Physical ACTIVITY Guide - LRSport · Physical Activity Guide and accompanying Practical Ideas...

Physical ACTIVITY Guide

Underpinning the key prime area of physical development

Leicester-Shire

Page 2 Leicestershire Healthy Tots Programme

Physical Activity Page 3

A Acknowledgements P4

01 Introduction P6

02 Benefits of being physically active P7

03 Increasing activity levels P8

04 Physical activity guidelines P11

05 Developing a physical activity policy P13

a. Auditing your physical activity provision

06 Creating enabling environments P15

07 Safe sessions P18

08 Practical ideas & suitable resources for each age group P19

09 Inclusive physical activity P26

10 Parental/ carer engagement P27

11 Local information P29

12 Appendices P30

a. Example physical activity policy

b. Example physical activity audit

c. Example action plan

d. Example enabling environments/ positive activities template

13 Practical ideas resource cards

a. Babies – non walkers

i. 0-3 months

ii. 3-6 months

iii. 6-12 months

b. Toddlers

c. Pre schoolers

Contents


Acknowledgements

The Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Tots has been developed using the learning and ideas from a wide variety of national and local sources.

Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots would like to express thanks to Leicestershire and Leicester Public Health, in particular Jane Roberts (Senior Public Health Manager for Leicestershire County Council) and Stephanie Dunkley (Public Health Principal for Leicester City Council) who have commissioned the development of this resource.

Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots would like to thank the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health (BHFNC) in supporting the development of this guide. In particular, Angela Newport for kindly donating her time to review the guide and provide valuable feedback.

Many of the ideas in this document have been drawn from the BHF Early Movers (Helping under 5s live active and healthy lives) published by the British Heart Foundation in 2012. This resource was piloted with a number of early years settings in Leicester City who were involved in an early years physical activity project in 2012/13. Further details of this project are available in the evaluation report on the BHF National Centre website (www.bhfactive.org.uk) titled “An evaluation of the Leicester City early years physical activity project: increasing nursery provision for non-walkers in physical activity.” Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots would like to thank all the early years experts and practitioners, in particular Mala Razak (Integrated Services Neighbourhood Manager, Leicester City Children’s Centres), from this pilot study who provided significant contributions to the development/outcomes of the project. The ideas generated from the pilot study, in addition to the Early Movers resource, has enabled the Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots team to provide a localised approach for early year’s settings in Leicestershire and Leicester to extend their physical activity provision within early years settings.

This guide also highlights a variety of other useful national and international resources that have been tried and tested by local early years practitioners and provide practical advice and guidance in early years physical activity.

Many thanks go to Lime Tree Day Nursery (Barrow upon Soar) and the Little Peepul Day Nursery for allowing us to use their setting for a photo shoot – the resulting images are used throughout the Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots Physical Activity Guide and accompanying Practical Ideas Resource Cards.

Thanks are also extended to Dr Len Almond (Founding Director of the BHFNC) who has contributed towards the development of this resource, and led on a number of early years physical activity projects across Leicestershire and Leicester; sharing his enthusiasm and inspiring early years practitioners to understand the importance of children being physically active.

Thanks also go to Elaine Cowley, whose expertise within early years developmental movement has helped shape a number of early years programmes across Leicestershire and Leicester, with projects such as ‘Babies, Brains and Balance’ contributing to this guide.

Finally, thanks go to Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport, especially Sara Johnson and Andrew Watson for compiling this guide.


Acknowledgements

Did you know…

“Giving every child the best start in life is crucial to reducing health inequalities across the life course. The foundations for virtually every aspect of human development – physical, intellectual and emotional – are laid in early childhood. What happens during these early years (starting in the womb) has lifelong effects on many aspects of health and well-being– from obesity, heart disease and mental health, to educational achievement and economic status.” Marmot, M (2010) 1

1 Marmot, M. (2010). Fair Society, Healthy Lives. The Marmot Review. Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010. www.ucl.ac.uk/marmotreview

Useful Links/ Tools

01 Early movers: Helping under-5s live active and healthy lives

Early Movers is made up of seven booklets and is designed to help early years practitioners plan and organise physically active play environments for children under five.

Copies can be ordered by calling the BHF Orderline on 0870 600 6566 or emailing: [email protected].


01 Introduction

It is well documented that higher levels of physical activity in childhood can lead to continued participation in later life. It is important to establish high levels of physical activity as early as possible to encourage children to stay active enough to benefit their health and to support continued interest and participation throughout adult life. Physical literacy is as important to a child’s education and development as numeracy and literacy.

Early years settings have a crucial role to play in encouraging active lifestyles and providing environments that enable participation in positive and rewarding activities that stimulate children to learn new skills and enjoy being active.

Children can be encouraged and supported by practitioners/ parents/ carers and each other to try a range of different physical activities. This will not only encourage children to learn to love being active but also help them achieve their daily physical activity requirements for health and well-being and benefit their wider development too. In addition to the health benefits for children from participation in physical

activity there are secondary benefits related to improved learning and educational achievements.

As part of the Healthy Tots Leicester-Shire programme, we have compiled this Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Tots to enable practitioners to follow clear guidelines on physical activity, helping them to plan and coordinate appropriate opportunities and enabling physical active play environments for children aged under 5.

This guide provides up to date, factual information on recommended physical activity practices to enable them to make informed decisions and for us all to achieve the best outcomes for children.

It will also help practitioners work towards the Leicester-Shire Healthy Tots criteria for physical activity, in addition to meeting requirements of various UK curriculums, particularly those relating to the key prime area of physical development within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Did you know…

Early movement skills are the foundation for developing physical literacy.‘Physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for maintaining purposeful physical pursuits throughout the life-course.’ Margaret Whitehead, 2013 2


01 Introduction 02 Benefits of being physically active

The benefits of young children being physically active go way beyond just the physical benefits.

