Physical Education teachers and leads across the country are among other subject leads set to receive further support through one of the biggest online learning hubs and classrooms for schools.

The Oak National Academy is due to expand its subject offering for primary and secondary teachers so they can access support on planning and delivering a range of subjects like PE, Drama, and French by working with a diverse set of new partners and subject associations.

The Youth Sport Trust has been tasked with developing Key Stage 3 resources and online lesson plans for PE. Working with its national network of 20,000 schools, the charity will create helpful guidance for lessons to cover units across Games, Dance, Gymnastics, Athletics, Outdoor and adventurous activity and Health and fitness.

Ali Oliver MBE, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said:

Now is a crucial time for Physical Education in schools given its potential to improve young people’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing. At the same time schools are having to work harder than ever to meet the needs of both home, and in school learning as a result of Covid-19. The Youth Sport Trust is therefore very proud to be partnering the Oak National Academy to develop online Physical Education curriculum lessons and resources for secondary age pupils.

It is vital there is access to high quality lessons which can be delivered within the current government guidance, as well as supporting online materials designed to ensure young people don’t miss out on crucial physical development and fitness at this time.

We will be working with our network of Physical Education teachers to ensure the lessons are fun, relevant and engaging, and they are ready for teachers to use from January 2021.

The new subjects were created in response to, and working with, teachers keen to broaden Oak’s offer. The additions will mean Oak will offer over 10,000 high quality lessons and resources to support remote education and lesson planning.

Matt Hood, Principal of Oak National Academy, said:

Every part of Oak National Academy has been created from a recommendation or suggestion from a teacher. So I’m delighted we’ve been able to work with a diverse set of subject associations and partners to respond to teachers’ needs.

Expanding our offer to include more arts, practical and physical subjects is important for children’s development and their access to a broad curriculum. We hope these resources will help teachers’ workloads and support school contingencies throughout this challenging year.

The announcement comes as the number of pupils using Oak’s online classroom significantly increases in line with pupil Covid isolation. The week before half term (19th October) saw nearly 370,000 pupils using the Oak, a 50% increase on two weeks earlier. Use in ‘Tier 3’ areas is also increasing, with a 25% increase in Manchester and 27% increase in Sheffield in the last week alone.

Teachers will be able to access the extra support through the Oak National Academy from January 2021.