Healthy Movers

Overview

Healthy Movers improves children’s physical development, supports their social and emotional wellbeing and creates healthy, happy children that make a good level of development across the EYFS curriculum.

Evidence of Need

Children need to move from birth for good health and development. If they sit too long we will see significant problems that continue with children’s health, development, and wellbeing throughout childhood into adulthood.

If children don’t develop the basic movements and physical attributes through early childhood they are at risk of delays in their physical, social and emotional development.

We are seeing more children that need a foundation of physical development and access to play to maintain good health, make a good level of development and be ready to learn as they transition into primary school.

 

Did you know?

35%
of 5-year-olds are not making a good level of development – Department for Education 2023
19%
Only 19% of children achieve 180 minutes of physical activity everyday – Early Intervention Foundation 2022
19%
Only 19% of practitioners felt ‘very competent’ in delivering physical activity sessions for children at their settings – YST, Healthy Movers: Key Evaluation Findings, 2024

Ways to Access

Packages for settings

Designed to improve practitioner’s confidence and competence in delivering purposeful and fun physical development and active play. Choose either the Essentials or Essentials Plus package for your Healthy Movers training and resources. Both are suitable for a cluster or group of up to 20 settings.

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Bespoke packages

We can design and deliver bespoke packages including practitioner CPD, family engagement, mentoring support and evaluation. It can be purchased on behalf of a group of education or community settings and is not limited by number. This could be funded as a nursery chain, a cluster of schools with early years provision, or local funding opportunities (e.g. local authority, public health, trust or foundation).

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Healthy Movers for families

Get moving! Download our Healthy Movers at Home resources for easy, mobile-friendly ideas to help your little ones move, play, and grow every day.

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Impact to Date

The Healthy Movers approach has been effective at increasing children’s physical, emotional and social development as a foundation for improving language, communication and literacy. This was recognised in the Department for Education Opportunity Area Guide to Early Years.

Practitioners reported that Healthy Movers had a positive impact on the following areas for children:

  • Enjoyment of physical activity - reported by 96% of practitioners.
  • Physical skills - reported by 95% of practitioners.
  • Communication and language - reported by 81% of practitioners
  • School readiness - reported by 74% of practitioners
  • Happiness - reported by 94% of practitioners
  • Relationships with other children - reported by 90% of practitioners.

99% of practitioners said that the Healthy Movers training helped to make them feel more competent in their role.

93% of parents said that Healthy Movers had given them ideas to help their child be active and 88% of parents said that Healthy Movers had helped their child to be more active.

Source: YST, 2024, Healthy Movers: Key Evaluation Findings

Contact Us

If you would like to find out more about this programme then get in touch with us today.

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