Welcome to Bonsai

Welcome to Bonsai Class! We’re delighted to have you here. Led by our enthusiastic form teacher Simon, alongside our amazing Teaching Assistant’s Nicky (HLTA), Charlotte and Tabitha. Between us we create a mature, safe and supportive learning environment for our Key Stage 4 pupils.

Form Team Overview

Chaigeley School Life May 2025 - By Mike Moss Photography-56

In Bonsai Class, we believe that learning should go beyond the classroom and prepare our Key Stage 4 students for life after they leave school. Our curriculum is filled with, along with GCSE courses, skills development sessions that prepare our young adults for college, apprenticeships and the world of work.

We are currently working through our GCSE and Qualification courses with an eye on completing our exams in the new year. Additionally, we are all in the process of applying for college courses at various places around the North West from Priestley to Reaseheath to Liverpool City College the Bonsai students will be powering forwards with their next steps!

We can’t wait to share how we get on, what courses we’ve applied for and what we want our futures to look like.

Things to look forward to…

Beech Class have had an exciting and memorable half-term learning Bush Craft skills in D of E, getting placements for work experience and choosing their 4 Star Menu’s that they’ll be serving to staff for Hospitality and Catering – personally I hope they choose steak!

We are incredibly excited about our upcoming camping expedition to the wilds of the North West – Maybe Wales? Maybe The Lake District. Not that we ‘re not intrepid but we may wait for some slightly warmer weather – or at least for Storm Austen to blow itself out!

PE Life Skills Award

PE teaches valuable life skills such as resilience, collaboration, and independence – all of which can inspire and empower young people to excel in all areas of their lives.  The PE Life Skills Award recognises and rewards learners as they develop these essential life skills through the PE curriculum.

Celebrate the development of life skills through PE

Developed in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, the PE Life Skills highlights and celebrates the full range of achievements young people gain through PE, boosting engagement and nurturing a lifelong, positive relationship with physical activity.

Now in its fourth year, this award is designed to work across primary and secondary school stages. It is tailored to meet the developmental needs at each level, ensuring inclusivity for a wide range of abilities within the same class. This makes it particularly suitable for alternative provision settings, special schools, and hospital schools.

The resources for the award provide schools with a framework and the tools to support delivery to students and rewards learners with a certificate at the end of the award.

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Curriculum Intent

Core Vision

Our Physical Education curriculum intent is to cultivate a holistic, inclusive, and ambitious environment where physical movement serves as the driver for lifelong personal growth. We believe that PE is uniquely positioned to educate the whole child. Consequently, our curriculum intentionally shifts the narrative of PE away from solely evaluating physical elite talent and toward recognising, developing, and celebrating transferable life skills.

By embedding the PE Life Skills Award at the heart of our practice, we ensure that every child—regardless of their physical starting point—leaves our school equipped with the character, confidence, and socio-emotional tools required to thrive in modern life.

Key Pillars of Intent

Holistic Character Development: We explicitly target and build essential non-physical attributes—such as resilience, collaboration, empathy, and self-belief—using the multi-ability approach. Physical activity acts as the laboratory where these skills are taught, tested, and mastered.

Equity and Inclusivity: Our curriculum breaks down traditional barriers to sports participation. By assessing non-physical competency alongside physical literacy, we ensure a highly equitable framework where learners from all backgrounds, including ours as a SEMH setting, can achieve accredited success.

Cognitive and Emotional Growth: We intent to move beyond simple sport replication. Pupils are systematically taught how to manage emotional self-regulation, think critically under pressure, resolve conflict independently, and communicate effectively within a team.

Lifelong Positive Habits: By shifting the focus toward personal bests, we aim to eliminate the anxiety often associated with competitive PE. We intend to nurture a healthy, permanent relationship with physical movement, sport, and personal well-being.

