Free practical guidance · Schools & PE Leads
Where do your staff actually need help with PE?
A confidence survey can give you plenty of responses without making the next step obvious. Use what staff say alongside what happens in lessons to decide where development time will make a difference.
Read the practical guideDIY toolkit or APEX helpFind out what “not confident” means
Ask about a specific part of the job. A teacher may be comfortable organising a lesson but unsure what to demonstrate in gymnastics, how to recognise progress or how to adapt an activity for a pupil.
Useful follow-up questions include: which part is difficult, when does it happen, what have you already tried and what would help you teach the next lesson? Keep the conversation supportive and focused on the work.
Compare confidence with existing evidence
Use recent planning discussions, lesson visits, pupil work in PE and feedback you already have. Confidence is useful information, but it is not a direct measure of teaching quality. A confident colleague may still need support; a cautious colleague may be teaching effectively.
- Knowledge: is the teacher clear about the content and teaching points?
- Practice: can they demonstrate, explain, notice difficulties and respond?
- Conditions: is the difficulty caused by unclear plans, missing equipment or unsuitable space?
The response should fit the cause. Another course will not solve a lesson that cannot run in the space available.
Turn one finding into useful development
Several teachers say they struggle to help pupils improve a balance. A planning conversation shows that the intended learning is clear, but teachers are unsure what to model and what feedback to give.
Agree the teaching points together, use a short demonstration and give staff a chance to practise explaining them. Try this in the next relevant lessons, then discuss what pupils found easier or still need to learn.
Plan the follow-up before booking the support
Name the teaching change you want, who needs it and how they will practise. Decide what support will be available afterwards and when you will look again. A short, well-targeted piece of work with follow-up can be more useful than a general session everyone attends once.
Use staff feedback and evidence of pupils’ learning to judge the result. Keep any observation proportionate and within your school’s agreed approach; do not create an extra performance-management system for this exercise.
The DfE standard for teachers’ professional development is guidance for planning effective development. Ofsted’s PE subject report also considers staff expertise. Neither requires a particular APEX survey or template.
Start with what you already have
Bring together existing survey responses, observations or staff comments and choose one question to resolve. If you ask APEX for help, describe the information you hold and the decision you need to make. There is no need to commission training before you understand the need.
The checks and examples here are APEX practical recommendations. They are not prescribed documents or an Ofsted checklist.
Prefer to do it yourself?
Staff Confidence Audit & Development Planner
Identify where staff need support and plan CPD around genuine delivery needs.
£29 · existing DIY toolkit
View the £29 toolkitShort on time or want another pair of eyes?
Tell us what you’re currently working with and where you’re stuck. We’ll look at what you need and let you know the simplest way we can help.
We’ll agree the scope, price and timing before work starts. You don’t need to buy the toolkit or book a meeting to enquire.
Tell us what’s taking up your timeWhere to go next
If uncertainty starts with the plans, review curriculum clarity and progression before choosing training.
If staff need help adapting activities, use the participation and inclusion guide to investigate the barrier. Add the agreed next step to your PE priorities.