Sun's coming out!
After a few weeks of genuinely cold weather here in Riyadh, it's lovely to feel a bit of warmth again this week! I'm busy arranging final details for the BSME conference at the weekend (anyone coming? - Make sure you come and say hello!) and my PhD transfer seminar which you are all, of course, invited to attend! (message me if you actually want to!)
PE has carried on at its usual breakneck speed, and so much has happened this week! There have been extraordinary events taking place all over the place and so much new work going on around curricular approaches, sporting opportunities and collaboration between different regions and schools. It's so good to see PE always being such a positive community.
Remember - You are all amazing and doing amazing things. Please don't be shy; share them with me and let me showcase your efforts next week. You deserve it!
Okay, off we go!
#In PE News This Week
???? P.E. teaching superstar DeWayne Combs from St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, USA, is retiring this fall after 34 years of teaching PE in his region. I cannot even begin to imagine 34 years of PE teaching, so kudos to Mr Combs, who was recently awarded Minnesota Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year. You can read a lovely article about him and all his achievements here. ????
???? Having a structured curriculum for Physical Education (PE) is now mandatory across Abu Dhabi schools run by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge Department of Education And Knowledge - ADEK , ensuring that all students engage in physical activity with qualified teachers and a written curriculum.
???? PE Teacher Phill Hayward from Our Lady of Pity Catholic Primary School in Greasby is running barefoot every day for an entire year as part of a charity challenge to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society , with the children at the school have been cheering him on along the way from the playground!
??? Schools worldwide participated in the 2025 edition of 'The Biggest Ever Football Session' on March 7th this week. The annual event aims to inspire and empower the next generation through girls' football and you can read more and get involved at the link.
???♀? International Womens Day ????♀? saw a host of events, celebrations and acknowledgements of the role that women play across the world of Physical Education, Sport and Education. Many teachers took the opportunity to recognise the impact of the female PE teachers who have influenced their own practice and the experiences of pupils across the world. Leah Williamson and Dina Asher-Smith highlighted in Women's Health 7 crucial changes needed to get more girls into sport.
???? PADSIS: The Professional Association of Directors of Sport in Independent Schools hosted their annual conference for Directors of Sport in Independent Schools, in collaboration with ICE Education on the 6th and 7th of March. From the coverage on LinkedIn this week, it looked like another outstanding professional development and networking event that should be on every DOS's calendar each year.
???????? Debate is raging on both sides of the Atlantic this week, not about the obvious, but instead about the origins of Basketball! New research released this week claims that the inventor of Basketball was not Canadian as previously believed, but actually Scottish! Dr James Naismith, a physical education teacher who created the game in 1891 considered himself to be a Scot and spoke with a Scottish accent for most of his life, according to new research. The research, conducted by Ross Walker from Stirling University has sought to reclaim the inventor of basketball for Scotland and argued for a review of the widely accepted history of basketball as Canadian or American.
???? In more worrying news coming from Canada this week, New research shows children are struggling to meet national recommendations for physical activity, sleep and screen time, but those who do report better mental health and well-being.
???? Association for Physical Education hosted a Key Stage 4/5 Curriculum Consultation Forum on Monday, where practitioners across both academic and core PE were asked to give their perspectives on what PE at this phase should look like. This will all contribute to ongoing work in this area and I am sure anyone who missed out can get in touch with them directly if they still want to get involved.
#Celebrations ????
???? Joshua Barden is celebrating the success of his new HHH (Head, Heart, Hands) Framework this week. It looks quality and clearly took a huge amount of work. I'm sure Joshua would love to engage with anyone else taking a similar approach to PE elsewhere in the world.
???? The British School in The Netherlands Thomas Archer and Annabel Semmence are celebrating the successful launch of their Girls Rugby programme with a competitive event against schools from ???? Belgium,?? England,????France and????Switzerland. You can read all about their achievements here
???? Ben Mayes is celebrating the improvement in reading skills of his BTEC Sport Students as a result of the work he has been putting into subject-specific understanding. You can read all about it on his post here. This is a critical area all of us working in academic PE and sports science struggle with, so it's great to see it being highlighted.
???? Back in the Netherlands, Anna Bennington is rightly celebrating the first U23 National Netball team. Whilst not directly PE, as a PE teacher, Anna's efforts to grow the sport alongside her teaching commitments?are certainly worth celebrating this week!
