Practical Assessment in PE – 6-Lesson Teacher CPD Course + Printable Assessment Sheet

Make assessment in Physical Education simpler, more meaningful and easier to manage without sacrificing valuable activity time.

Assessment in PE can be challenging. Teachers are expected to observe learning, provide feedback, track progress and maintain high levels of physical activity, often with large classes and limited time.

This 6-lesson professional development course from MrSportandPE introduces a practical approach to assessment that can be implemented immediately in everyday PE lessons.

Built around the simple Observe → Decide → Improve framework, the course helps teachers move away from assessing effort and participation alone and towards identifying genuine learning and progress.

Learning Objectives

By completing this course, teachers will develop the confidence and skills to:

• Identify clear, observable learning intentions.

• Create simple, measurable success criteria.

• Distinguish between student effort, engagement and actual learning.

• Use observations to make immediate teaching decisions.

• Embed assessment into games, drills and practical activities.

• Use peer assessment, self-assessment and conditioned games.

• Record student progress efficiently without interrupting lessons.

• Provide specific feedback that supports improvement.

What's Included? – 6 Structured Lessons

Lesson 1 – Why Assessment Feels Awkward

Explore common challenges associated with assessment in PE, including lost activity time, excessive recording and the difference between participation and learning.

Lesson 2 – What Are They Learning?

Learn how to turn general sporting activities into clear, specific learning intentions that make assessment more purposeful.

Lesson 3 – How Are They Doing?

Develop simple success criteria using the 1–3 rule, helping teachers focus observations on the most important indicators of learning.

Lesson 4 – What Next?

Discover how assessment can inform immediate teaching decisions, including whole-class interventions, small-group support, individual feedback and additional challenges.

Lesson 5 – Running Assessment Inside Game Play

Explore practical strategies such as conditioned games, observation zones, peer coaching, role rotations and short observation blocks to keep students active while assessing progress.

Lesson 6 – Recording Progress Without Killing Activity

Learn how to use simple recording systems, tick grids, student reflections and focused observations to track meaningful progress without increasing workload unnecessarily.

Bonus Resource – Printable Assessment Clipboard Sheet

The course also includes a one-page printable assessment sheet designed for use during practical PE lessons.

Features include:

• Space to identify the lesson's learning focus.

• Three success criteria.

• Recording spaces for up to 30 students.

• Simple assessment categories: Secure, Developing and Not Yet.

• Notes and next-step recording.

This resource can be printed and used on a clipboard to support quick, focused assessment during lessons.

Grades and Ages

Recommended for: Primary and secondary PE teachers (approximately ages 5–18).

The course is designed for teacher professional development rather than direct student instruction. The assessment principles can be adapted across different age groups, abilities and sporting activities.

Implementation and Teaching Format

Suitable for:

• Individual teacher professional development (CPD).

• PE department training sessions.

• Staff meetings and collaborative planning.

• Trainee teacher development.

• Mentoring and instructional coaching.

• Whole-school discussions about assessment.

Each lesson includes practical examples, reflection questions or application tasks that encourage teachers to apply the strategies to their own teaching.

The lessons can be completed individually or delivered as a structured six-session training programme.

How to Use and Adapt

Teachers can work through the six lessons in sequence, applying one strategy at a time to their own PE lessons.

Departments can also use individual presentations as discussion starters or practical training activities.

Strategies can be adapted for invasion games, net and wall games, athletics, gymnastics, dance and other areas of the PE curriculum.

The printable assessment sheet can be reused across different sports and learning objectives.

Curriculum and Standards

This resource supports effective formative assessment, assessment for learning, differentiated instruction and responsive teaching.

It is adaptable to different PE curricula and educational settings, including the UK National Curriculum for Physical Education.

It is not designed around one specific examination board or assessment framework.

File Types and Contents

• 6 PowerPoint presentations (PPTX) – one for each CPD lesson.

• 1 printable PDF – Quick Assessment Clipboard Sheet.

• 1 ZIP package – containing the course resources.

• Bonus extras - peer and student assessment materials

The presentations can be used for independent learning or staff training, while the assessment sheet can be printed for practical lesson use.

Why Choose This Resource?

This course is designed around the realities of teaching PE: large classes, limited time, fast-moving activities and the need to keep students engaged.

Rather than introducing complicated assessment systems, it focuses on straightforward strategies that teachers can use immediately.

Less paperwork. More purposeful observation. Better feedback. More meaningful learning.

Created by MrSportandPE – practical teaching resources and professional development materials designed for real PE lessons.