Let’s get Physical!

Let’s get physical!

  Back in 2018 a study by the British Heart Foundations Research Centre found 91% of UK children under the age of 4 were not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity (PA), this will impact all areas of development and increases the risk of mental and physical health concerns in later life.   The recommended amount of daily physical activity for a child aged under 5 is 180 minutes (3 hours) incorporating 60 minutes for MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity). This data was PRE -COVID…how have things changed in a post-Covid-19 world

Research indicates many young children’s physical activity levels and physical play experiences have diminished over lockdown particularly for those living in urban areas and minority ethnic groups (The Sutton Trust, 2020; Ofsted, 2020).

Points to consider when planning your Early Years provision:

• Use equipment (when it’s safe to do so) – every child likes a ‘tool’

• Be creative – reflect on your activity, how can you mix it up?

• Plan for a short activity and extend it if it’s working

• Achievable goals for skill acquisition

• Adaptability is key in early years – keep ‘emergency’ activities up your sleeve

• Gradually introduce partner/team activities.

• Provide opportunities for autonomy and agency

• Outdoor play…lots of it

We are all familiar with the Fundamental Movement Skills, also try incorporating these Early years FMS.

F – Fun…make it fun

M – Mystery …times of anticipation and delight

S – Sensory… multi-sensory play with equipment and artefacts to explore curiosity.

 Aside from Covid-19 what is attributing to this decline in PA in today’s society?

Since 2014, 347 playgrounds have been closed by local authorities across England.  Digital technology is a daily experience for many young children and is often used as a ‘babysitter’ by parents that impacts on relationships and time spent being physically active.  Our busy, stressful lives and environmental changes impact on children’s development opportunities.

Many young children are spending prolonged periods of time being restrained and sedentary in strollers, car seats, buggies, bouncers, reclining chairs, etc.

Childhood obesity is considered to be at epidemic levels and its rise is expected to continue. In the next 5 years the number of obese children worldwide is predicted to reach a staggering 75 million. Obese children are significantly more at risk of becoming obese adults.

How can we best support our children to become physically active for life?

• Studies suggest many factors may influence the delivery and promotion of PA within settings;

  • Staff place more ‘value’ on the ‘academic’ areas, maths and literacy skills, and feel pressurised by management to demonstrate this in their practice

  • Numerous studies found levels of physically active play decline in early years settings when more staff were present in the room this tallies with the feeling of pressure and increased inhibitions in early years staff when peers were present .

  • Staff assumed ‘playtime’ offered sufficient provision for PA and the underlying notion that children are inherently active.

  • Staff were not confident to support children’s PA and were not using the space and equipment provided effectively .

  • Staff felt less confident in ‘how’ to promote PA and were fearful of causing ‘damage’ to the child as a result

  • Conflicting guidance from various sources add to confusion over what is and isn’t appropriate.

• I have created this simple-to-follow guide for all staff working in early childhood settings/schools to support their PD practice.

  • Know your children! Copple and Bredekamp, adhere developmentally appropriate practice should identify “what is known about child development and learning; what is known about each child as an individual and what is known about the social and cultural contexts in which children live”.

  • Assess your environment, check the space is safe. Where possible reconfigure the space to allow for more movement; removing tables and chairs, opening doors, allowing open access to outdoors, include large loose parts, tunnels, large cardboard boxes, bubble wrap etc.

  • Take a step back – observe, observe, observe. At times we have an urge to step in and assist when it is not in the child’s best interests, allow children to ask the question – make their way and  find their own solutions.

  • Introduce a wide variety of action songs and rhymes.

  • Recycle and use materials from the natural world – Recycle everyday items for play and access supplies from the natural world, they are cost effective, reduce our carbon footprint and the neutral colours will encourage a calming environment.

  • Keep it simple – we have a tendency to complicate things, simple movements for adults may be complex for young children. Start with isolating movements, ie marching without arms, once mastered introduce arms, Jumping forwards, once mastered jump backwards.

  • Introduce body mapping; identification and knowledge of one’s body, it’s position and identification of features, and where they are situated in relation to the rest of self. Simon Says is a great way to help children to understand their bodies.

  • Balls – Children love balls, introduce different balls, squidgy, bouncy, spongey, large, small, sensory, light-up, inflatable to promote sensory motor stimulation.

  • Bubbles – offer a great opportunity to develop hand-eye co-ordination, boost ocular control and stretch the body.

  • Use music – music is a motivator and our response to music is innate. Vary music genres and allow the children to move freely to the music, music also promotes pro-social behaviour, supporting language and social skills.

  • Keep parents/carers informed of the current PA guidance and advise on simple family activities to do at home. Stay informed

  • Animal movers – let children explore their movement ideas by inviting them to move as different animals, ie ‘Move/slither like a snake, bounce like a frog’.

  • Imitation – Children are imitators and watch us all the time, reduce YOUR sedentary time and move more!

  • Introduce movement vocabulary – zig-zag, jump, glide, spin, leap, wriggle, stomp, slide, twirl, fast, slow, up, down, in, out, over, through, behind, on, under, around, astride, gallop, skip, climb, pounce, slither, creep, tip toe etc.

  • No Chair Day – if developmentally appropriate, remove the chairs from your setting to allow for more movement, any sedentary activities can be completed laying/sitting on the floor or standing up. Use chairs for mealtimes. Try to avoid passive ‘sitting’ circle times, opt for lying/kneeling/squatting etc

  • Bring stories to life by adding movements/gestures or re-enact the story.

  • Invest in staff CPD to promote PA and staff well-being.

  • Provide a canopy movement experience, offer activities and equipment to support;

  Pushing, pulling, climbing, swinging, hanging, jumping, balancing, crawling, running, catching, rolling, dancing, creeping, hopping, stomping.  All of these movements assist with the development of the proprioceptive and vestibular systems essential to future development.

  Research

  Last year I conducted a research case study with reception children in the UK (4-5 years) for Birmingham City University on ‘Can delivering a movement-based intervention positively impact on attainment and well-being?’  After collating the data, results showed a significant increase in developmental maturity, communication skills, physical competency and PSE development, the study also saw increases in all areas of the Early Learning Goals.

  Golding also confirms introducing a daily 45-minute movement programme combining complex movement patterns and increased cardio activity will significantly increase developmental maturity levels in young children.  Motor-sensory (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, vestibular, and proprioception) experiences during early childhood are vital for establishing the neural architecture from which future development will emerge.

  What does ‘learning’ look like?

  Children spend over 12,000 hours in statutory education – how many of these hours are spent sitting?  Is this the best teaching method for children to learn?

  

  Many of us connect learning and education with being seated at a desk as most of us will have experienced this style of learning ourselves.  Thankfully in the early years with the introduction of ‘free flow’ provision and ‘child-initiated play’ learning has evolved, yet sadly in many reception and year 1 classes we continue to see rows or clusters of desks and little space for movement play. But ‘free flow’ provision doesn’t always mean all children are accessing movement play opportunities. Many studies have identified only a few children will access the locomotor or high-energy play experiences, and these are generally the children who are more active outside of schools/settings. It is the children who do not choose physical play whom we need to target with exciting, stimulating play resources and opportunities.

  Higher levels of PA during early childhood have been associated with improved health outcomes, whereas sedentary behaviour (SB) has been associated with poorer health outcomes.   Sedentary time is also associated with an increased risk of depression in children and adolescents.

  Physical activity and movement play support all areas of learning and underpin all future childhood development….the best start you can provide for your child (children) is to introduce an ‘active learning’ experience from birth onwards.