This paper is for teachers and other staff who provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards
Physical Education National 5.
Curriculum for Excellence is a unique opportunity to raise achievement and to ensure that all learners are better prepared than they have been in the past for learning, life and work. This is because the new curriculum gives real scope to build learning 3 –18 in a joined-up, seamless way. As a result, progression in learning can be much stronger with a clear focus on attributes and capabilities, skills (including higher-order thinking skills), and knowledge and understanding. These are delivered through the experiences and outcomes of the 3 –15 Broad
General Education (BGE) and, at the senior phase, through programmes that build directly on the BGE leading to qualifications. Because of a strengthened focus on the nature and quality of learning experiences, self-motivation is likely to be increased and learners consequently more engaged and enthused. To ensure continuity and progression, qualifications at the senior phase have been designed to embrace this unambiguous focus on highquality learning.
Curriculum for Excellence has the flexibility to meet the needs of all learners in their local circumstances, enabling each to achieve their very best. For example, some centres may take the opportunity to offer qualifications over two years which might involve learners bypassing qualifications at a given level, whereas others may enable learners to work towards qualifications within one year. In both cases, the advice in this paper is relevant to the learning and teaching approaches that learners will encounter. This paper, then, is intended to stimulate professional reflection and dialogue about learning. It highlights important features of learning which are enhanced or different from previous arrangements at this SCQF level.
How will you plan for progression in learning and teaching, building on the Broad General Education?
Physical Educational National 5 consists of two Units.

