Gross motor skills development
Learning is made accessible and effective in relation to gross motor development, this includes:
- Offer opportunities indoors and outdoors every day for children to explore movement freely and safely.
- Include activities that build strength in shoulders, elbows, and wrists, such as lifting and carrying weighted items (for example, buckets of sand), pushing wheelbarrows, and mark-making on vertical surfaces.
- Support core strength and balance through engaging resources like balance bikes, tunnels for crawling, and climbing structures.
- Give babies daily tummy time in a safe, comfortable environment.
- Invite children to try activities in different positions, such as standing to paint, to promote varied movement experiences.
- When children sit in a ‘W’ position, gently suggest and model alternative positions (for example long sitting, side sitting, cross-legged, or sitting on a small bench) to support healthy posture.
- Incorporate cross-lateral movements (for example crawling, touching left leg with right arm) to strengthen coordination and brain connections in playful ways.
Health and self-care
- Encourage independence in toileting and self-care through positive reinforcement and clear, simple modelling.
- Support children to access snacks, dress and undress, and pour drinks independently, offering help only when needed.
- Follow a clear toileting policy and work in partnership with families to ensure consistency and age-appropriate expectations (for example using ERIC and Bowel & Bladder resources).
- Display self-care routines visually with step-by-step guides and refer to them regularly.
- Use social stories to help children understand health and safety practices in a reassuring way (for example, safe climbing, tool use).
Fine motor skills development
- Offer a variety of resources that match children’s fine motor skill levels and interests (for example, grasping, turning, pinching, manipulating).
- Include open-and-close tools like tongs and squeezers for playful exploration.
- Provide appealing fine motor activities indoors and outdoors that reflect children’s preferences and cultural backgrounds.
- Support pre-writing skills through engaging activities such as finger gym, dough gym, and creative mark-making.
- Offer resources that develop finger mobility (for example musical instruments, nuts and bolts, yoyos, spinning hoops, scrunching paper into balls for target games).
Sensory processing
- Ensure all practitioners understand the seven senses (visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, vestibular, proprioception) and how they influence learning.
- Recognise that sensory experiences can feel different for each child (hypo- or hyper-sensitive), and adapt provision accordingly.
- Create a sensory-supportive environment by considering lighting, colour, seating, organisation, and quiet spaces.
- Prepare children for new or unusual sensory experiences in a calm, reassuring way.
- Work closely with families to share observations and strategies for supporting sensory needs.