’s previous discussion with Dr Will Patz about making curriculum values explicit, Matt explains how teachers can deliberately foreground qualities such as courage, collaboration and independence alongside physical learning. He also shares how pupils can help to co-construct success criteria, making these wider learning behaviours visible, meaningful and easier to recognise within lessons. Nathan and Matt then explore Fundamental Movement Skills and the important role they play in supporting children’s development. Matt outlines how his school uses KIDDO to screen pupils from Early Years 3 to Grade 5, alongside beginning-of-unit assessments and Guttman analysis in selected areas of the curriculum. Rather than viewing assessment as an endpoint, the discussion considers how it can help teachers understand pupils’ starting points and make better-informed decisions about curriculum planning and teaching. The episode also examines learner variability: recognising that pupils arrive in PE with different experiences, strengths, needs and levels of confidence. Matt shares how assessment information can be used to plan more responsive learning experiences while maintaining high expectations for every pupil. Throughout the conversation, Nathan and Matt consider how PE teachers can make both physical learning and personal development more intentional, visible and accessible. Topics covered include: What Split Screen teaching means in Physical Education

What happens when we stop talking about student voice and genuinely hand students the microphone? In this special episode of the PE Insights Podcast, Nathan hands hosting duties to aspiring PE teacher Zara. She is joined by Grace, Amber and Rosa, who are entering Year 10; Jack, who is beginning sixth form; Jas, who is studying psychology at university; and Ellie, who is at college. Using the idea of a “note to my PE teacher”, the panel reflect honestly on the experiences that shaped their relationship with PE, sport and physical activity. Together, they explore: The confidence created through leadership, responsibility and being trusted