1. HealthAppropriate physical activity can help:

develop strong bones, muscles and heart

develop good motor skills including balance and coordination

enable the body to function well and energise the body

maintain a healthy weight

enable a child to sleep well

2. EducationAppropriate physical activity can help:

develop important brain structures

build self-confidence

develop communication skills

build attention span, concentration and alertness

develop self-control

develop good social and emotional skills - how to interact, learning how to take turns and getting on and caring about others

develop problem solving and decision making skills

enable a child to acquire good habits so that they can continue to be active throughout childhood and beyond

Did you know…

The most critical period for developing sensory-motor skills is from birth to 3 years old.


03 Increasing activity levels

In promoting physical activity in the early years, settings need to ensure that all children have the opportunity to take part in:

a number of bouts of physically active play each day

more energetic purposeful physical play

regular sustained bouts of physically active play

These routines are important because they make physical activity an important part of each day. They contribute to the 180 minutes of daily physical activity that is recommended in the Chief Medical Officers report (2011) for all early years children. In addition, by providing more bouts of physically active play together with more energetic activity and sustained bouts where children have to keep moving for up to ten minutes, the setting is making a substantial contribution to reducing the obesity problem and helping children to build their stamina which is so crucial in their development.

Physical activity can be:

climbing stairs

tidying up

walking to the setting

Physically active play usually uses the whole body and are more energetic activities such as:

running/ chasing games

climbing

lifting boxes and moving them

Purposeful physical play is intentional, where the child is learning:

hop scotch

obstacle course with challenges

action rhymes exaggerating whole body movements

Sedentary behaviour is any time spent awake with little or no movement e.g. sitting watching TV, sitting at a table etc. Children in the early years can spend a large amount of their day being sedentary, i.e. when they are sitting waiting for their meals or lining up for the toilet, or participating in table top activities.

We need to distinguish between unproductive (simply waiting, hanging about, watching television aimlessly or sitting doing nothing) and productive sedentary time (a child may be sitting and fully involved in play (alone or with others) or talking with an adult.

To help towards achieving the recommended levels of physical activity, you can take simple steps to reduce sedentary behaviour where children may be sitting or waiting for long periods and increase bouts of activity throughout the day.

You can undertake a brief audit of occasions when children are sitting for long periods, are waiting to start or when individual children appear to be reluctant to engage or are wandering around aimlessly to identify specific opportunities to change behaviours.


What to limit/reduce What to have more of

Top Tip - Unproductive sitting or waiting can be replaced by more positive activities such as action rhymes and action stories which use whole body movements.


Tidying up Children can be encouraged to tidy up their toys and play equipment whenever they have finished playing. Helping their parents to tidy up around the house and garden is a good opportunity to be more active. Tidying up can be seen as a good alternative to sitting for long periods. Working together as a team is always fun.In the same way sweeping up and raking leaves are excellent forms of exercise that young children can engage in and enjoy doing.

Achieving the recommended guidelines An early years setting is the ideal place to offer under 5s different opportunities to be active every day and to help each child meet the physical activity guidelines. This is especially important for children who spend most of their weekdays with you. For those children who spend a whole day with you, it will represent the majority, if not all of their waking day. It is therefore crucial that you provide opportunities for these children to meet the 180 minutes of physical activity. Likewise, for those children that are with you for only part of the day, you will need to provide some physical activity that will contribute towards their 180 minutes per day. It is crucial that you build up a close relationship with

parents to inform them of what their child has taken part in at the setting and also provide them with advice and practical/ realistic ideas on how they can support their child/ren achieve the full 180 minutes/ day in a home environment.

What might 180 minutes physical activity look like in practice in a day?

MorningWalking to a setting = 15 minutes

Morning at a setting doing = 45 minutesvarious activities (running,chasing games, locomotivetasks, tidying up)

Walking home, stopping off = 30 minutesto play at the park

Afternoon/Evening Swimming = 30 minutes

Fun games in the home and = 60 minutesgarden e.g. hide and seek, gardening, action rhymes,riding a bike Total = 180 minutes

Did you know…

Studies have shown that “children accumulate less than 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity over an eight-hour day and levels of sedentary behaviour are high”. (Reilly, JJ. (2010))

Uselful Links / Tools / Further Information

01 Early movers: Introduction to physical activity in the early years

Booklet 1, P3 and Booklet 5 P21

02 Early movers: Getting the best from your environment Booklet 4 pages 24-28

03 Change4Life – for Early Years Providers

Advice, resources and information for early years providers and parents/ carers.

http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/nurseries-childrens-centres-supporters.aspx

04 Start4LifeHealth advice to pregnant women and new mothers. It also includes tips for their partners, relatives and friends to support and encourage mothers in healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their babies.

http://www.nhs.uk/start4life

05 EYFS Statutory Framework Section 1 – The Learning & Development Requirements

P 7-8 1.13


04 Physical Activity Guidelines

The first five years of life represent an opportune window to lay the foundations for future good health and well-being.

The Chief Medical Officer’s Report - Start Active, Stay Active (Department of Health, 2011) includes guidelines for Early Years. The introduction of UK early years physical activity guidelines reflect a growing awareness of their importance and follows the lead of other major international countries. These guidelines are relevant to all children under the age of five and are aimed at the following groups:

Physical activity guidelines: Early Years

For under fives – not yet walkingPhysical activity should be encouraged from birth, particularly through floor-based play and water-based activities in safe environments

For under fives who are walkingChildren of pre-school age who are capable of walking unaided should be physically active daily for at least 180 minutes (3 hours), spread throughout the day

Sedentary guidelineAll under fives should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (being restrained or sitting) for extended periods (except time spent sleeping)

Lots of different activities count towards children’s daily physical activity. “It will normally include activity that involves moving the trunk and more exertion than the minimal movement required to carry out simple everyday tasks such as washing, bathing and dressing, or activities such as playing board games or passive play (for example, craft activities, drawing, dressing up or playing at a sand table)”, Start Active, Stay Active. Anything where a child is moving around can count – just remember to keep it fun.

Did you know…

“Physical activity is critical at this time to optimal growth and development. During this time babies and young children undergo rapid and wide ranging physical and psychological developments which lay the foundation for their future health and well being. ” UK Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Years (Walkers) 3

3 UK Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Years (Walkers), BHF National Centre for Physical Activity and Health


Did you know…

Obesity rates are on the rise across England with around 3 in 10 children aged 2 to 15 now classified as either being overweight or obese.

