One of the teachers who attended the WMPESS Conference said,  

“It’s been a really good opportunity to get to know some of the different things available to us as a school and to get to know some other people around Birmingham leading PE in different ways.” 

Words like these make us incredibly proud, because they sum up the very reason why we created the conference in the first place.  

With 50 delegates, 3 keynote speakers, 7 workshop leaders, 2 movement break leaders and 18 stands in the marketplace, it was an action-packed day with an abundance of learning and networking. Although Covid-19 still casts a bit of a shadow on everything at the moment, everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the chance to meet in person and chat in ways that just don’t quite happen on Zoom. 

As everyone made their personal selection from the range of...

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are sorry to announce that keynote speaker Caroline Sidell will not be able to join us at the WMPESS Conference  next week. We hope to collaborate with Caroline in the future so that you don’t miss out on hearing from her, so watch this space!

Don’t be too disappointed though (and don’t think you’re getting an extra long lunch!) because every cloud has a silver lining: Kevin Pace has kindly agreed to step into Caroline’s place.

An experienced teacher, school governor and author, Kevin is Director of the SUMO4Schools Foundation, a community interest, not-for-profit company which works with schools and other organisations to improve the lives of young people, professionals and parents.

Kevin’s keynote - Resilience in the Classroom starts in the Staffroom - will explore ways in which SUMO can support the wellbeing of staff and students in education settings. 

He summarises it in three points:

• Resilience...

Have you signed up for the WMPESS conference yet?

The importance of an ambitious, compelling, needs-driven and well-structured physical education curriculum

 As a former teacher, school leader, and physical education specialist, Steve Caldecott knows the reality of school life and leading PE. As a school inspector, he knows what the expectations are for physical activity within the curriculum. And as a representative of the Association for Physical Education (afPE) he has his finger on the pulse with all the latest developments, trends and advice.

 Who better, then, than Steve to give a keynote speech at this year’s West Midlands PE and School Sport Conference?

 Steve’s not-to-be-missed speech will cover:

• Using some key wording from the Education Inspection framework to support your curriculum planning
• Making effective use of the national curriculum
• The introduction of some key questions to help you to reflect on your physical education curriculum.

...

The West Midlands PE and School Sport Conference is only a few weeks away and we are thrilled to be able to show you the agenda for the day. We’ve packed a lot into a single day to make it really worth your while coming along.

Take a look at the agenda below and you’ll see there are keynote speakers, three sessions where you will have a choice of practical or theoretical workshops, several opportunities for networking, and plenty of refreshment and movement breaks. 

We will be welcoming Caroline Sidell as a keynote speaker, presenting on the important topic of Building a whole school wellbeing strategy.

‘Wellbeing’ is a term that has been used to describe a multitude of activities and can mean different things to different people. Caroline is here to help you make sure what you’re doing is meaningful and will have a positive and lasting impact on your school community.

Caroline is the perfect person to talk about health...

We’re excited to announce that the inspirational Crichton Casbon will be leading not one, but TWO unmissable workshops at this year’s WMPESS conference.

• Great Teaching in PE
• Assessment in PE – made simple and usable

If you’re looking to make your PE lessons more memorable and meaningful, or wondering how to make assessing PE more than just a hoop to jump through, then these workshops are for you.

Crichton is a curriculum designer with a specialism in Physical Education and he really knows his stuff!

Crichton managed the implementation of the secondary curriculum in England for QCA and directed the PE and School Sport (PESS) project as part of the Government’s national strategy for PE and Sport. He has led the development of three national curriculum programmes of study in PE, national schemes of work and co-authored a book on assessment in PE. A former teacher of PE, geography and English, he has also worked as a LEA Adviser for...