Key Stage 2 PE · Competitive games

KS2 invasion games: football, netball, hockey and basketball

Invasion games are team games in which two sides try to move a ball or similar object into the other side’s area to score, while stopping the other side doing the same. The National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 asks schools to teach competitive games, modified where appropriate, and to help pupils enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. Basketball, football, hockey and netball are the examples it gives that fit this group, but schools choose which games they teach.

Invasion games, explained

The National Curriculum does not name which sports every school must teach. It gives a list of examples (badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders and tennis), and each school chooses a mix that suits its pitch, equipment, staff and local clubs. Invasion games are the ones where the aim is to get the ball into the other team’s goal, basket or net. So your child might spend a half term on netball in Year 4, football and hockey in Year 5 and basketball in Year 6, or a different combination altogether. Some schools also teach tag rugby or handball. The skills overlap, so what is learned in one game helps in the next.

The phrase “modified where appropriate” matters. Rather than throwing children into a full eleven-a-side match, teachers shrink the game: three against three, or four against four, on a small court or pitch, with soft balls, low goals or a rule change that makes the game easier to play. In a small game every child touches the ball often, and they have to make decisions quickly. A full-size match can leave some children on the edge, rarely involved. Modifications also help children who are less confident, because the rules can be adapted so everyone can take part.

Each game has its own skills. In football and hockey, children learn to control the ball with feet or stick, dribble, pass and shoot. In basketball and netball, they learn to catch, pass, pivot, dribble (in basketball) and shoot at a hoop or net, and they learn the different footwork rules: in basketball you must bounce the ball to move with it, while in netball you cannot move with the ball at all, only pivot on your landing foot before you pass or shoot. Alongside those skills, they learn to use space, to move without the ball, and to start thinking about attacking and defending as a team. Many children find that the hardest skill is working out what to do when they do not have the ball.

The second half of the objective is just as important: enjoying communicating, collaborating and competing. Teachers expect children to talk to team-mates (“I’m free”, “behind you”), take turns, follow the rules, accept the referee’s or umpire’s decision, and shake hands or applaud the other team at the end. Competing doesn’t mean winning at all costs. Children learn that being a good team-mate includes encouraging someone who has made a mistake, and that losing a game is a normal part of playing. Teachers often give out roles such as captain, coach or umpire so children experience the game from different viewpoints.

Words your child will hear

Invasion game: A team game where players try to take the ball into the other team’s area to score.
Possession: Having the ball, or control of it, for your team.
Dribble: Moving with the ball under control, using feet, a stick or by bouncing it.
Pass: Sending the ball to a team-mate.
Space: An open area on the court or pitch away from opponents.
Small-sided game: A game with fewer players on a smaller area, so everyone is involved more.
Fair play: Playing by the rules, respecting team-mates, opponents and officials.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to play competitive games, modified where appropriate [for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders and tennis], and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending
Pupils should enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: keeping possession in a small game

Three attackers try to keep the ball away from one defender inside a small square, making as many passes as they can. What helps the attackers keep the ball?

Set up. Mark out a square about 10 metres by 10 metres. Three players with a ball (hands or feet, depending on the game) face one defender. Count the passes before the defender wins the ball or sends it out of the square.
Spread out. The three attackers stand in a triangle, so the player with the ball always has two passing options. When they bunch together, the defender can cover them all.
Pass and move. After passing, the passer moves into a new space rather than standing still. A moving team-mate is easier to pass to, and it forces the defender to keep changing direction.
Communicate. The receiver calls “here” or says the passer’s name so that the passer knows where to pass. The player with the ball looks up before passing.
Review. After a few rounds, the group counts the best run of passes and talks about what helped. Then they add a challenge, such as a second defender or a limit of two touches.

Attackers keep the ball by spreading out, moving after each pass, calling for the ball and passing with their heads up. A child might sum it up as, “We made a triangle and kept moving, so he couldn’t reach us.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Everyone chasing the ball in a bunch

The ball is exciting and children want to be involved, so all the players on both teams crowd around it.

What helps: Talk about where the space is rather than where the ball is. Playing small-sided games and giving each player a position or area helps them learn to spread out.

Dribbling for too long instead of passing

Having the ball feels like the best part of the game, and children want to score themselves.

What helps: Try a rule that the team must make three passes before shooting. Point out that the fastest way to move the ball is often a pass, which can travel faster than a player.

Standing still once the ball has gone

Children think of the game as being about the person with the ball, so after passing they stop and watch.

What helps: Ask “where could you be to help next?” Praise good movement without the ball just as much as goals. Passing and moving into space is the basic pattern of most team games.

Mixing up the rules between games

In football the feet are used, in basketball you must bounce the ball to move with it, and in netball you may not run with the ball at all. Children carry habits from one game to another.

What helps: Name the rule before the game starts and ask your child to explain it. Compare games together: “In netball you pass the ball. In basketball you can bounce it.”

How to help at home

Keep it going. Pass a ball back and forth with your child in a garden or park, and count how many passes you can make without a mistake. Try with the hands, the feet and, if you have one, a stick and a soft ball. Move around between passes.
Shoot at a target. Set up a bucket, hoop or two cones as a goal and take turns scoring from different distances. Ask your child to say what they changed when they missed.
Two against one. With another family member, play a small game of two attackers against one defender in a safe space. It demonstrates how moving into space and passing can beat a defender.
Talk about the game. If your child plays for a team or watches a match, ask what the best pass was and why, and what they would do differently. It builds the habit of thinking about the game.
Practise being a good loser and winner. Shake hands at the end of any family game and name one thing the other person did well. These small habits are exactly what teachers want to see in competitive PE lessons.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Team games, rules and fair play
Key Stage 1: Attacking and defending tactics

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Invasion games tactics
Key Stage 3: Net and wall games tactics
Key Stage 3: Striking and fielding tactics
Key Stage 3: Athletics technique
Key Stage 3: Gymnastics technique