In some parts of the country, the NHS has performed weight-loss

surgery on obese children as young as 14.

The UK now has the highest rate of child obesity in Western Europe which is estimated to be costing the NHS about £4.2 billion a year.

NICE Guidance (2013) PH47 Managing overweight and obesity among children and young people


01 Early Years Physical Activity Guidelines http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/earlyyearsguidelines/index.html

02 Help your baby move and play everyday and Help your child move and play every day (BHF)

Two leaflets for parents and carers to help under-stand the physical activity guidelines for early years. Order copies by visiting BHF.org.uk/teachers or call BHF order line on 08700 600 6566 or email [email protected]

Top Tip – they don’t have to do their 180 minutes all in one go! It can be broken down into smaller bouts of activity, building it up throughout the day.

From playing on the floor or splashing in the bath it is important that babies are active from day 1. They need to be able to move around freely and safely, practising important movements such as reaching, grasping for toys, pulling and pushing, turning their heads and playing with people and toys. Time should be limited where they are sedentary for long periods of time, i.e. in a pushchair, highchair.

Under 5s that are walking can do lots of fun play to help towards achieving their 180 minutes per day. Playing with balls, doing some gardening, collecting objects such as pebbles and twigs, doing action nursery rhymes, dressing up or blowing bubbles are just a few ideas to keep children moving.

Top tip – keep giving lots of praise to boost their confidence and most importantly be active with the children in your care.

Together with the launch of the UK Early Years Physical Activity Guidelines, the new Early Years Foundation Stage Physical Development Prime area is the main driver that highlights the importance of purposeful physical play that underpins Physical Development.

NICE Guidance (2013) recommends that, “Families should be encouraged to eat healthily and be physically active by taking up activities that children enjoy such as active play and dancing, as well as reducing the amount of time spent playing computer games and watching television.”


05 Developing a Physical Activity Policy

A successful physical activity policy is one that is written in consultation with parents/ carers alongside listening where possible to the children in your care. It is often helpful to establish a group to develop the policy. In the group you can invite parents/ carers and appropriate members of staff that have an interest in physical activity.

You may have a lot of unwritten rules around physical activity. By formulating them into a policy ensures

that everyone is aware of your setting’s approach to physical activity and will provide information to parents/ carers and staff about this. Everyone will be working towards the same goals.

The policy will need to make reference to other relevant policies you have e.g. Health & Safety and will need monitoring and reviewing regularly in line with your other policies.

Please see example policy in appendix 1.



Booklet 3, part 2, pages 18-27

02 Early movers: Helping under 5s live active and healthy lives – communicating with children

Booklet 3, part 1, page 10

03 EYFS Statutory Framework Section 1 – The Learning and Development Requirements

p4-5 - 1.4,1.6


5a Auditing your physical activity provision

Physical activity checklist

An audit will help you identify any gaps in your physical activity provision, enabling you to put into place some positive steps and key development areas that will help you to meet your objectives. It will also help you to complete your physical activity policy. An audit will in particular help you to:

identify what opportunities children have to be active

utilise appropriate equipment to promote being physically active

identify sedentary periods during the day, which can be reduced to increase physically active opportunities

increase the number of bouts of physical activity each day

When planning early years physical activity the checklist below will be a useful starting point. This checklist is intended to help you to identify where possible changes can be made in your setting. It is not expected that you will be able to tick yes to all of the options straight away.

01 Place: Is the environment suitable for physical activity and does the setting have suitable equipment?

02 People: Is physical activity promoted and encouraged by all staff and are staff confident and capable in delivering activities?

Checklist for early years settings to promote physical activity:

Do you have the following? Yes No

A person (champion) designated to look after physical activity

A written policy that guides how your setting implements physical activity

An understanding of the UK Physical Activity Guidelines for early years from the Chief Medical Officer’s Report - Start Active, Stay Active (Department of Health, 2011)

An audit of current provision in order to:

identify what opportunities children have for physical activity

utilise appropriate equipment for purposeful physical activity

identify sedentary periods during the day which can be reduced to increase physical activity opportunities.

increase the number of bouts of physical activity in each day

A range of positive environments (indoors and outdoors) for free play that promote physical activity

A range of positive activities that stimulate more physical activity

An active travel policy to encourage children and their parents/carers to add more physical activity into their daily lives

Good communication and engagements with parents to raise awareness of the importance of children being more active each day



Booklet 3, part 3, pages 28 - 30

02 CMO Report - Start Active, Stay Active (Department of Health, 2011)

www.dh.gov.uk/publication

Please see example Physical Activity Audit in appendix 2.


06 Creating Enabling Environments

Providing an attractive, safe and stimulating environment is crucial to enable children to continue learning. The physical qualities of the room itself, the role models displayed by the carers and the opportunities for developing skills and learning can all offer a wealth of positive experiences to young children.

Well thought out, free flowing indoor and outdoor spaces can have a really positive impact on how active children are. Your environment needs to be adaptable in order to enable the children in your care to have opportunities to be active on a regular basis. The use of different surfaces, spaces, objects, toys and sounds help children to develop well.

It is vital that practitioners display a positive attitude towards promoting opportunities for physically active play, and have the confidence, knowledge and understanding to provide a range of physically active play opportunities for children in their care.

Careful consideration is required of indoor and outdoor space to make the best of its features. Timetabling of activities is crucial to ensure that all children are scheduled regular physical activity opportunities.

Indoor Space:

Through careful planning, organising of space and timetabling you can make the most of your indoor space to ensure that children have regular opportunities to be physically active.

Have different environments for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers, i.e. baby rooms to have plenty of stimuli, different lighting, comfortable mats to lie on, space for babies to move around, soft cushions to lie on or crawl over.

Create space in toddler/pre-school rooms by moving tables or encourage activities where children can play under tables by making dens.

Encourage free flow between indoor and outdoors areas by setting up activities that link the two.

Indoor activities could include playing with small equipment, moving to music, action rhymes or rolling around/ soft play.

