#PE Pulse from @Happiness Factories

???? Phew! Who knew that people would be so interested in things happening around the world concerning PE and School Sports? I am blown away by the interest in my first #PEPulse newsletter and have been itching to get a second edition out.

???Many of us have had a mid-term break over the past week. A chance to rest, reflect and recharge but amongst the downtime has been a fantastic range of activities, opportunities and achievements around the world.

Let's dive straight in....

#In PE News this week

????♂?Whilst some of us have been off relaxing for the holidays, school sports have continued at a real pace. Tournaments across a huge range of sporting activities have taken place across the Asian region. Matthew Hammonds , Clark Mccallum MA TEEMS Global Richard Molloy amongst many others, have been sharing their reflections on their own schools and the wider benefits of the opportunities these tournaments provide to their students. It's lovely to see so many smiling faces in their photos! If you want to know more about FOBISIA and what they're up to, check out their linkedin page as a starting point.

?? The annual BSME - British Schools in the Middle East PE Conference programme was launched this week, hosted by Kent College in the UAE ????. I'm biased obviously, but it looks to be an outstanding day of workshops, talks, practical sessions and networking. I can't wait to be a part of it this year.

???? Marcus Down celebrated 2 years since the launch of 'Down with PE' this week. Based over in Canada, Marcus has been doing stirling work supporting the PE practice of teachers across his region and far further afield too. It must take a huge amount of time and effort to maintain and grow the resources, but I know PE teachers around the world appreciate it! Thanks, Marcus!

???? In Indian curriculum schools around the world, students are taking a deep breath, having completed the?2025 CBSE Board PE exam, signalling the start of PE exam season. Whilst there were some rumours of leaks to the paper, which were subsequently refuted by the exam board, students will be eagerly awaiting their outcomes over the coming weeks. If you are about to undertake your practical assessments, submit coursework or begin revision for your own examinations, best of luck to you all!

???? Following on from the previous edition of #PEPulse, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports jointly announced new measures on Monday to enhance physical education (PE) in primary and middle schools, introducing increased class hours, expanded sports activities and an emphasis on ensuring PE classes are neither reduced nor replaced. Amongst their measures are stipulations that primary and junior middle school students have one class per day and senior middle school students have three to five classes per week. Interestingly, they have also indicated a desire for AI-driven fitness monitoring and a minimum of 10 minutes of every lesson to be given over to 10 minutes of fitness training. It will be interesting to see how these changes are implemented over the coming terms.

???? Vicky Randall (Dr) and Dr Gerald Griggs announced the Pre-Order launch of their new book 'Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education two days ago. This is sure to be a must-read for anyone working in Primary or Whole School Phys Ed. You can get it on release day by ordering it here.

???? PiramalSchoolOfLeadership are successfully building a foundation of Physical Literacy across their region in India through state-wide workshops for PE teachers, designed to grow a network of trained Physical Literacy experts that will develop and share knowledge related to PL across Rajasthan and the wider country.

?? We're in peak PE teacher recruitment season internationally. As always there are loads of ways you can seek out PE jobs but Tes and Eteach are pretty good starting points. I'm seeing more and more jobs advertised on LinkedIn too these days, so keeping an eye on your timeline is a great way of spotting your next opportunity early.

#Celebrations ????

???????????? ???????????? ???? There have been too many sports days to mention over the past week or so! Youssef Mohamed in Egypt, BASIS International Schools in Guangzhou, China, Nalanda School Manchar in India, Windhoek International School in Namibia, Harrow International School Hong Kong , Charterhouse Lagos , Citizens School and Acardia Global School in Dubai were all celebrating inclusive, movement packed festivals of physical activity this week. If you had a sports day or school event that you would like to share, reach out to me for next week's edition!

???? Holly Kirkpatrick at University of Buckingham celebrated a successful couple of days of collaboration with the next generation of PE teachers through their PGCE programme. It's always great to see the work being done at universities across the UK to prepare the next cohorts of PE practitioners to take up the baton.

???? PE Scholar released their fourth instalment in a comprehensive suite of support for teachers guiding their students through GCSE PE exam revision. Split across 4 parts this really is the all you need to know guide to how research and evidence based practice can supercharge your approach to revision and every academic PE practitioner would do well to have a read.

???? Bill Saddik, M.Ed in Singapore has been busy generating really meaningful conversations about PE, School Sports and, in particular, the power of positive engagement with movement during the past week. If you don't follow Bill on linkedin, I can highly recommend it!

???? Ben Holden and #wannateachpe are definitely celebrating this week as their 'Night before the big day' revision webinars passed 500 signups! I have no doubt this is going to be a real help to GCSE PE students across the UK and wider world and there is still time to sign your students up here.

