Early Childhood Physical Development Training Courses

Early Childhood Physical Development Training Courses

Early Childhood Physical Development

Introduction

Discover how high-quality movement in early childhood is essential for laying the foundations of physical activity, health, well-being, and academic outcomes.

“We believe that programmes such as SKIP Cymru should be implemented across the country to ensure that every child develops the essential Fundamental Motor Skills they need to equip them for later life.”
Health and Social Care Committee, Senedd Cymru

We offer a range of training courses for early childhood practitioners, bespoke for education settings, pre-school provision, as well as courses tailored for coaches working in community settings. See more about our courses below.

Why is this training so important?

This training helps address the increasing issue of inactivity, children living with obesity, declining health and poor academic outcomes.

Practitioners from education, health, community and family settings can support children’s health and well-being by understanding how…

  • High quality movement in the early years is needed for physical development.
  • Movement in early childhood creates connections in the brain and supports speech, language and literacy.
  • Fundamental movement skills (FMS) underpin later physical activity and health.
  • Not all skills develop just through playing and need to be taught in a developmentally appropriate way to meet the specific needs of each child.
  • Children’s physical development is fundamental to self-esteem, confidence, and resilience, supporting mental health and well-being.

Successful Kinaesthetic Instruction for Pre-schoolers (SKIP-Cymru©)

In Wales the play-based curriculum means children have lots of opportunities for moving in their learning. However, children don’t just magically learn all the skills they need just by playing. There are some skills that need to be taught, and these skills are also the ones that are needed to play many of the games and sports which support an active healthy lifestyle.

We know from many years of research that if very young children move a lot they will be better movers. But as they get a little older, start to develop balance and begin to move independently they need to be taught how to move well. If we teach children to move well they develop the confidence and motivation to lay the foundations for a life of physical activity and better physical and mental health. Our work here at UWTSD focuses on developing children’s motor skills and is based on over 30 years of research in the field.

Our SKIP Cymru professional development programme has gained national recognition as a recommendation in the Welsh Government Health and Social Care and Sport Committee report on Physical Activity of Children and Young People. The SKIP-Cymru work has also been highlighted as a case study for the Journey to a Healthier Wales support materials for the Well-being of Future Generations Act.  This work has gained international recognition with Dr Wainwright delivering key note lectures at the International Physical Literacy conference in Toronto and Changing the Game conference in Sweden. Published research evidence shows the rationale for the development of SKIP-Cymru and also evidence of the impact of this work in Wales

SKIP-Cymru trains adults to analyse children’s movement and then how to teach children the foundational skills they need to be competent movers and so access a range of physical activity. By recognising the developmental stage a child is at when they are learning to throw and catch, practitioners can use the appropriate equipment and tasks to ensure children progress and develop their skills in a playful fun way.