Whole-School Implementation: PE Life Skills

To achieve the accredited award, learners must track and develop competencies across four distinct capability domains. We utilise the standardised criteria below to ensure curriculum alignment:

Physical Capability Social Capability Emotional Capability Cognitive Capability

• Physical Education (Lesson Engagement) • Communication • Resilience • Responsibility

• Physical Activity Community • Cooperation • Self-Discipline • Integrity

• Competition Focus • Respect • Self-Motivation • Expressive Reflection

• Movement Competence • Inclusivity & Diversity Awareness • Healthy Body & Mind • Strategic Motivation

36-Week Academic Rotation

The 16 skills are explicitly introduced in a two-week focus model. This loop guarantees that every category is highlighted, applied, and logged in the Learner Journals by the conclusion of the academic year.

Term 1 (Weeks 1-12) ➔ Term 2 (Weeks 13-24) ➔ Term 3 (Weeks 25-36)

[Physical & Social] [Emotional & Cognitive] [Synoptic & Consolidation]

Physical & Social Dominance

Physical Education (Active Lesson Readiness) & Communication

Movement Competence (Agility/Coordination) & Cooperation

Physical Activity Community (Playtime habits) & Respect

Competition Focus (Fair play values) & Inclusivity/Diversity Awareness

Spring Term: Emotional & Cognitive Growth

Resilience (Managing setback variables) & Responsibility

Self-Discipline (Rules/Boundary awareness) & Integrity

Self-Motivation (Goal-tracking) & Expressive Reflection

Healthy Body & Mind (Wellness choices) & Strategic Motivation

Summer Term: Multi-Ability Consolidation & Assessment

Synoptic Multi-Skill Challenges (Blending physical capability with social dynamics).

Final Portfolio completion, teacher logging, and submission of the PE Life Skills Award registry.

Key Stage Learner Journal Strategy

The implementation method scales according to age-appropriate learning capacities using the designated Leadership Skills Foundation Learner Journals:

Key Stage 2 (Ages 7–11) — Stage 2/3 Journal

Journal Management: Managed by designated pupil PE Monitors. Journals are regularly brought directly out to the track, field, or sports hall.

Student Activity: Students complete written entries linking their PE work to general school life. Example entry: “I demonstrated Cooperation in basketball today by passing the ball to teammates who were unmarked, ensuring our whole group could succeed.”

Pedagogical Target: peer-validation, active self-evaluation, and understanding tactics.

Secondary: Key Stage 3 & 4 (Ages 11–16) — Stage 4 Journal

Journal Management: Managed digitally via tablet logs or maintained individually by students within personal options portfolios.

Student Activity: Students write detailed contextual analyses evaluating their performance under competitive stress. They track personal metrics across external environments (such as community sports clubs or school volunteering setups).

Pedagogical Target: Strategic group leadership, independent conflict management, and lifelong wellness habits.

Curriculum Impact Statement

The intentional design of our PE curriculum—centred on the Leadership Skills Foundation PE Life Skills Award—ensures measurable outcomes that extend beyond basic physical fitness. Our completed Learner Journals provide a robust, longitudinal, and student-owned portfolio of evidence.

Our Learner Journals shift the assessment narrative from subjective teacher tracking to objective, student-generated evidence across three primary judgment areas:

Quality of Education (Intent, Implementation, and Impact)

Sequential Mastery: Individual student progress can be tracked through the 16 core life skills across the academic year. The journals offer physical proof of a well-sequenced curriculum where knowledge and character traits are systematically built, rather than left to chance.

Accredited Equity: The journals show that SEND, SEMH, disadvantaged, and lower-attaining pupils achieve the same accredited success as elite athletes by validating cognitive and social progress alongside physical competency.

Personal Development

Character and Resilience: The journals document how students manage failure, build Self-Discipline, and develop Resilience within competitive and collaborative environments.

SMSC and British Values: Student reflections on Inclusivity & Diversity Awareness, Respect, and Cooperation provide clear evidence of Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development in action.

Behaviour and Attitudes

Self-Regulation: Written logs show that students learn to take Responsibility for their actions and resolve conflicts independently. This leads to a safer, more focused learning environment in practical lessons.