Upton Junior School has always placed a high value upon sport and the many positive aspects that transfer across a school environment. From physical fitness, to teamwork, to greater mental health, sport has a massive role to place alongside traditional academia in ensuring our children develop into confident and capable adults, able to work socially and independently in a range of settings.

As former holders of the National Primary Sports School of the Year award and current holders of the Platinum School Games Mark, Beacon School status and numerous other awards and kitemarks, the challenge for Upton is to build and improve year on year in a sustainable way. This is a challenge we welcome, just as we welcome the government’s commitment to funding primary school sport. It is at this age that children develop a love of the sport that we hope will help overcome the decline in sports participation during teenage years.

There are 5 Key Indicators which school should expect to see improvement across as a result of the funding. They are:

1. The engagement of all pupils in regular physical activity – Chief Medical Officer guidelines recommend that primary school children undertake at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day in school

2. The profile of PE and sport being raised across the school as a tool for whole school improvement

3. Increased confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport

4. Broader experience of a range of sports and activities offered to all pupils

5. Increased participation in competitive sport

This year Upton will receive £21 150 from the Primary Sport Grant. In creating the document below the school have drawn on best practice from AfPE (commissioned by the DfE to develop Sports Premium resources for schools) as well as the ‘Primary School Physical Literacy Framework and the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework.’ 

The priorities below do in no way encompass the extent of PE and Sport at Upton but simply deconstruct how we plan to spend the ring-fenced funding. Upton engage in our own Community Sport Programme aimed at sharing our expertise and creating opportunity for those in the local community. Pre-Covid, over 2000 children from Thanet were involved in a sports event organised or hosted by Upton.