PULSE


The initial pilot study in Guernsey highlighted the need for the chosen text to be not only age appropriate, but one that the children could relate to (a story they chose or were already familiar with) and would lend itself to a moving narrative.


Conclusion & Significance:


The findings concluded that the teachers regarded the approach as one which not only enhanced movement skills and engagement among the children, but also increased the awareness of their importance as an educational tool.


‘Moving Stories’ offered potential new opportunities to link subjects and topics on the curriculum with physical education. There was strong evidence to suggest that ‘Moving Stories’ facilitated kinaesthetic learning, embedded learning and achieved the cross-curricular links that it set out to establish. There was also evidence to suggest it would be a particularly suitable approach for children with autism spectrum disorders which warrants further exploration.


The teachers’ comments were very encouraging and related to the development of confidence:


“That idea of confidence building and having more confidence in their body awareness and in an unthreatening way that is really enjoyable”.


There was a real sense of creativity as children were encouraged to feel able to contribute their own perception of the characters and how they would act.


“And they wanted to do it and there was an element of it which I really liked - which was about taking their own lines of enquiry and they really enjoyed that part of it”.


For example, the Pirate Captain had a parrot and, in our approach, we looked at landing and balancing on the lines on the floor to represent branches, but the children were insistent on “well parrots’ copy don’t they, so we are going to copy you”. What ensued was a series of mirroring exercises in ‘Simon says’ style.


The session proved to be inclusive, and it was evident that there was no fear of the children not joining


in and expressing themselves fully in the movements and actions required. One teacher commented:


“In that session everybody was joining in. Nobody was worried about joining in. They were giving it a really good go. It was definitely accessible to all of them and all (were) engaged”.


Final Comment:


It is essential that any intervention introduced in schools is perceived by the teachers to be purposeful, and it clearly links into and achieves curriculum targets. The teachers also need to relate to the intervention, by understanding the benefits it could offer and wanting to actively engage with it, were it to be successfully implemented. It was found that the sample group were very much on board with how the sessions ran, and they spoke freely on how they might implement it themselves.


“You could link it with what you know, I particularly think like processes. With things like science I can really imagine that working brilliantly… and also with maths I can really imagine it”.


“I think it’s something that teachers could easily do as well… whether they were early on in their career or have been teaching a long time”.


If teachers are going to become champions of ‘Moving Stories’ and implement it longer term, it is imperative that they consider it appropriate in terms of meeting PE curriculum targets for KS1 schoolchildren and developing associated functional movement skills (FMS). It is also considered vital that teachers understand or identify with the importance of developing FMS in general as a concept and see it as much of a priority as other elements of the curriculum if any intervention is going to be truly effective.


Previous research has found that teachers may benefit from specialist training to ensure children meet the recommended fundamental movement skills (FMS) benchmarks for their age. From the sample group there were strong examples of identification, with the importance and development of FMS in principle. In terms of Moving Stories being an appropriate intervention,


Should you require a more detailed session outline and sample please contact: richard.cheetham@winchester.ac.uk The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine 7


in its current format there was some evidence to suggest that it is more appropriate for Year 1 and younger children (aged 6 and below). It


would need to be adjusted for Year 2 children who are moving onto more complex physical activity tasks in line with PE curriculum guidelines.


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