Primary PE People & Provision 3/7 – People First: The Qualities, Qualifications & Attitudes Your PE Staff Must Have

So the next big question is:
“Who, exactly, are we inviting to stand in front of our children and lead their PE experiences every week?”

This post is about the people behind the tracksuits – their qualifications, their mindset, their behaviour, and how well they fit your school.

First Check: Would I Want This Person Teaching In My School If They Weren’t In Sports Kit?

Forget the bibs, whistles and badges for a moment.

Ask yourself:

• If this coach was in normal work clothes, would I be happy for them to co teach in my Year 4 classroom?
• Do they carry themselves like a professional educator, or more like a casual visitor?
• Would I be comfortable introducing them to a parent as “part of our team”?

If the answer is anything short of a confident “yes”, it’s a warning sign.

PE, sport and physical activity are powerful tools for physical, mental, social and personal development. The adults leading them need to be worthy of that responsibility.

At ActiveMe 360, we look for coaches who embody six key habits in every session: Purpose (clear learning intentions), Progression (ensuring every child can start and be challenged), Praise (specific and aligned to learning), Collaborate (working together), Celebrate (reviewing and reflecting), and Control (giving children agency). You might not use these exact words, but watch for providers whose coaches naturally demonstrate these qualities.

Formal qualifications are important – but they’re only one part of the picture. You can hold the highest level certificates, but that alone does not guarantee the ability to build strong, positive relationships with children.

You’re not just asking, “What do they know?”
You’re also asking, “Who are they as people? What values do they model in front of our children?”

Take a moment to think about your current provider’s staff:

• Do you know what formal qualifications they hold?
• Could you explain, if asked, how those qualifications relate to working in primary education, not just in sport?

Things to look for:

• Relevant coaching qualifications (e.g. NGB awards, multi skills, activity specific qualifications).
• Appropriate first aid and safeguarding training.
• Any background in education, child development or teaching, not just performance sport.

Key questions to ask providers:

• “What minimum qualifications do your coaches have before they can work in a primary school?”
• “What additional training do you provide to prepare them specifically for primary PE and classroom expectations, not just sport?”
• “How do you ensure consistency of standards when different staff work across multiple schools?”

And then go a level deeper:

• “What values do you look for when recruiting?”
• “How do you check that staff are positive role models who can build strong relationships with children?”

Remember: a wall full of badges doesn’t guarantee they can manage a Year 2 class on a windy afternoon or adapt for a child with complex needs.

You’re not just buying technical skill. You’re buying the ability to teach, include and inspire – and to be a good human being in front of your children every week.

You know the difference immediately when you walk into a great lesson:

• Clear routines.
• Calm, confident behaviour management.
• Activities that build from simple to challenging.
• All children involved, not just the loudest or most able.

Now think about the PE sessions you’ve seen:

• Are children actively learning and progressing, or mostly lining up and waiting?
• Do you see clear structures and expectations, or a coach reacting on the fly?
• How are low level behaviours handled – ignored, shouted at, or calmly redirected?

Questions to ask yourself:

• Could I drop into a session and map what I see against our teaching & learning policy?
• Do the strategies used in PE align with how we want teaching to look across the school?

Questions to ask providers:

• “How do you train your staff in classroom/behaviour management for primary settings?”
• “Can you describe how you would handle a session where several pupils are dysregulated or reluctant to take part?”
• “How do you plan for progression in skills across a term or year, rather than just planning ‘activities’?”

A future ready PE provider, especially with the move towards the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027, will talk confidently about learning objectives, scaffolding, differentiation and reflection – not just about drills and games.

In every school, there are children who:

• Find new physical tasks overwhelming.
• Have sensory, physical or cognitive needs that affect how they access PE.
• Are anxious, self conscious or have had negative experiences of sport before.

Ask yourself:

• When you watch external staff in PE, who is quietly being left behind?
• Are SEND pupils, less active children and those with lower confidence genuinely included – or partly managed on the edges?

Questions to put to providers:

• “How do you train your staff to adapt activities for children with SEND and additional needs?”
• “Can you give an example of how a coach altered a session to support a specific child or group?”
• “How do your staff work with the SENCO and class teachers to understand individual needs and strategies?”

Then watch how they answer:

• Do they give real, practical examples, or stay in generalities?
• Do they talk about inclusion as central to what they do, or as an add on?

