Ready for School Pupils Classes

For various reasons children are not moving as much. This in turn is creating problems with their readiness for school This series of Perceptual Motor Programme uses exercises and games so that Foundation and KS1 pupils can develop the skills required for school.

Each child can receive an 8 minute assessment of a their developmental readiness for school 

These classes provides practical activities, that give a complete package of over 45 games and exercises ready for immediate use with children in a variety of settings. Each exercise can be extended in difficulty so that all abilities are catered for.
 
On completion of the programme children have:
            • Increased Maturity
            • Improved Attention Span
            • Greater Confidence
            • Increased Ability in Understanding concepts

The lessons address the following issues:

Auditory Sequential Memory
Infant reflexes
Rhythm
Integration

Exercises and games that develop this most important skill so that children can hear multiple instructions and follow them.

Retained Infant Reflexes impact on child development leading to develop-mental delay and learning difficulties

The movements which release Retained Infant Reflexes are integrated into the programm

Body Rhythm is one of the tools  a child uses to develop well-coordinated, whole-body movement. However it's also fundamental to language acquisition and reading

Pupils use games and movements to establish the ability to do this 
 The development of coordination of the two sides of the body
 
This establishes the dominance of one hand foot, eye and ear. Until dominance is established the brain can not fully mature. 

 

Crossing the midline
Balance
Finger dexterity
Language

How the development of the ability to cross the midline occurs

Games and exercises to activate crossing the midline

The link between balance and attention span can not be emphasised enough.

Encouraging good balance.

The development of pencil grip through the early years

Fine motor control and its impact on brain development.

Games to improve pencil grip.

These exercises introduce the language that forms the basic understanding for maths concepts.

A vital skill for school.

 

Information on each topic is linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum requirements for developmental progress.

The Theory behind the Ready for School Workshops

Many children enter our classrooms today not ready for formal learning.  
They sometimes find the simplest things difficult:
•being able to sit still and listen
•not able to hold a pencil correctly
•unable to understand and act on multiple instructions
 
Disappointment and feelings of failure can result in low self-esteem, aversion of the formal learning environment, and underachievement for the whole of the school life.
 
Helping children move between the playful, world of preschool life and the disciplined world of the classroom will result in acheivements that last all of the learning years ahead.
 
For instance, a child’s inability to sit still and listen may have less to do with his lack of discipline than a lack of vestibular stimulation.  A child’s poor pencil grip may have less to do with the number of hours she’s held a crayon in her hand, than the number of hours she’s spent on the monkey bars.
 
PMP is a programme which aims to develop the child's perceptions and understandings of himself or herself in relation to her/his world, through movement and motor experiences. It aims to develop skills of understanding height and space, direction, balance, Spatial Awareness sight and sound
 
PMP is different because it aims to develop the child rather than the skill. It is not purely a motor programme. It is a perceptual motor programme where language is the key factor in providing the  perceptual knowledge about the motor experience.
 
The programme has it's roots in the development of language, the gaining of problem solving skills, and general readiness areas.