What a wonderful summer of sport we had with the Olympics and the huge success of Team GB, and now we are well into week 1 of the Paralympics! We are undoubtedly on track, with ParaGB having 47 Gold medals (as I write!).
Celebrating Team GB’s Paralympics Achievements
The opportunities for disabled people have skyrocketed in the past 10 years but is this change reaching schools? Therefore, are we truly prepared to be inclusive and adaptive in our teaching? If schools are the launch pad for successful athletes, is enough being done to ensure equal opportunities for PE and School Sport and disabled pupils?
My Personal Journey: Teaching Inclusive PE in Schools
When I was an NQT I taught in a large comprehensive in London, which had a well-established inclusion unit. As a result, PE was one of the curriculum areas in which pupils with disabilities were included in ‘mainstream’ lessons.
With no training at university and also no in-school support, I was left to my own devices. I had to try to include children with diverse and challenging needs. Consequently, I was often left feeling deflated, and by trying to include everyone, I felt I was helping no one.
Whole-school
This was in stark contrast to my second teaching post. There was a specialist centre catering to pupils with severe sight loss. We had regular whole-school training as well as additional training as PE teachers. What a difference I could make with this new knowledge and understanding! Over time, we developed a cricket team, and three pupils achieved a GCSE in PE alongside their mainstream classmates. As a department, we worked with the local sports partnership and started a Judo club which continues to this day.
Moving Forward: Ensuring Equal Opportunities in PE for All Pupils
There have been some excellent initiatives lead by disability sports governing bodies to get individual sports in to schools, with Boccia being an excellent example. However, as a teaching profession, we need to go further and improve initial teacher training and ongoing CPD to be truly inclusive. Without meaning to heap more responsibility on the teaching profession, and gold medals aside, every child deserves to be included in PE.