Outdoor Space:

Children learn important lessons from being outside, and are usually more active. Different areas can incorporate learning across all curriculum areas. Consider the following:

Provide a safe outdoor space for babies and non-walkers where other children understand they must not run around. Using mats, cushions, different stimulating objects and changing location of the baby area can help keep it safe and stimulating.

Provide different textures and natural resources such as sand, shingle, bark chippings and grass.

Have a sheltered space leading to the outdoor area to allow for play in all weather conditions.

Variety of and easy, safe access to equipment.

5a Auditing your physical activity provision

Physical activity checklist


Ensure children have the right clothing when outside.

Create different zones/ areas to encourage a variety of opportunities for physical activity that can be rotated on a weekly basis to enable all children to have a go e.g.:

create areas for chasing games, balls, hoops, skittles

create a wheeled toy area for bikes, trikes etc

use natural features such as mounds to run on

create a gardening zone for planting, digging, watering

If you are limited on outdoor space, you can visit local parks or nearby open spaces (once you have done a risk assessment).

Planning activities

When you are planning your activities, it is important that you provide a mixture of opportunities including child initiated learning and adult led activities which will enable children to have the best learning outcomes. As children approach starting Primary School, you can shift the balance towards more adult led activities to ensure they become prepared for more formal learning within a school environment.

Types of Play

Child Initiated PlayLed by the child with an adult close by to assist if necessary.

You may need to demonstrate something such as tying a shoe lace, or how to do a certain activity such as skipping.

You may also need to intervene and suggest a different way for a child to complete a task.

Focused LearningYou start and guide an activity and the children take over. There will be lots of interactions between you and the child to ensure the child continues learning.

Demonstrating being a positive role model help children in these activities.

Unstructured Play (Free Play) Free play can be seen as:

fun

motivating - for its own sake

pleasurable and positively valued

flexible and adaptive

unpredictable, spontaneous, innovative and creative.

sense of free will and control.Examples may be free play in the playground, movement to music, imaginative play. Top Tip – it is important not to give too much time to free play as some children lose interest and can become excluded from group play.


Role Models

Children copy others and are more likely to do physical activities if they see others doing so. It is important that children see you taking part in activities so that they can be encouraged to have a go too. Positive role modelling is an important part of a child’s learning. By watching you having fun at different activities you can not only show them how it is played, but also that it is enjoyable.

You can encourage children to take part in activities by demonstrating and taking part yourself and offering positive encouragement to children, such as willingness to try new activities, using words to describe what they are doing, and describing their own enjoyment of it.


01 Early movers: Helping under-5s live active and healthy lives: Getting the best from your environment

Booklet 4

02 Early movers: Helping under-5s live active and healthy lives: Getting Children Involved

Booklet 6

03 Learning outdoors in the early years. A resource book (CCEA).

A resource book which shows how the outdoor learning environment can be used for planning activities across all areas of learning. Download at: www.nicurriculum.org.uk

04 Learning, Playing and Interacting. Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Lots of ideas on how to encourage learning through your interaction. www.foundationyears.org.uk

05 Start to Play resources (Youth Sport Trust) Aimed at those engaging with children aged between 0 and 5 years old, these resources encourage play and physical activity opportunities for young children and their parents and carers.

Order at: www.youthsportdirect.org.uk Training is also available, although not compulsory

06 Generic early years play/ physical activity equipment - Youth Sport Trust online store – equipmentOpportunity to purchase a bespoke equipment pack-age appropriate for your setting.

Contact www.youthsportdirect.org.uk

07 EYFS Development Matters – Physical Development. Moving and Handling

p22-24

08 EYFS Statutory Framework Section 1 – The Learning & Development Requirements

p6 1.7, 1.9

09 EYFS Statutory Framework Section 3 – The Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

p16 3.18

Highly structuredActivities that are led by adults, take place at set times, have certain rules and may need special equipment.

Top Tip – it’s a good idea to avoid creating an environment that is too highly structured that prohibits free expression and self-discovery.

Types of PlayDid you know…

Among children aged 2-4, only 9% of boys and 10% of girls were achieving at least three hours of physical activity per day. Health Survey for England (2013)


07 Safe sessions

When planning physical activity in the early years it’s important to consider health and safety in terms of the environment and the type of activity being planned. Assessing the risks in your environment is an important part of this; it involves you identifying potential hazards and considering any actions which may need to be taken to minimise the risk that they pose.

Risk assessment is something that most of us will do naturally in many environments, for instance, when walking in a wintry environment we may choose to wear boots with good grips, or avoid the patch of ground that is covered in ice. If we walk into a play room and see a small chair upturned then we will choose to pick it up in case anyone falls over it. Risks within the early years environment will vary in severity and although we may consider each risk, not all will need to be formally written down.

The hazard may be a physical object such as a climbing frame, or an activity such as a treasure hunt. When completing risk assessment as part of whole setting health and safety procedures, early years settings could consider including the assessment of physical activity sessions.

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage states that:

“Outdoor and indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys, must be safe and suitable for their purpose.”

“The provider must conduct a risk assessment and

review it regularly - at least once a year or more frequently where the need arises.”

When planning and delivering an early years physical activity session, giving consideration to the questions below may help to ensure everyone enjoys a safe and fun session:

01 What activity is being planned and is it appropriate for the age group?

02 Who is the session for and do any of the children have medical conditions or disabilities that need to be taken into consideration?

03 Where will the activity take place and is the space suitable/ safe for the activity and if appropriate are the weather conditions suitable?

04 What equipment will be used, is it in good working order and is it appropriate for the age group?

05 Are children wearing appropriate clothing?

06 For specialist activities (e.g. dance or gymnastics) does the person leading the activity hold a relevant qualification and are the recommended ratios of coaches to children followed?


07 Safe sessions

The information included within this chapter and supplementary resource cards are taken from a variety of resources including the BHFs Early Movers – Helping under 5s live active and healthy lives, section 5 - practical ideas for physically active play.

