Primary PE People & Provision 5/7 – From Insight To Action: A Simple Framework To Review Your PE & Plan Next Steps

Before auditing anything, anchor yourself.

In one side of A4, capture:

• Purpose: “In our school, PE, sport and physical activity exist to…”
• Non‑negotiables: 3–5 statements that must be true (e.g. “All children feel included and safe in PE”, “We meet or exceed the 2 hours of high‑quality PE expectation every week”).
• Big outcomes for the next 2–3 years: What would “success” look like for pupils, staff and families – and how does that line up with the move from the PE and Sport Premium into the new national PE and School Sport Partnerships Network?

This becomes your lens. You’re not judging provision against someone else’s glossy brochure – you’re judging it against what you want for your children.

Score each area Red / Amber / Green and write one sentence explaining why.

People

• Who is teaching/coaching PE?
• Do they meet your bar on values, qualifications, relationships, inclusion and professionalism?
• Would you be happy for them teaching any class, in any kit?

Provision (What’s actually happening)

• Are all pupils getting at least 2 hours of meaningful PE each week?
• Does the curriculum build progression across year groups, not just a series of disconnected “sports”?
• Are clubs, competitions, active breaks and trips aligned with your vision, or just “nice extras”?
• For each session or unit, consider: Which “Me” are we developing this week? (Personal, Social, Mental, or Physical)

Pedagogy & Progress (How well children are being taught and how they’re developing)

• Do lessons look and feel like good teaching – clear routines, high engagement, appropriate challenge
• Can you see progress over time in skills, confidence, attitudes to activity?
• Are SEND pupils and less active children genuinely learning, not just managing
• You might also consider tracking the habits and behaviours being modelled in PE sessions—are coaches demonstrating purposeful planning, meaningful progression, specific praise, genuine collaboration, regular celebration of learning, and giving children appropriate control over their learning?

Partnership & Professionalism

• Do external providers feel part of your team – communicating, attending briefings, aligning with your policies?
• Is there regular, honest dialogue about what’s going well and what needs to improve?
• Are responsibilities clear: who leads curriculum, assessment, safeguarding, quality assurance?

Permanence (Legacy)

• If your budget reduced or your provider changed, what would remain?
• Are teachers more confident to lead the second hour of PE?
• Do you have curriculum, resources and processes that belong to the school, not to a person or company?
• How well would your current people, processes and curriculum translate into the new national PE and School Sport Partnerships Network – and are you using the 2026/27 transition funding to strengthen those foundations, not just “hold on” for a year?

Be brutally honest. A red or amber rating isn’t failure – it’s a starting point for change.

Data isn’t just numbers. It’s also what people say when you give them space.

Ask three simple questions to each group:

Pupils:

• “What do you do in PE?”
• “How do adults make you feel in PE?”
• “What would you change about PE if you could?”

Staff (teachers & TAs):

• “How confident do you feel teaching the second hour of PE?”
• “What’s working well about our current PE provision?”
• “What help or training would make the biggest difference?”

Parents/Carers:

• “How does your child talk about PE at home?”
• “Do you feel school supports your child’s health, wellbeing and activity levels?”
• “Is there anything you’d like to see more or less of?”

Look for patterns:

• Are certain year groups less positive?
• Are external staff named consistently – for good or bad reasons?
• Do staff and parents see the same strengths and weaknesses?

This gives you a rich, human picture to sit alongside your 5P ratings.

You can’t change everything at once – and you don’t need to.

From your 5P review and the voices you’ve heard, pick three priorities for the next 12–18 months, for example:

• “Strengthen staff confidence to deliver the second hour of PE each week.”
• “Ensure SEND pupils are fully included and supported in every PE lesson.”
• “Reduce our reliance on one key individual by securing curriculum, planning and quality assurance at provider level.”
• “Use the 2026/27 transition year to secure a curriculum, assessment and staff development model that will be ready for the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027.”

For each priority, capture:

• Why this matters now (link back to your vision and what you’ve heard).
• What “better” would look like in 12–18 months.
• How you’ll know you’re making progress (simple indicators, not a 20‑page spreadsheet).

This becomes your improvement roadmap – for internal development and for conversations with providers.

We’ve turned the 5P framework, Big 3 priorities page and all the pupil/staff/provider questions into a free ‘Primary PE People & Provision Audit Toolkit’.
You can download it here using the button below and use it as the basis for your next SLT or governor discussion on PE.

Now bring Post 3 and Post 4 into the mix.

Take each of your three priorities and ask current or potential providers:

• “Here’s what we’ve identified as a key priority – how would you help us address this?”
• “What specific support, training or changes to delivery would you recommend?”
• “Can you share examples of where you’ve helped another school with something similar – and what changed for them?”

Then listen for:

• Specifics, not slogans.
• Evidence, not just enthusiasm.
• A willingness to adapt the offer, not squeeze you into a pre‑built package.

If they can’t speak confidently to your Big 3, they’re not the right long‑term partner – however glossy the brochure or tempting the price.

Finally, bring it all together in a simple, shareable format:

• Your vision and non‑negotiables.
• Your 5P traffic‑light summary (with one sentence each).
• Your Big 3 priorities with success measures.
• Key actions for:
  • Senior leadership
  • Staff (CPD, support for the second hour of PE)
  • External providers (clear expectations & next steps)

Share this with:

• SLT and governors – to support strategic decisions and accountability.
• Staff – so they understand the “why” behind any changes.
• Providers – so they know exactly what they’re working with you to achieve.

This one page becomes your North Star for PE decisions in 2026 and beyond – especially as you decide how to use the 2026/27 transition funding and position your school for the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027.

You can absolutely do all of this yourself.

Our free PE Support Audit is designed to make it:

• Faster – by guiding you through the right questions in a structured conversation.
• Clearer – by mapping what you’re seeing against a robust picture of “good” in primary PE.
• More confident – by giving you an external perspective and language you can take into SLT, governors and provider conversations.

In practice, that looks like:

• Reviewing your current people, provision and processes together.
• Helping you build your 5P summary and identify your Big 3 priorities.
• Equipping you with targeted questions and criteria to stress‑test any provider – including us.

If your current set‑up is strong, we’ll say so.
If there are risks, gaps or missed opportunities, we’ll help you see them clearly and decide what to do next.

You don’t need a complete overhaul to make a real difference.

You need:

• A clear vision.
• An honest review.
• Three focused priorities.
• Partners who are willing – and able – to work with you on them.

If you’d like a thinking partner as you do that, our PE Support Audit is there to help.

Either way, now you have a framework you can pick up, share with your team, and start using this term to shape the PE experiences that will stay with your children for life.