Safety in PE

Active and passive safety, spotting and assisting, the duty of care and vigilance: teaching without exposing.

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Passive safety: what is it?
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Protection from the set-up and equipment: mats, padding, clear space.
It asks nothing of the pupil.
In climbing, a pupil wants to climb before the teacher has checked their rope-up. What should happen?
- Forbid the start until the tie-in has been checked
- Let them go if they have climbed this route before
- Let them go with a double mat at the foot of the route
- Let them go but ask them to climb slowly
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Forbid the start until the tie-in has been checked
A badly tied knot or one not threaded properly through the harness means a ground fall: the tie-in is checked (by the belayer, the teacher or both) before every start, without exception.
Active safety: what is it?
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Behaviours pupils learn to protect themselves and others.
Knowing how to fall, spot and follow rules.
Why is passive safety not enough?
- Protective equipment wears out too fast to be reliable
- Equipment does not replace the behaviours pupils must learn
- It is only required in gymnastics and climbing
- It raises the risk pupils perceive
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Equipment does not replace the behaviours pupils must learn
No mat covers every situation: pupils must also know how to fall, spot and pace their effort, and learning to protect oneself is part of the curriculum.
Spotting: what is it?
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A classmate or the teacher stepping in to prevent a dangerous fall.
It is learned and practised like a skill.