This section will provide you with a variety of tried and tested practical ideas to help encourage babies and young children to be more active.We have grouped the under-5s into three groups:

BabiesNon walkers divided into approximate months (0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months)

Toddlers Walking up to about age 3 years

Pre-Schoolers Age 3-5

Please note that these ages are just a guide. The speed of physical development is influenced by many factors, and while most children follow a fairly similar pattern, there is a wide variability in the age at which various skills may be achieved. You are best placed to choose the most suitable activities for each child’s stage of development.

You only need to raise any concerns with a child’s parents if they’re unable to do several movement skills much later than most of their peers. Naturally, you’ll need to discuss your concerns sensitively.

We have developed separate resource cards called ‘Let’s Get Moving’ to provide you with practical ideas on what you can do with each age group.

Did you know…

Movement play is very important for all children – including babies. By helping your baby learn to control their body and move well, you are helping their brain and body to develop, helping them learn to feel safe, and showing them that they are loved. Babies, Brains and Balance 4

4 Harborough Early Years Children Centre Programme

08 Practical ideas & suitable resources for each age group


Did you know…The first thing a new baby needs to learn is where they are and how they can move. To do this they have to develop their ‘movement senses’:

Balance – (in their inner ear) which deals with gravity and movement

Information from their muscles and joints which tells them about the position of their body. (This is called proprioception.)

Touch – which deals with sensations coming from their skin.

Their other senses – hearing, vision, taste and smell – all rely on the healthy working of these other 3 body senses. Babies, Brains and Balance 5

8.1 Physical Activities for babies (non walkers)

Movement and free play is very important for all children – including babies. Lack of opportunities to move freely due to spending long periods in baby walkers, baby chairs or bouncers or being left in the cot (or chair) may delay developmental progress. By helping babies learn to control their body and move well, you are helping their brain and body to develop and helping them learn to feel safe. Babies learn by:

being held and moving around with you

reaching, touching and holding things

looking and listening to you

hearing movement words

spending plenty of waking time on their tummy.

From very early on, being on the tummy is an especially important position for a baby’s development. It is from this position that a baby can do the work of learning about their own body and how it feels and moves.

Developing the core stability and head control is crucial in the first year of life: rolling, then commando crawling, creeping on all fours, sitting, kneeling, and then standing. All of which work towards building stronger core strength so that by the time a child stands, they have a good foundation and can move on to walking, running, squatting and other complex movements.



8.1 Physical Activities for babies (non walkers)


Giving babies opportunities to practise the following is crucial to their development:

Reaching & grasping for toys

Turning their head

Pulling, pushing and playing with other people, objects and toys

Eye movement activities to help develop control of the eye muscle

Rolling, creeping (moving around on tummy) and crawling before they are able to pull up, cruise around furniture and walk unaided

Unrestrained movement opportunities allow them to explore their bodies, for example, discover their hands, feet and the space around them, (e.g. the differently textured mats and blankets they may be lying on). The sensory feedback from these early experiences is how they first learn about the world around them.

It is important to note that some babies crawl backwards first, some are bottom shufflers. Any ways of moving are fine and should be encouraged by providing lots of open, safe and soft spaces, with enticing toys in appropriate places to encourage movement. Babies may start to support their weight during standing and their grasping ability will be strong and refined enough to pick up some objects.

Good balance and body awareness is crucial to help babies sit and stand. Movements such as:

gently swinging, spinning and rocking a baby helps to develop their balance

The close contact involved also helps them feel safe and secure, which is important for their emotional health and wellbeing.


Progress in physical development in babies

This is what babies may be able to do at different age stages. This isn’t a definitive list of development milestones, as babies develop at their own rate and in their own ways. If babies don’t do any of the below, they may need a little more time.

0 - 3 months 3 - 6 months 6 - 12 months

raise their head momentarily while they’re on their tummy

move their arms and legs but not control them

see an adult’s face and follow it with their eyes

react to sounds.

hold their chest up when they’re on their tummy so they take the weight on their forearms

sit momentarily leaning on their hands

pivot on their tummy

roll from their tummy to their back

play with their toes

hold an object for a few moments

reach out for objects.

roll from back to tummy

move from lying to sitting and from sitting to lying

move around in their own way - belly crawling (forwards or backwards), rolling, crawling, bottom shuffling

sit unaided

pull themselves upright and stand holding onto furniture

may walk holding onto furniture (cruising)

may stand momentarily or start walking (first steps shaky and bumps likely)

let go of objects either by dropping them or giving them to an adult

pass an object from one hand to the other

poke and point with index finger

clasp hands together on midline of body, (eg, clapping or bangs toys together on midline).

(Early Movers, Section 5, p17, 23 & 33)

Did you know…

Babies that have freedom to explore gravity on the floor - before they stand up - develop good balance and stability. They are then far safer and less likely to have accidents when they are an upright toddler.


Toddlers move through a number of stages in their development, from standing, cruising, taking their first few steps, waddling, toddling, and finally becoming more confident to walk and run. The toddler phase covers an important period therefore it is important that practitioners recognise and understand the following:

Repetition is very important for toddlers

They like steps to climb on, up and down

They like moving things from one place to another

They like throwing things and testing what happens

They like exploring what things do

They need time to practise new skills

At this phase of a child’s life, it is important that they learn self-control and concentration.

Toddlers are keen to help and this provides perfect opportunities to foster the child’s powers of concentration and learn to persist just a little more with a task and complete it.

Encouragement, praise and constructive feedback are crucial to help toddlers become more confident. By using proper words to describe actions and objects you can also support their language development and demonstrate the movement to complete the task.

In this section young children need to try a wide range of experiences and build relationships with practitioners supported by co-operative play and modelling. Although children at this stage still need opportunities for lots of physically active play, learning various movement (locomotor), stability (balance) and object-control skills becomes more important.

Progress in Physical Development for Toddlers

This is what toddlers may be able to do at different age stages. This isn’t a definitive list of development milestones, as babies develop at their own rate and in their own ways.

8 - 20 months 16 - 24 months 22 - 36 months

Walk around furniture lifting one foot and stepping sideways (cruising), and walk with one or both hands held by an adult

Take their first few steps independently

Pass toys from one hand to another

Hold an object in each hand and bring them together in the middle, eg, hold two blocks and bang them together.

