Free practical guidance · Primary PE
Primary PE assessment: record what helps you teach.
Assessment should help you understand what pupils have learned and what they need next. It should also be manageable for the people doing it.
Start with the learning you want to see, use an appropriate way to check it and record what will help you make the next teaching decision.
Read the practical guideDIY toolkit or APEX helpThis guide helps you review the approach you already use, with a practical example and questions to help you decide what is useful.
Start with the intended learning
Before choosing a tracker or rating, be clear about what pupils are learning. “Getting better at games” is too broad to guide a useful check. A specific focus, such as moving into space to receive a pass, gives you something you can observe and respond to.
Use the learning in your existing curriculum. If that is unclear, start by reviewing the curriculum sequence. Check that the task lets pupils demonstrate what they have been taught, rather than judging everything that happens in a game at once.
A worked example
Moving into space to receive a pass
Intended learning: recognise an available space and move into it to offer the player with the ball a passing option.
What to look for: in a familiar small-sided activity, does the pupil move away from a defender into a useful space when a teammate has the ball?
What you notice: a pupil moves into space but stops behind the defender, leaving the passing route blocked.
Next teaching action: model a position where the passer can see the receiver, then give the pupil another chance to try it. Check again before increasing the task’s difficulty.
A useful note: “Finding space; needs practice offering a clear passing route. Revisit next lesson.”
This is one observation in one context. It is not enough to label a pupil’s overall PE attainment. Look again over time and use the result to support teaching.
Keep recording proportionate
You do not need to write down every action you see. Decide what information you will use, who needs it and when it will help. A short note about a misconception or next step can be more useful than a score with no clear meaning.
- Purpose: what decision will this information help you make?
- Alignment: are you checking learning that has actually been taught?
- Clarity: would another teacher understand what the record means?
- Response: what will you teach, adapt or revisit as a result?
Review the approach you already use
Take one recent unit and a small sample of assessment records. Compare the intended learning with the checks used and the next steps recorded. Keep what helps. Identify anything that takes time without changing a teaching decision.
Discuss examples with colleagues so that a judgement means the same thing across classes. Where a pupil needs an adaptation, check whether the activity lets them demonstrate the intended learning.
This is APEX practical guidance, not an Ofsted checklist or a prescribed assessment system. Ofsted’s PE subject report discusses the importance of assessment aligned with the curriculum.
Prefer to organise it yourself?
The APEX PE Assessment & Progress Toolkit provides a structure for reviewing your approach to assessment and recording progress.
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