???? Oliver Parkinson was celebrating all the achievements of his school this week as they smashed their competitive sports programme with Tennis, Football, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Basketball, Swimming and the U13 FOBISIA games on top! Its lovely to see the efforts PE teachers are putting in around the world, to provide these opportunities for pupils everywhere! Nice work Amnuay Silpa School !
???? Dr. Will Patz is celebrating his Sports Week for their 3-7 year old pupils this week. The photos just highlighted what an inspirational event this must have been for their youngest sports stars.
English Schools Foundation are celebrating the work and efforts of one of their Directors of Sport @vincent Alarcon, and rightly so! With over 16 years of service to ESF schools, its lovely to see him being recognised. More schools should publicly celebrate the efforts and commitment of their amazing PE staff in my opinion!
#Review
???? I haven't read it yet, but I already know that Lee Sullivan 's new book,?'The Movement Monster',?will be epic! Realised very soon, the book encourages young people to get active through the story, and it comes with free resources for parents and teachers as well. What's not to like!
???? Never one to sit still for long, Nathan Walker has yet another #PE_Insights podcast banger out this week, with guest Nathan Joyce talking fitness testing in Core PE. Make sure to add this onto your playlists!
???? Charlotte Dingman FCCT has released her new book 'Beyond Walls' today! Whilst not directly PE-related, the concepts discussed around place-based education will undoubtedly resonate with PE practitioners (like me!). You can order it now on Amazon
???? Dr Simon Moore hosted the 4th episode of his 'Whats your Goal' Podcast, about Careers in Sport, with the excellent Harvey Grout as guest. Check it out here
#Events
???? Bangkok Patana School & Gemma Craker are hosting 2 x Two Exclusive Workshops for PE Teachers & Coaches! - Find out more and register here
???? Leeds Beckett University are hosting the 3rd annual Yorkshire Ability Triathlon on the 18th of May. Find out more here
???? Saturday, 15th March will see hundreds of PE teachers from across the Middle East region gather in Dubai for the annual BSME PE conference. There is still time to register and you can find more information here. (An important one is this, as yours truly is the keynote speaker!)
???? Brock University in Canada is hosting 'Physical Activity for All: An Afternoon with the Experts' on June 24th. There is an associated poster competition and calls for abstracts are still open if you fancy getting involved. You can find out more here
???? Daniel Scargill and ICE Education are hosting a 'PE in Key Stage 1' course online on March 12th. If you want to join, you can find out more information here
???? André Double 安德烈 杜布勒 and Leading Your International School are closing in our their 1st annual International Leadership Conference in Foshan, China, on the 28th and 30th of March. Whilst not directly PE related, anyone involved in leadership would do well to get there if you're in the region. I can't make it, but definitely next year!
??#Research
Becoming a PE teacher for life: different perspectives of prospective, newly qualified, and experienced Maltese physical educators - Taboone, 2025
#InOtherNews
In the spirit of International Women's Day 2025 I wanted to recognise some of the amazing PE and Education people who I have learnt from, worked with and been inspired by: @emma ma Jan Eaton (the best PE teacher ever) Moira Packer Lotte van Starrenburg Laura Cook Anna Sheppard @rachel Teague, Anna Power Helen Olds Rebecca Owens Sarah Newton Becky Gardner Nadia Evans Dr Liz Durden-Myers Rebecca Graves Danielle Sian Malson @Joey markham Emma Whewell Helen Caldwell - There's so many more!
???Not PE related, but a great ex-colleague of mine Christopher CJ Martin has recently launched a new podcast about teaching internationally. I'm sure it'll become one of the go-to podcasts for those of us teaching around the world, and you can check out his latest episode ' 5 Myths about Teacher Professional Learning' right here
?? For some reason my linkedin doesn't like the English flag, hence the reason I use the Union Jack. Anyone know why?! - Message me as its really annoying!
??? Who's ready for F1's return? - Having binged the whole of 'Drive to Survive' this week, I'm all ready to go for another epic season!!
Okay, next time I speak to you all, I'll be in the news myself having either shone or sunk at the BSME conference! - Wish me luck! ????
Bye all - Keep being amazing
Phil
CEO Scoot Fit | Scoot Ball - Football on scooters - Tug Ball - Rugby on scooters - Play and Sport on scooters - Expert in child fitness, balance, active travel and schools. Public speaker, always a child entertainer.
3 天前Hey Phil can you submit news, we’re working with Welsh institute for sports and would love to put an update out on our work together.