Walk upstairs holding your hand

Come downstairs backwards on their knees (crawling)

Begin to balance blocks to build a small tower.

Run safely on their whole foot

Squat with steadiness to rest or play with object on the ground, and rise to their feet using their hands

Climb confidently and begin to pull themselves up on nursery play climbing equipment

Kick a large ball

Walk upstairs or downstairs holding onto a rail two feet to a step

Begin to use three fingers (tripod grip) to hold writing tools.

(Early Movers, Section 5, p59)

8.2 Toddlers (up to the age of 3, approx.)


Once pre-schoolers are more able to follow instructions they are ready to take part in more organised games and activities that are more adult facilitated.

Practising development activities (locomotor, stability (balance) and object control skills) becomes more important as children progress through the pre-school phase.

It is envisaged that practitioners will be able to plan a programme to cover all of the following categories during one year. Within each category a number of suggestions are made to provide a range of ideas that practitioners can draw on.

Progress in physical development

These are the moving and handling activities that pre schoolers may be able to do at different age stages. This isn’t a definitive list of development milestones, as babies develop at their own rate and in their own ways.

30 - 50 months 40 - 60 months

Move freely and with pleasure and confidence in a range of ways, such as slithering, shuffling, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping, skipping, sliding and hopping

Mount stairs, steps or climbing equipment using alternate feet

Walk downstairs, two feet to each step while carrying a small object

Stand momentarily on one foot when shown

Run skilfully and negotiate space successfully, adjusting speed or direction to avoid obstacles

Catch a large ball

Draw lines and circles using gross motor movements

Hold pencil between thumb and two fingers, no longer using a whole-hand grasp.

Experiment with different ways of moving

Jump off an object and land correctly

Negotiate space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjust speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles

Travel with confidence and skill around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment

Show increasing control over an object in pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it

Use simple tools to effect changes to materials.

(Early Movers, Section 5, p82)

8.3 Physical Activities for Pre-Schoolers


8.3 Physical Activities for Pre-Schoolers Uselful Links / Tools / Further Information

01 Early Movers, Helping under 5s live active and healthy lives, Section 5 (Practical Ideas for physically active play, NHF National Centre Physical Activity and Health

Gives lots of ideas for physical activities to help babies and young children’s physical development, to enable them to be more active, move with confi-dence and to encourage learning.

Copies can be ordered by calling the BHF orderline on 0870 600 6566 or emailing [email protected]

02 Early Years Outcomes, Department of Education A condensed version of the goals and outcomes previously listed under the ‘A Unique Child’ column in Development Matters, which focuses on observing what a child is learning.

This is a non-statutory guide for practitioners and inspectors, to help inform understanding of child development through the early years.www.gov.uk/publications

03 Move Baby Move, Queensland Government, Australia A booklet with lots of ideas to incorporate active movement into babies routines:Early, middle and late infancy – birth – 14 months.Download at www.communities.qld.gov.au (search ‘Move Baby Move’)Also included on Healthy Tots website - Resources

04 Active Play, NSW Government – Early Moves, New Moves, Infant Moves

Parent hand outs & facilitator fact sheetsIncluded on Healthy Tots website - Resources

05 I move we move, The guide (NSW Health Hunter New England Area Health Service, Australia)

A physical activity handbooks for:Babies, Toddlers & Pre-schoolersDownload at www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.auAlso included on Healthy Tots website - Resources

06 Active Movement resources (SPARC – Sport & Rec-reation, New Zealand)

A series of 14 booklets on how to encourage 0-5 years to be more active.Babies – “Tummy time, rolling & crawling’. All others are for toddlers and pre schoolers.Download at www.sparc.org.nz (Click on ‘young people’ then ‘0-5 years’ to bring up a list of available booklets)Also included on Healthy Tots website - Resources

07 Start to Play resources (Youth Sport Trust) Aimed at those engaging with children aged be-tween 0-5 years – resources encourage play and physical activity opportunities for young children and their parents/ carers. Order at:www.youthsportdirect.org.uk

08 Fizz and friends come out to play (toddler and pre-school sets) (Youth Sport Trust)

Part of the Start to Play resources, these story books contain five activity cards aimed at developing moving, balancing and coordination skills. Order at: www.youthsportdirect.org.uk

09 Start4Life & Play4Life (Department of Health (DH)) Early years section of Department of Health’s (DH)Change4Life campaign is aimed at healthcare and childcare professionals. Active play resources are available to download and/or order from DH’s order line www.orderline.dh.gov.uk



01 Early movers: Getting Children Involved

Part 6, P16

02 Start to Play inclusion activity cards (Youth Sport Trust)

Designed to support the Start to play resources, these inclusion cards are aimed specifically at children with disabilities, but are also appropriate for all children. There are eight themes, each including three activity cards. Order at: www.youthsportdirect.org.uk

03 Children’s Community Physiotherapy Service (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust)

Provides information on the Children’s Community Physiotherapy and Occupational Service along with useful information leaflets for parents/ carers and professionals on movement and play. Download at http://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/_OurServicesAZ-Physiotherapy-ForChildrenandYoungPeople.aspx

04 Physiotherapy Service Referral Guidelines for Early Years Settings (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust)

For children aged 0-60 months. These guidelines aim to provide useful information for those looking at the needs of young children with developmental difficulties, affecting predominantly their gross/fine motor development and functional skills. The guidelines were developed to help to support workers when deciding whether it is necessary to refer to the Children’s Physiotherapy Service. Download at http://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/_OurServicesAZ-Physiotherapy-ForChildrenandYoungPeople.aspx and click on “Physiotherapy Referral Guidelines for Early Years Settings.”

05 Children’s Disability Service (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust)

This website link gives advice, support and specialist information to parents and carers of disabled children and young people from birth. Website link: http://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/_OurServices-ChildrensDisabilityService.aspx

09 Inclusive Physical Activity

Children develop at different rates and it’s important to recognise the variety of abilities within any group. Each baby and child will develop at their own rate and will learn physical skills when their body is ready. You only need to raise any concerns with a child’s parents if they’re unable to do several movement skills much later than most of their peers. Naturally you’ll need to discuss your concerns sensitively.

