Year 1 PE Games

Keeping young children active and engaged in PE lessons is vital, and the good news is you don’t need lots of fancy equipment to do it. Here’s a quick roundup of simple Year 1 PE games, with and without equipment, that are easy to deliver and guaranteed to get your class moving. We also have a wide range of free resources for Year 1 activities, check out our free resources for more information.

Why Year 1 PE Games Matter

Key Stage 1 PE games help children develop fundamental movement skills, balance, coordination, and teamwork. When you’re teaching Year 1 PE lessons, a mix of activities with and without equipment gives pupils variety and helps build confidence in physical activity.

Year 1 PE Games With Equipment

1. 2 vs 1 Bounce and Shoot Game
Set up a hoop or target about 5 metres away and divide children into groups of three: two attackers and one defender. The attackers bounce the ball to move closer and score by bouncing it into the target, passing or bouncing as they go since they can’t move while holding the ball. The defender tries to intercept or block passes. Play in short rounds, rotating roles so everyone practises attacking, defending, teamwork, and ball control.

2. Matching Symbols

Split the class and the playing area in half. You need to play with an equal number of children on each side so if you have a class with an uneven number you could pair up a pupil.

In each half place a symbol under a cone so each side will have 15 cones with a symbol underneath which will be matched with the other side. Children should move around the area and on a call from the teacher should go to a cone in their half and look at the symbol underneath – they then need to find the child on the other side with the matching symbol. After they have found the matching symbol they should sit down together holding their symbols.

When all children have been matched place the symbols back and go again. Try to encourage children to go to different cones so they are not finding the same symbol each time.

3. Rolling Rocks
Split children into two teams of 5–6 players and mark a line down the middle to create each team’s area. Each team has 5–10 targets (like cones or tennis balls on cones) and 3 large soft balls. Players stay on their side and use rolling skills to knock over the other team’s targets — no crossing over allowed. The first team to knock over all the opposing targets wins.

Year 1 PE Games With No Equipment

1. Mash Up
One of the easiest Year 1 PE games no equipment needed! In this game, children move around the area and listen carefully for instructions from the teacher. The teacher calls out actions from familiar games, like “Jelly Beans” or “Tuck Sit,” and children respond by acting them out or holding the shape. You can mix in any instructions from other games they know, like traffic light colours, frozen bean, or forming groups for “2 bears eating honey.”

2. Bear Game
All children begin by standing in the middle of the hall. The teacher calls out instructions that the children must respond to.

• To the cabin - Children must run to one side of the hall labelled the cabin.
• To the woods - Children must run to the opposite side of the hall to the cabin labelled the woods.
• Keeper’s coming - Children lie flat on the floor. After this command, they cannot move until you call ‘All clear’ – even if you call another command.
• X bears eating honey (2 or 3, 4, 5 etc.)  - Children get into a group of that number.
• River - Children run to the area of the hall labelled the river.

3. Shape Tag
Select two or three children to be taggers. Pupils should move around the space, avoiding other children. When they get tagged, they should freeze and make a shape of their choice (star shape, straight shape, T-shape etc.). They must stay in their shape until someone else comes and frees them by touching them on the shoulder.

Year 1 PE games are all about fun, movement, and learning through play. With these easy ideas, you can deliver engaging PE games for KS1 that help your pupils develop key skills, no matter what resources you have.

At The PE Hub, we offer a wide range of Key Stage 1 PE games ideas with clear lesson plans and easy-to-follow guidance to make planning stress-free. Check out our wide range of free content.