Tyler’s parents sit proudly as they listen to Mr. Baker’s feedback of how well their son has progressed so far in his first year of school. They know he’s doing well. He’s come out of his shell and has recently started to make more friends. He’s really enjoying books now and is showing an interest in mathematical games and puzzles. But what comes next is a surprise to them both.
“Although he’s making good progress, we do have some concerns around Tyler’s physical development skills. As it stands, he’s not at age-related expectations in this area, and this could affect whether he could be recognised as having a Good Level of Development at the end of the year”.
Tyler’s parents are taken aback.
“Physical development? What’s the big deal about that? Since when did you need to be good at catching a ball or balancing on a beam to succeed in the big wide world?”
What’s the big deal about Physical Development?
We know that post the COVID-19 pandemic there have been particular concerns around children’s development within the two prime areas of learning Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language, resulting in a focus and emphasis on supporting these areas.
However, intermittent lockdowns also affected children’s opportunities for physical development, with educators recognising a particular impact on some children’s gross motor skills. Children missed out on opportunities to access large scale play apparatus in outdoor playgrounds and indoor soft play areas. Many children will have been confined to limited indoor spaces in their homes and may not have had access to outdoor space at all.
How can we consider supporting children’s Physical Development?
The IELS thematic report: Young children’s physical development in England Research report (2021) suggests that “an awareness and understanding of motor skill development, its risk and protective factors, and the relationships between motor skills and other learning outcomes, may help teachers and other early years practitioners intervene earlier to support children’s development”.
There are a lot of recognised pressures on early educators’ time, which are particularly intense currently, given staff recruitment and retention challenges. It may be a struggle to dedicate professional development time to physical development, amongst other priorities such as mandatory safeguarding, first aid training, and sessions targeted at improving practice to support children’s early communication and language and PSED skills. However, it could be worthwhile investing some time considering the current profile of physical development in your setting.
- Do staff have a shared understanding of physical development and recognise its association with other areas of children’s development?
- Can staff recognise where opportunities exist to support children’s physical development?
- Are staff equipped with the skills and knowledge to support children with achieving their next steps in physical development
It seems that Mr Baker is already making the right moves, in that he has identified Tyler’s need for support within physical development. His next steps could now be to consider how he and his colleagues can develop their provision, in order to be able to offer the support needed for Tyler.
Taking time to engage in a professional conversation cycle with colleagues, will enable careful thought and consideration, to initiate improvement in practice and provision. As Mr Baker and his colleagues step up to improve their provision, the overall result could facilitate Tyler becoming a contender for reaching his end of year goal.
Some further reading when thinking about professional conversations in your setting:
Guide to Effective Professional Development in the Early Years