Some children may have disabilities and simple steps can ensure that all children can take part and enjoy physical activity. Regular discussions with parents and carers of disabled children will help to ensure appropriate inclusive activities can be planned.

When setting up activities it’s useful to give consideration to the ability of the group and to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t do. Being flexible and adapting activities to meet the needs of all children will help to ensure everyone can be involved.

Section 6 of the BHF Early Movers resource ‘Getting Children Involved’ includes guidance on how to use the STEP (Space, Task, Equipment, People) model to adapt and modify activities based on the ability of each child.

need a photo


09 Inclusive Physical Activity

The best place for young children to start being active is at home, therefore supporting parents/ carers is crucial to enable young children to make the most of being active all day and every day. By working closely with parents and carers you can ensure that they’re:

aware of the importance of physical activity for their children – and themselves

able to support their child to be physically active

aware of activities they can do with their children.

It will also help you to develop a positive partnership with parents/ carers. There are a number of ways in which this can be encouraged.

Provide an opportunity to discuss physical activity related issues within the childcare setting with parents/carers before the child begins attending the setting.

Make daily activity timetables available to parents/carers. If possible, a pictorial and written display in a prominent place would stimulate discussion between parent/carer and child.

Go through trackers and learning journeys with parents/ carers.

Promote the availability of activity ideas within the childcare setting. Many parents value ideas of how to entertain their child at home. For example, through the use of ‘Play Bags’ where parents are invited to take home bags with equipment in and ideas on what they can do at home during the day and at weekends.

Provide parents/carers with clear information regarding what activities their child has taken part in each day, and what they enjoyed, didn’t enjoy.

Invite parents/carers to share ideas of being active, e.g. activities that they have taken part in the local area or ideas of what they have done at home.

Invite parents/carers into the childcare setting to play with their child.

Provide parents/ carers with access to information of where they can be active in the local area, e.g. play spaces and parks.

Involve parents/ carers in the development of your physical activity/ development policy/ review.

Invite parents/ carers to attend a parents meeting where they can have an input into the settings development, i.e. what they would like to see more of.

Organise a special physical activity event to involve families of your setting.

Provide ideas of how families can be active together – children are more likely to enjoy being active if they can see their parents having fun while being active.

10 Parental / Carer Engagement




Booklet 7

02 BHF Help your baby move and play every day and help your child move and play every day leaflets

http://www.bhf.org.uk/childrens-resources/babies-and-nursery.aspx

03 NHS Start4Life Start4Life has a range of tools and ideas to help get children under three years old more active. For fur-ther information visit www.nhs.uk/start4life/pages/baby-moves

04 NHS Choices NHS Choices is the country’s biggest health website and provides information to allow people to make choices about their health. For NHS Choices’ infor-mation about physical activity in the early years visit www.nhs.uk/livewell/fitness/pages/physical-activi-ty-guidelines-for-children

05 Start to Play resources (Youth Sport Trust) Aimed at those engaging with children aged be-tween 0 and 5 years old, these resources encourage play and physical activity opportunities for young children and their parents and carers. Order at: www.youthsportdirect.org.uk Training is also available, although not compulsory

06 EYFS Statutory Framework Section 2 – Assessment p11 2.5

07 EYFS Development Matters – Understanding the world: People & Communities

p37-38


11 Local information

District/ City info/ contact details

You may wish to use the contacts below to find out more about local support and advice for the development of early years physical activity;

Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Council Public Health Team: Generic public health: 0116 305 0705 Healthy Tots - [email protected] www.leicestershirehealthytots.org.uk

Leicestershire County Council: [email protected] 0116 305 7136 www.leics.gov.uk/earlylearning

Blaby District Council: [email protected] 0116 272 7703 www.sportblaby.org.uk/under-5s.html

Charnwood: [email protected] 01509 634673

www.charnwood.gov.uk

Harborough: [email protected] 01858 821285 / 821284

www.harborough.gov.uk/activetogether

Hinckley & Bosworth: [email protected] 01455 255875

www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk

Melton: [email protected] 01664 502502 http://surestart-melton.co.uk

North West Leicestershire: [email protected] 01530 454606

www.nwleics.gov.uk

Oadby & Wigston: [email protected] 0116 257 2672

www.activeoadbywigston.org.uk/earlyyears

Leicester City

Leicester City Council Sports Services: [email protected] 0116 233 3085

www.leicester.gov.uk/sports

Leicester City Council Public Health [email protected] 0116 4544376 www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/

health-and-wellbeing

Leicester City Council Family Information Directory [email protected] http://families.leicester.gov.uk/activities-for-

children-and-families/

Leicestershire and Leicester

Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport [email protected]

01509 564888 www.lrsport.org.uk/earlyyears


12 Appendices


12 Appendices

Introduction

[Enter setting name] is committed to promoting the health and well being of its children and staff through physical activity. This policy outlines the organisation, teaching and management of physical activity at [enter setting name].

The policy was formulated through consultation with the management team, staff, parents/carers and children and was implemented in [enter date].

Physical activity in young children is defined as …

‘activity that involves trunk movements and more exertion than the minimal movement required to carry out simple everyday tasks such as washing, bathing, dressing, or activities such as playing board games or

other passive play’Making the case for UK Physical Activity Guidelines, Early Years Working Paper

Current UK physical activity recommendations state that children and young people should be active for a total of ….. and that adults should be active for ….. [reference]

Ethos and Environment

[Enter setting name] strives to maximise opportunities for children and all associated with the setting to be physically active by promoting all avenues for activity. This includes through the Early Years Foundation Stage, the environment and wider community.

Physical Activity Co-ordination

The settings physical activity co-ordinator is [insert name] OR the chair of the physical activity task group is [insert name] and the members are [insert names]. The setting travel plan co-ordinator is [insert name if relevant].

Physical Activity Aims & Objectives

Aim: To ensure that all aspects of physical activity in the setting are promoted for the health and well being of children, staff and parents/carers.

