For Key Stage 1 teachers and pupils, Physical Education can be an obstacle course. PE requires a level of co-ordination, stamina and control that doesn't come naturally: it has to be learned. But that means first getting the children interested. Deepdale Infant School in Preston is a typical inner-city school. Here acceptance of sport is linked primarily to one issue: gender. At Deepdale, boys happily embrace PE. It's the girls who often don't thrive in the PE environment. So staff get girls interested by combining PE with something that they do like: stories. Story-time becomes a physical role play. As a result, girls are now active in the playground, even at football. But boys also have an achievement problem: in literacy. Enter the Dads & Lads Scheme. Homework backpacks containing books and basic games equipment allow fathers and sons to play and read together. The secret to Deepdale's success lies in the way it has cross-matched PE with other curriculum areas.

Video Series: Get Physical
Release Date 2007