PE, sport and physical activity should be a place where children discover what they can do, not where they are reminded of what they can’t. Your staff choices either reinforce that belief or quietly undermine it.

Attitude & Values: What Do They Believe PE Is For?

Underneath every session is a set of beliefs:

• Is PE primarily about winning and performance – or about growth and participation?
• Are the “star players” the heroes – or are effort, resilience and teamwork celebrated just as loudly?
• Do children leave feeling “I’m not sporty” – or “I can get better if I keep trying”?

Reflect on your current provision:

• What messages do you hear staff giving when a child makes a mistake?
• How do they react to differences in ability – frustration, impatience, or thoughtful adjustment?
• Do they praise only results, or do they notice effort, courage and kindness?

Questions to ask providers:

• “What do you believe the purpose of primary PE is?”
• “How do you want children to feel about themselves at the end of a session?”
• “What values do you expect your staff to model, and how do you check that they do?”

At ActiveMe 360, we talk about PE, sport and physical activity as building blocks – not just for fitness, but for how children think, feel, relate to others and see themselves. The people leading sessions must embody that, so those early experiences become the foundation of a lifelong, positive relationship with being active.

External doesn’t have to mean “separate”.

Ask yourself:

• Do our coaches communicate well with class teachers and support staff?
• Do they attend briefings, read policies and adapt to our routines – or operate as a separate island?
• When things go wrong – as they sometimes will – do they respond with openness and solution focused thinking?

Questions to ask providers:

• “How do you ensure your staff feel and act as part of a school’s wider team?”
• “How do you handle feedback from schools – especially when something hasn’t gone well?”
• “Can you share an example of when a school raised a concern and how you resolved it?”

A provider who truly sees themselves as partners in education won’t disappear at the first difficult conversation. They’ll lean in.

You observe and develop your teachers. Who is doing the same for your PE coaches?

Consider:

• Has anyone from the provider ever observed a coach working in your school and given them feedback?
• Have you been asked for input on how a particular member of staff is doing?
• Is there a clear process for performance management and improvement?

Questions to ask providers:

• “How do you quality assure your staff once they’re out working in schools?”
• “How often are they observed, and what happens if you identify areas for development?”
• “How do you involve schools in that process?”

High quality organisations know that even great staff need ongoing support and challenge. If no one is watching the coaches, you are essentially hoping for the best.

As the current PE and Sport Premium is replaced by the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027, that hope‑for‑the‑best approach becomes even riskier. Scrutiny is likely to focus even more on the impact, inclusion and consistency of what adults are doing with pupils – not just the number of hours delivered. The people you choose now, and how they are supported and quality assured, will play a big part in how confidently you can step into the new national model.

We’re putting these questions and prompts into a simple internal PE audit document you can use with your SLT or PE lead. You can download it from this page.

Your Quick People Audit: Three Simple Questions

Before you move on, try this brief reflection:

1. If I had to pick one external coach to model “what teaching looks like at our school” for a new member of staff, would I choose anyone we currently have?
2. If Ofsted asked pupils, “What do you learn in PE?” and “How do adults treat you in PE?”, would I feel proud of the answers?
3. If my own child was in that lesson every week for a year, would I feel confident about the impact on their body, mind, friendships and self belief?

If you’re unsure on any of these, you’ve identified a powerful place to focus.

In Post 2, we introduced our free, no obligation PE Support Audit as a way to review your safeguarding, compliance and systems.

We also use that process to help you look honestly at the people delivering your PE:

• Are they appropriately qualified for education, not just for sport?
• Do their attitudes and behaviours support the culture and values you want in your school?
• Are they genuinely advancing children’s physical, mental, social and personal development?

In a short, structured conversation we will:

• Discuss what you currently see in lessons, clubs and holiday provision.
• Help you map that against what “good” looks like for primary PE staffing.
• Identify where your provider is adding real value – and where there may be risks or missed opportunities.

And as always:

• If your current provider is doing an excellent job, we will tell you – and happily recommend that you continue working with them.
• We are mission driven: we want every child, in every school, to experience high quality PE, sport and physical activity – whoever delivers it.
• We know we can’t work with every school, so we want the whole sector to rise.

If you’d like to explore a PE Support Audit, you can get in touch with us – or simply use the questions in this post as a framework for the next conversation you have with any provider.

In the next post, we’ll move from people to process – equipping you with smart, future focused questions to ask in the sales process so you stay firmly in the driving seat when choosing or reviewing a PE partner.