Sports and Physical Activity at Brierley
Sport and physical activity are a huge part of life at Brierley, and we are incredibly proud of the opportunities we provide for our pupils to be active, try new activities and represent their school.
We want every child to develop a positive relationship with physical activity and to experience the many benefits that sport can bring - from improving fitness and wellbeing to building confidence, resilience, teamwork and friendships.
Strong Foundations from the Very Beginning
Our commitment to physical development begins right from the very start of a child's journey at Brierley. In our Early Years, we place great importance on developing both gross and fine motor skills, recognising these as essential foundations for strong, healthy bodies, confident movement, independence, communication and future learning.
Children are given rich and varied opportunities to develop strength, balance, coordination, stability and spatial awareness through purposeful movement, active play and physical challenges. Alongside this, carefully planned fine motor activities help children develop hand strength, dexterity and hand-eye coordination, supporting everyday independence as well as important skills such as mark-making and early writing.
This approach is strongly supported by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Its Early Years Evidence Store describes physical development as a foundational area of children's development and highlights the importance of gross motor, fine motor and stability skills. The EEF also recognises that physical development connects with other areas of learning, including speech and communication, literacy, spatial reasoning, thinking and problem-solving.
At Brierley, we therefore see physical development as much more than simply being active. From the earliest years, movement provides opportunities for children to communicate, cooperate, take turns, solve problems, persevere and build confidence. By giving physical development the attention it deserves from the very beginning, we aim to establish strong foundations on which children's learning, wellbeing and future physical development can grow.
Something for Everyone
We encourage all of our pupils to get involved in sport, both during the school day and through our wide range of extra-curricular opportunities.
Our House Cup programme provides pupils with regular chances to take part in fun and competitive activities at lunchtimes, including:
Football | Netball | Dodgeball | Hockey | Gymnastics | Athletics | Cricket
These activities give pupils of all abilities the opportunity to get involved, represent their house and enjoy being active.
We are also proud members of the Crewe & Nantwich School Sports Partnership and take part in the majority of competitions and festivals available throughout the year.
Wherever possible, we enter B and C teams as well as our main school teams. This is really important to us, as it allows even more pupils to experience the excitement and pride of representing Brierley.
Despite being a relatively small school, we have enjoyed some fantastic sporting success over the years, including appearances at the Cheshire County Finals in Hockey, Netball, Boys' Cricket, Girls' Cricket and Dodgeball.
Keeping Brierley Active
We believe that physical activity should be part of every child's school day.
We aim to provide every pupil with at least 30 minutes of physical activity during the school day, contributing towards the recommended 60 active minutes each day.
We achieve this through a combination of:
PE lessons
Forest School
Active playtimes and lunchtimes
Active learning opportunities
Short movement and activity breaks between lessons
House Cup competitions and challenges
We also look for opportunities to make learning across the curriculum more active, helping pupils stay engaged, energised and ready to learn.
Extra-Curricular Sport for All
Every child is invited to take part in our extra-curricular sports clubs, and we make a conscious effort to give priority to pupils who may not have attended a club before.
Importantly, the vast majority of our school sports clubs are free of charge.
We believe that every child should have the opportunity to take part, develop new skills and discover activities they enjoy, regardless of their circumstances.
To complement the fantastic work of our school staff, we also work with external specialist coaches to give pupils the opportunity to experience an even wider range of activities.
These have included:
Boxing | Taekwondo | Cricket | Gymnastics | Street Dance | Cheerleading
These experiences help pupils discover new interests, build confidence and enjoy being active in different ways.
Platinum School Games Award
We are extremely proud of our commitment to school sport and physical activity.
Brierley first achieved the Gold School Games Award in 2016/17, and we continued to achieve Gold every year that followed.
In 2022/23, we reached an even bigger milestone by achieving the prestigious Platinum School Games Award.
We are delighted to have maintained Platinum status in:
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
2025/26
Achieving the Platinum Award reflects the huge importance we place on sport, physical activity and providing opportunities for all pupils to participate.
It is something we are incredibly proud of and is a fantastic recognition of the hard work, enthusiasm and commitment shown by our pupils and staff.
Proud to Be Active
At Brierley, sport is about much more than winning competitions.
It is about participation, enjoyment, confidence, teamwork, resilience and giving every child the opportunity to succeed.
Whether a pupil is representing the school at a competition, trying a new club, earning points for their house or simply enjoying being active with their friends, we want every child to feel that sport and physical activity are for them.
We are incredibly proud of our active, enthusiastic and sporting Brierley community!
