To increase children’s physical activity, encourage participation and enhance development, it’s important to provide a broad range of PE resources. But where to start? What are the basic pieces of equipment that are essential for a child’s physical education? In this blog we share an overview of the top 10 PE essentials for your setting and highlight the benefits of each one along the way.
Top 10 PE resources
1. Cones
Cones are a staple resource for PE! They are extremely versatile and can be used in almost any sporting activity. Whether that’s using cones as section dividers to create boundaries between different sports games in a field. Or as markers for representing goals on a football pitch, or as an obstacle for children to run between. You can be as creative as you like, and use cones to improve children’s balance, coordination, agility, speed and endurance.
2. Balls
No school should be seen without a large and diverse range of balls! Balls come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials and are central to many popular sports. This includes sensory ball packs, football, volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, netball, tennis, rounders, hockey, rugby, fluff balls and shotput! Whether children roll, kick, throw, catch or bounce balls, they are developing fundamental gross motor skills and enhancing their hand-eye coordination when they use them.
3. Rackets
Rackets are an extremely popular PE resource. They can be used in many different types of sports, such as badminton, tennis, squash and table tennis! Whether children use rackets that are loosely or tightly strung or have a short or long handle, racket sports help to enhance a child’s physical development in several key areas. Improving their hand eye coordination and balance and strengthening the muscles in their lower and upper body.
4. Bean Bags & Quoits
Bean bags & quoits are vital pieces of PE equipment for improving the children’s aiming, throwing and accuracy. They can be used in various indoor and outdoor activities, including the traditional ring toss and bean bag toss games. This is where children aim their quoit over a spike or throw a bean bag through or onto a target! These games are a fun activity for children, which enhance their hand eye coordination, balance, tracking and gross motor skills.
5. Hoops
Hoops are a must-have item for PE! The renowned classic hula hoop spinning activity is a simple yet fun game that allows children to challenge themselves. Simultaneously this enhances body awareness, core strength and coordination. Hoops tend to come in bright colours and assorted sizes, which gives you the opportunity to form a range of other activities around them as well. Hoops can be used for hop scotch, targets, ring toss, or even rolling them along the floor to see how far they can go!
6. Skipping Ropes
Hop, skip, jump! Jump Ropes are a great resource for schools, which children can use independently, or in a group with friends. You can create an exciting range of games with jump ropes, such as relay racing. Or, uou can even incorporate other areas of the curriculum, such as mathematics through counting! Skipping is an excellent way to get the kids moving and it helps to improve a child’s coordination and agility, as well as raising their heart rate.
7. Discs
Sports discs are a versatile resource that can create many entertaining games for the children! Frisbee is a particularly popular throwing and catching activity that helps to build a child’s handling, agility and gross motor skills. However, you can also use discs for games such as disc golf, flipping the disc and tag!
8. Gym Mats
Gymnastics mats are a core piece of safety equipment for physical education lessons! It is extremely important to provide children with comfortable cushioned flooring that will protect them and the floor itself. A hard-wearing and slip-resistant gym mat or tumbling mat is essential in order to reduce movement of the mat in use and prevent accidents.
9. Sports Bibs
Bibs are an essential piece of equipment for team sports, especially with a large group of children! You can find training bibs in a variety of bright colours and use them to distinguish different teams in competitive sports or groups in PE. Competitive sport games encourage children to participate in physical activity and help to improve their social skills and teamwork.
10. Stopwatch & Whistle
Finally, every PE teacher needs a stopwatch and a whistle! Whether you are monitoring athletics events around the running track during sports day. When refereeing an energetic game of football, a whistle is a simple addition to your PE lessons that is required in order to regulate the games and the children. Using a stopwatch in PE is also a handy motivation tool, which encourages children to push themselves and create their own personal goals to improve their speed, pace and stamina.
Ready…Set…Go…!
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Need some activity ideas for your PE lessons? Take a look at our Top 10 Physical Activities for Children in Primary School for some inspiration!
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