Performance Skills

Factors Impacting on Performance
To achieve Physical Education National 5, the learner must pass all of the Units as well as the Course assessment.
In the Course assessment, the learner will extend and apply the skills they have learned. This will be assessed by a performance and portfolio.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
What are the key aspects of Physical Education National 5?
Integrated approach to skills development
Units can be integrated and taught together in a holistic way, which creates opportunities to integrate the Unit content and support learning and teaching in a practical context for the Factors Impacting on Performance Unit.
Course assessment
The performance component of the final Course assessment will focus on challenge and application and therefore give learners a suitable opportunity to demonstrate: a comprehensive range of movement and performance skills safely; planning, developing and implementing approaches to enhance personal performance; decision making and problem solving in performance contexts; and organisational skills in preparing for, and during, physical activities.
The portfolio component of the final Course assessment will require application of skills and knowledge to demonstrate: an understanding of factors that impact on performance; planning, developing and implementing approaches to enhance personal performance; and monitoring, recording and evaluating performance development.
Hierarchy of Units
It is important that any content at one particular SCQF level is not repeated if a learner progresses to the next level of the hierarchy. The skills and knowledge should be able to be applied to new content and contexts to enrich the learning experience. This is for centres to manage. Although the Units across different levels have the same titles and similar structures, the degree of difficulty and complexity in terms of knowledge and understanding and the application of these to performance differs from one level to the next. This structure enables learners to be given recognition for their best achievement.
Wider range of evidence
There is a new emphasis on naturally occurring evidence and combined assessments. Staff can make use of a wider range of evidence including, for example, videos of performance, observation checklists, training diaries/electronic logbook, oral evidence through questioning and answering, use of ICT and relevant software and written assessment through answering of questions.
Unit assessment
Units are internally assessed on a pass/fail basis against the requirements shown in the Unit Specification. A holistic approach to Unit assessment will enrich the assessment process for the learner, avoid duplication of tasks and therefore allow more emphasis to be put on learning and teaching.
What are the key features of learning in Physical Education National 5?
Active learning
Learners are expected to gain a range of movement and performance skills, developed and consolidated throughout the programme and to plan, prepare for, effectively perform, and evaluate personal performance in one physical activity. It is essential that learning experiences provide regular opportunities for learners to engage and challenge their own thinking and to develop the higher-order thinking skills required to do so. Practical, experiential learning in relevant contexts and supported investigation techniques will help teachers integrate Unit outcomes and provide learners with opportunities to develop the essential skills of analysis, evaluation and creativity. During activities, learners could be required to solve problems by testing out ideas. For example, in basketball, learners might have to consider how to deny space by implementing a number of defensive strategies, such as full court pressure player to player, half court player to player, half court trap and zone defence before deciding which strategy will be the most effective one to use.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Learning independently
Outcomes are less prescriptive and focus more on skills and applying learning. Staff will want to use learning and teaching approaches which encourage learners to investigate why factors are causing problems with their performance, what impact they are having and what evidence they have to support this, and how they will overcome the problems and next steps in the development process if successful or unsuccessful in doing so.
To develop independent thinking skills and learning, staff will want to reduce the focus on teacher-led activities and place a greater emphasis on learners’ experiences within which choices are made, by the learner, based on their expertise and skill level.
To further promote personalisation and choice, learners can select a physical activity choice that they have an expertise in and apply their learning in performance and the portfolio to provide evidence of the process involved in performance development. Learners will normally choose activities from those taught at the centre. However, if a learner has a specific specialism in swimming for example, they could be encouraged to demonstrate self-reliance and self-management to generate the evidence to meet all the assessment standards. The assessor within the centre would need to ensure that suitable resources were in place to manage the practicality of assessing activities out with the usual learning environment.
How will you manage the practicalities of assessing activities outwith the usual learning environment?
Responsibility for learning
Practical and experiential tasks should encourage learners to take personal control of their own learning and generate opportunities to reflect on and discuss their own progress. Learners should be encouraged to plan, develop and implement approaches to enhance personal development. By providing regular opportunities to review and discuss learning, including self- and peer-assessment opportunities, teachers will help learners engage with this process and to set meaningful targets for improvement. By using resources such as graphic organisers, learners have a resource to help them make informed choices and decisions about their performance development progress.
How will you ensure that learners are making informed decisions about where they are in their learning and what they need to do to progress?
Collaborative learning
Learning and teaching approaches should encourage and develop collaborative working. Many practical activity contexts rely on learners working in partnership and teams. As learners build confidence, they can be encouraged to observe and provide feedback to peers. This creates excellent opportunities to discuss learning and provide explanations for one another. Performance development will be enhanced in activity contexts in which learners are encouraged to take on roles and responsibilities. For example, in team games, sharing and changing roles will help to provide shape and flow to the performance and help learners demonstrate awareness and respect for others.
How will you ensure that all learners take on roles and responsibilities in group tasks, as appropriate to their level of skill and ability?
Applying learning and skills development
Learning experiences will enable learners to develop and demonstrate movement and performance skills in physical activities. Throughout the programme, there will be learning opportunities which develop and apply

PHYSICAL EDUCATION higher-order thinking skills as well as literacy and employability skills .
A central theme is to encourage learners to continue participating in physical activities and sport and to develop an awareness of the link between physical activity and well-being. Learners could be introduced to elements of emotional well-being by demonstrating fairness and respect to build positive relationships before, during and after a competitive performance.
For example, in football, learners should be encouraged to show respect towards an opposing team before a match, determination to do their best during the match and resilience/empathy after the match to manage their own emotions regardless of the result.
How are you developing skills for learning, life and work?
The SQA website provides you with the following documents:

Assessment Overview

Course Specification

Unit Specification

Support Notes

Course Assessment Specification

Unit Assessment Support Packages
Full information on arrangements for this qualification is available at the SQA website:
Physical Education National 5: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47399.html
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/nq/p/nqresource_tcm4719509.asp?strReferringChannel=nationalq ualifications&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-716508-64
Support materials have been produced over the last year to support Curriculum for Excellence and further support materials and events are planned. This downloadable list is updated quarterly with the most up-to-date details available from the page below.
Published and planned support for Curriculum for Excellence: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/publishedandplannedsupport
T +44 (0)141 282 5000 E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk W www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA
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