???? Daniel King and GRJ Education successfully launched their Director of Sport Leadership Programme across the FOBISIA region last week, with what looks like a packed house for their first session. I am really excited to have the opportunity to discuss what the future looks like for this exciting programme for PE leads.

?? Congratulations to all those PE teachers who have led or supported School Ski Trips over their holidays. Kate Reynolds Alan Dunstan Austin Friars School Northampton International Academy The Grammar School at Leeds Broadwater School Gad's Hill School Prem International School were all hitting the slopes over the past week or so, providing enriching opportunities for their pupils beyond the classroom.

???? BCIS Phuket International School even found time to do some indoor practice before their trip despite living and learning on a tropical island!

????Congratulations to Naomi Harte, Ph.D on her successful completion of her PhD at 英国拉夫堡大学 , ???? Coach Cullen at Regis High School on 300 career wins in varsity basketball, Ben Mayes on the creation and release of his 'Oracy in PE' resources (which was actually more than a week ago but I only found it this week), The PE Specialist on some epic feedback from their membership base (check them out if you are in the US) and to Gabrielle Mikaela Bernales at The University of the Phillippines for launching their Handball 101 programme to promote the activity to PE teachers across the country

???? Finally - Congratulations to Grade 5 at International School of Busan who all completed their swimming unit this term! Swimming is such a critical part of many of our PE programmes and its always good to recognise and celebrate our pupil's achievements in an activity that can really push many outside of their comfort zones.

#Review

All excellent podcast episodes this week!

???? Greg Dryer and???? Martin Brockman shared a fascinating 45 mins talking everything PE, Performance and Physical Activity in a great podcast episode. You can watch it here

???? Nathan Walker hit a half-century with his 50th #PE-Insights episode this week, with Guest Dr Julie Pearson , and then carried straight onwards with his 51st with Will Swaithes and Catherine Fitzpatrick . The quality just keeps coming with each episode and should be at the top of every PE teachers playlist.

???? A new Podcast on my playlist is 'Little and Large' with Phil Greenaway and Russell McCluskey . All of their 7 episodes so far have been great listens, but this weeks episode 'Teaching in the Middle East' with Andrew Turner is a must listen for anyone thinking about a move to the region to teach.

???? Andy Vasily sally has been running his 'Run your Life Show' podcast for 268 episodes now, and his latest conversation is up there with the best. Listen to Nina Sossamon-Pogue talk about resilience and her own extraordinary life experiences, you won't be disapointed!

#Research

Motivational Climate in Physical Education: How Anxiety and Pleasure Modulate Concentration and Distraction - Simon et al, 2025

Sampling perception-action couplings from competition create representative basketball shooting tasks: A replication and extension of Gorman and Maloney - Gold et al, 2025

“There wasn't really a place for me”: A post-qualitative inquiry of gender diversity in the Physical Education assemblage and how bodies come to matter. - Ferguson, 2024

#TalkingPoints - Conversation Starters for your Lessons this week

6 Nations - Should Finn Russell have played, and did his concussion play a part in the match outcome?

Southampton - Is it a lack of ability or a lack of confidence that is taking them down?

One Meal a Day - The Mohammed Shami diet - Healthy and effective or dangerous?

Sport Science Gender Research Gap and what can be done about it?

#InOtherNews

???? You really should follow Rachel Ford 's outstanding blog. Her last post covers 'Empowering Students Through Sustainable Practices in PE' and is a great 5-minute read.

???? This week, Amit Malik has published his book 'Physical Literacy - Reviving Traditions, Shaping Futures' which looks at Physical Literacy in an Indian Context. I'm certain this will be a fascinating take on Physical Literacy in a specific context.

???? Emma Whewell (my amazing PhD supervisor!) is looking for contributions to the next edition of the Advancing Education Journal. if you are interested, check out her linkedin post here.

???? If you don't already follow him on X (Twitter) then can I recommend zeph bennett to you all. You can link to him here, and his resources and generously offered content is a game changer for PE teachers looking for resources.

???? Centre for Young Lives have released a fascinating report into the state of play and the well-being of children in England. You can read it here.

???? Simon Scarborough just made the cut at the last minute with an outstanding article for Physical Educaiton Matters that has been, rightly, highlighted this week by Women in Sport . Simons article on 'Male allyship in PE' is an important read for all of us, regardless of your gender.

???? Finally - A shameless plug. If you are interested in Education and History, then get a great fix of both in my recently self published book on amazon. Agoge is a journey through the educational practices of ancient civilisations and you can get it free on Amazon Kindle or for just a few pounds in paperback!

Right, thats me done for the week. Off to plan some Sport Science Lessons and prepare for PhD transfer! See you all again next week, and remember, if you have something to share, then please do let me know so I can include you next time!

Thanks for reading this far!

Phil #Happiness Factories