Squash Scheme of Work Overview
The aim of this resource is to provide a clear framework which teachers and other physical education and school sport professionals can use to develop squash in secondary schools. It provides detailed schemes of work and lesson plans which secondary colleagues will find invaluable. It links effectively to the current National Curriculum (Key Stage 3 and 4) and provides challenging activities for squash. It strengthens the link between school and extra-curricular activities and competition (School Games) and there is also focus on literacy, physical literacy, and key words which lend themselves to cross curricular activities.
It is extremely important to understand that this resource is simply a guide and as the user, lesson plans do not need to be followed exactly. When using it, you may find that you will achieve more or less than the suggested content in each unit of work, this is of course dependent on timings allocated for Physical Education at your school as well as the need for adaptation and differentiation. You will have to take into account that each pupil has their own individual needs, and different ability levels as well as different experiences with regards to physical education and sport, therefore those using it should consider how to differentiate tasks so that all pupils are included and are able to meet the learning objectives and outcomes with some degree of success.
Introduction
Squash in secondary schools has traditionally regarded as a “minority sport” and unless the school has the facilities or staff with an interest in squash or specific squash knowledge it does not normally feature as a mainstream taught curricular activity. Part of the reason for this has been the dearth of resources available for teachers to utilise when teaching squash in an educational setting. This resource has been produced in an attempt to fill this gap.
The resource deals exclusively with school years 7-11 (Key Stage 3 and 4), and is designed to maximise the ease of performance of the activities and games contained within. Obviously there is scope to make these activities easier or harder to cater for different ability levels, but still has a strong element of competition to inspire and enthuse. It is also intended that schools utilising this resource will look to compete in ‘school families’ or ‘partnership clusters’, in line with the intentions of the School Games (levels 1-3) with teams from years 7-11 culminating in a District/Regional final (level 3) and ideally a nearby club-based squash coaching programme as a follow on.
The resource content supports the Key Stage 3 and 4 Physical Education Programme of Study that is delivered in the Secondary Curriculum. There is also a section that deals with the assessment criteria for GCSE Squash in relation to Player/Participant, Leader and Official.
Physical Education Programme of Study – Key Stage 3
During Key Stage 3 pupils become more expert in their skills and techniques, and how to apply them in different activities. They start to understand what makes a performance effective and how to apply those principles to their own and others’ work. They learn to take the initiative and make decisions for themselves about what to do to improve performance. They start to identify the types of activity they prefer to be involved with, and to take a variety of roles such as leader and official
Acquiring and developing skills
1. Pupils should be taught to:
a) refine and adapt existing skills
b) develop them into specific techniques that suit different activities and perform them with consistent control.
Selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas
2. Pupils should be taught to:
a) Use principles to plan and implement strategies, and organisational ideas in individual, pair, group and team activities
b) Modify and develop their plans
c) apply rules and conventions for different activities.
Evaluating and improving performance
3. Pupils should be taught to:
a) be clear about what they want to achieve in their own work, and what they have actually achieved
b) take the initiative to analyse their own and others work, using this information to improve it’s quality.
Knowledge and understanding of fitness and health
4. Pupils should be taught:
a) how to prepare and recover from specific activities
b) how different types of activity affect specific aspects of their fitness
c) the benefits of regular exercise and good hygiene
d) how to go about getting involved in activities that are good for their personal and social health and well being.
Physical Education Programme of Study – Key Stage 4
During key stage 4, pupils tackle complex and demanding activities, applying their knowledge of skills, techniques and effective performance. They decide whether to get involved in physical activity that is mainly focused on competing or performing, promoting health and well-being or developing personal fitness. They also decide on roles that suit them best including performer, coach, leader and official. The view they have of their skilfulness and physical competence gives them the confidence to get involved in exercise and activity out of school and in later life.
Acquiring and developing skills
1. Pupils should be taught to:
a) Develop and apply advanced skills and techniques
b) apply them in increasingly demanding situations.
Selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas
2. Pupils should be taught to:
a) use advanced strategic and organisational concepts and principles
b) apply these concepts and principles in increasingly demanding situations
c) apply rules and conventions for different activities.
Evaluating and improving performance
3. Pupils should be taught to:
a) make informed choices about what role they want to take in each activity
b) judge how good a performance is and decide how to improve it.
c) Prioritise and carry out these decisions to improve their own and others’ performances
d) Develop leadership skills
Knowledge and understanding of fitness and health
4. Pupils should be taught:
a) how preparation, training and fitness relate to and affect performance.
b) how to design and carry out activity and training programmes that have specific purposes.
c) the importance of exercise and activity to personal, social and mental health and well-being.
d) how to monitor and develop their own training, exercise and activity programmes in and out of school.
The squash resource has been created and adapted to focus on the four main areas of study in Physical Education. The these areas are acquiring and developing skills, selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas, and Evaluating and improving performance.
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