Purposeful Physical Play Len Almond Primacy of Movement

Purposeful Physical Play Len Almond

Primacy of Movement We need to build on children’s urge to move as they grow and develop their independence and self-control.

Neuroscientists tell us that much more of the brain is devoted to movement than to language and reasoning.

Daniel Wolpert (Cambridge University) tells us: “We have a brain for one reason and one reason only -- that’s to produce adaptable and complex movements. Movement is the only way we have of affecting the world around us. . . I believe that to understand movement is to understand the whole brain. And therefore it’s important to remember when you are studying memory, cognition, sensory processing, they’re there for a reason, and that reason is action”.

Too long in a buggy 'harms child's brain': Over-reliance on pushchairs can hamper speech and physical skills

Hand Clapping • Cycle 1: Vision: observing hand clapping sequence – Self-directed learning: focused playful practice – Perceptual-cognitive-emotion-action coupling – Memory – Retrieval • Cycle 2: Speed up the actions • Cycle 3: Make up new actions • Cycle 4: Invent your own sequence of actions

Four Problems • A reluctance to tackle the growing problem of very low levels of physical activity and very high levels of sedentary behaviour in young children • No coherent sense of direction of what needs tobe put in place in all settings • Inadequate opportunities for enriching children’s lives through purposeful physical play: An entitlement

Problems that are not being addressed v 91% of children in the early years fail to meet the Chief Medical Officer’s Physical Activity Guidelines 2011. v Sedentary behaviour is learned behaviour that occupies 7. 5 hours per day and has a major impact on health and wellbeing of children

In the Early Years there is a lack of understanding of the role for Purposeful Physical Play because there is NO: 1. Clear VISION of what could be done. 2. SENSE OF DIRECTION of what needs to be done 3. Sharp FOCUS on what can be achieved 4. Sense of what needs to be planned and organised

International Physical Activity Guidelines for the Early Years can be summarised as: 1. Babies have an urge to move their limbs, move into spaces and move towards objects and sounds (noise, words and music) to engage with the world and make sense of it : it is essential for learning 2. Parents and practitioners need to provide more frequent opportunities for them to move and engage each day in order to learn and generate optimal development. .

UK Physical Activity Guidelines: The Early Years Physical activity should be encouraged from birth, particularly through floorbased play and water-based activities in safe environments. Children 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 All under 5 s should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (being restrained or sitting) for extended periods (except time spent sleeping).

The Context for Change o Only 1% of practitioners have received any training experiences in Purposeful Physical Play/Physical Development o Low priority of Purposeful Physical Play/Physical Development in most settings o No pressure to do anything o No sense of direction for this work o Impact of austerity measures on professional development

DID YOU KNOW? Being physically active is associated with children who are “ready for school” (PHE, 2015) An active child at 3 is more likely to become an active adult and an inactive child is likely to become a sedentary and inactive adult (Telema, 2014) Cognitive development v Academic work followed by purposeful physical play consolidates memory and learning (Finland) v The Spaced Learning project: regular physical activity breaks following focused work are needed for the brain. Children need a lot of regular purposeful physical play for optimal development, to vitalise their lives and to enrich their life

Did you know 2 Inequalities Agenda: Babies and young children who have few opportunities for enrichment in purposeful physical play need to be identified (Marmot, 2015) Energetic physical activity stimulates immature stem cells to convert into lean tissues instead of fat cells Lack of outdoor play linked to short-sighted children and poor peripheral vision Parental fear as a barrier to children’s independent mobility and resultant physical activity

What are we doing about it? Action Rhymes - practical Continuous Provision -25% rule Entitlement and sense of direction Enabling Environments Positive Culture

Unproductive Sedentary Behaviour For early years settings, sedentary behavior means: • Sitting for extended periods of time. • Queuing • Not engaging in any activity or just watching for long periods For Parents: • Being in a pushchair, high chair or car seat for long periods. • Sitting in long car trips. • Sitting in front of a screen watching television • Playing with non-active electronic devices such as video games, tablets, computers or phone. • Sitting for extended periods of time at home

Action Possibilities A Set of Action Possibilities to explore what needs to be done and what can be achieved

Smart Tools We have provided a number of challengesfor the practitioner to move beyond their own practice and to think about the whole range of opportunities that a setting can provide for their children to energise and enrich their lives. This requires careful planning together with their colleagues to share their understanding of what they can provide.

Positive Culture in every Setting • Create an “activity friendly” setting in which provision (space) is made for daily opportunities for purposeful physical play and any inhibiting factors are removed. • Create a culture within the setting that recognises the need for all practitioners to value daily purposeful physical play as an entitlement for all children. • Ensure that all children are given the opportunity to learn to love being active: • Inclusive pedagogy. • Establish a “Can Do” culture within the setting in which all practitioners adopt an enabling attitude when promoting daily purposeful physical play

Finally We believe that there is a need to go beyond the narrow focus of Physical Development and provide a more comprehensive vision of what can be achieved. First of all, we need to recognise the importance of movement itself that enables optimal development and facilitates vitality and dynamism and energises living: children need to move much more frequently and more energetically.