Our specific objectives are as follows:

01 To enable children, staff and parents/carers to understand the importance of physical activity through the provision of information and development of appropriate skills and attitudes

02 To provide and promote opportunities for staff and children to be physically active throughout and beyond the setting

03 To increase physical activity levels of children in line with national targets

12a Appendix 1 : Example Physical Activity Policy For Early Learners Providers


Equal Opportunities

All physical activity opportunities offered at [enter setting name] are designed to be inclusive, and cater for different ability levels. For more information please refer to the [enter policy name].

Resource Provision

[Enter setting name] has [list resources including facilities and equipment both inside and outside].

Staff Development

Staff have a responsibility to promote physical activity and to support physical development. We feel it is essential for our staff to feel confident in delivering and supporting physical activity so staff have attended the following activity courses [list courses]. We have also been supported by a number of local contacts including [enter title e.g. local physical activity specialist]

Practitioner Led / Structured Activity

The setting provides children aged [insert age e.g. 2 plus] with [insert time] practitioner led structured activity daily. This is delivered in [insert number] of short sessions.

Active Play

In addition to the amount of structured physical activity children engage in up to [insert time] amount of unstructured active play daily. This is facilitated by our setting environment which is designed to encourage children to be physically active.

Parents / Carers As Partners

[Insert setting name] understands parents/carers are crucial to encouraging their children to be active. [insert setting name] therefore aims to making parents/ carers aware of the minimum activity recommendations, provide parents/carers with ideas on how to keep their children active and to liaise with parents/carers about their child’s activity levels through the identified key person.

Active Travel

Please refer to the Setting Travel Plan for details of how we promote travel to setting.

Staff Activity

Our staff aspire to be positive role models for our children. We aim to take part in physical activity whenever possible, e.g. as part of practitioner sessions, but we also encourage our staff to be active by…


Health & Safety

Please refer to the setting’s Health and Safety Policy and Risk Assessment file. Use of any external personnel including activity leaders and volunteers will be in line with the settings policy on CRB / staffing checks.

Monitoring & Evaluation

The physical activity co-ordinator will have lead responsibility for the monitoring of physical activity in the setting. A range of measures will be used to evaluate impact of the policy in line with the above mentioned objectives. The policy will be reviewed every [enter number] years.

Policy date:

Signed:


What are you doing currently to support this?

How could this be developed further?

Comments and date to be completed

General

1. Does your setting have a physical activity policy?

YES DEV NO

Date policy written:

Date due for review?

See pages ?? of this section

2. Do you have a named person who’s responsible for developing and monitoring this policy?

YES DEV NO

Name:

3. Is the policy monitored and evaluated?

YES DEV NO

How often?

4. Does the setting have an ethos and environment that promote physical activity?

YES DEV NO See section 4

Physical activity provision

1. Does the setting provide free flow for all age groups?

YES DEV NO

2. Do the children have opportunities to choose the activities?

YES DEV NO

3. Do you consult with the children about the activities they enjoy doing at the setting?

YES DEV NO

How?

12b Appendix 2 : Example Physical Activity Audit





2. Are staff able to identify barriers to children’s participation in physical activity and opportunities to remove them?

YES DEV NO

3. Does your setting provide a balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities?

YES DEV NO

Curriculum

1. Are physical activities planned according to the individual child’s stage of development?

YES DEV NO See section 2, pages ??

2. Is physical activity linked to other areas of learning and development?

YES DEV NO See pages??

3. Does the setting have a clear, planned approach to providing a broad range of activities that promote physical development?


3. Does the setting monitor children’s physical development to inform planning and provision?





Partnerships/community links and active travel

1. To encourage the children to move more, do you work with other agencies? Eg, local sports and leisure facilities, health visitor

YES DEV NO

2. Do you encourage and support parents and staff to use active transport to travel to and from the setting? Eg, provide secure buggy/scooter/bike parking space


Involvement of staff and parents/carers

1. Can parents/carers get involved in the planning and delivery of physical activities in the setting?


2. Are parents made aware of the benefits of physical activity for themselves and their children?

YES DEV NOSee section 7 and parent leaflets

3. Are parents encouraged to participate in physical activities with their children? Eg, At the setting? At home?

YES DEV NOSee section 7 and parent leaflets





4. Are staff encouraged to be physically active for themselves?

YES DEV NO

5. Are staff encouraged to join in the activities with the children? Do they feel comfortable doing this?

YES DEV NO

Qualifications, training and rescources

1. Are staff training needs reviewed and identified regularly?

YES DEV NO

2. Are staff able to attend appropriate physical activity training when required?

YES DEV NO

3. Are staff confident to deliver physically active play sessions?

YES DEV NO

KeyDEV Developing

We’ve adapted this template from various early years settings audits, many of whom had modified the physical activity element of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Health’s ‘National Healthy Schools Whole School Health and wellbeing audit tool’.


Development targets

Specific tasks needed to reach target

Who will lead each development?

Resource/cost implications

Timeline Expected outcomes

12c Appendix 3 : Action Plan


Examples given for 0-2 years.

Enabling Environments

Positive Activities Positive Interactions Positive Equipment

E.g. Different surfaces (including outdoor)

Exploration of grassy areas

Use body parts/ positional language e.g. over/ under

Use natural materials for sensory exploration e.g. sand, leaves, twigs

Different spaces Play with baby on the floor - have different textures

Use language that promotes physical literacy e.g. can you roll or can you feel the fluffy feather

Treasure baskets - different theme e.g. colours, play mats, tunnels

Different positions for holding babies

Tummy Time Singing/talking Feathers, ribbons

Different objects and toys

Use range of toys - soft, plastic, so baby can reach, grasb, kick

Shaking toys Mobiles, play gym

Different sounds Sing songs/nursery rhymes/action rhymes

Funny faces, clap hands, feet together, bicycle legs, waving

Rattles, drums, musical toys, crinkly textures

Enabling Environments

Positive Activities Positive Interactions Positive Equipment

12d Appendix 4 : Enabling Environments and Positive Activities

Leicester-Shire

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