When Rest Turns Into Planning: The Summer Struggle of PE Teachers

For most people, summer means switching off. Rest. Travel. Family. A chance to reset.
But somewhere between the beach and the barbecue, that familiar thought creeps in: “𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆
PE teachers hear it all the time: “You’re so lucky to get so much time off!”
But the truth is, while classroom teachers might have ready-made textbooks and schemes, PE teachers are often building lessons from scratch. New sports, new themes, new students, and the same limited time.

And it’s not just the lesson plan—it’s the risk assessments, the differentiation, the personal development goals, the cross-curricular links. For every 45-minute lesson, there are hours behind the scenes. And they often happen in July, not September.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead—PE teachers are some of the most passionate professionals around. But here’s a reminder: 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.

A few ways to ease the pressure:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What do you want students to walk away with by the end of term? Build backwards from there.

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲: Rather than rewriting everything, choose one sport, unit, or age group to refine.

𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻: If something worked last year, use it! Add a twist or challenge rather than starting from zero.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: Having a structured curriculum or resource library means less reinventing, more refining.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸
𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲.