10 simple ways to add movement into primary school lessons

How can you get children engaged in learning, improve their concentration, increase their confidence, make concepts easier to understand and raise attainment?

Get them up and on the move

The last two years have seen teachers work tirelessly to ensure pupils remain engaged in their learning. Impressive methods of keeping children interested and inspired were used, supporting children with their development and progression.

But two years of disrupted learning was always going to have an impact

Between autumn 2019 and autumn 2021, primary school children’s attainment dropped.

When looking at the number of children achieving at or above the standard expected for their age, Years 2 – 6 have fallen by approximately one fifth, with the percentage of Year 1 falling by around a quarter.

If there was ever a time to implement innovative and sustainable strategies that are proven to increase understanding, retention and progress, it’s now.

Adding movement throughout the curriculum is one of those strategies

Not only does this facilitate learning, it also boosts physical activity and reduces sedentary time, another area of children’s lives severely hit by the pandemic.

Children are sedentary 25 minutes more per weekday than they were pre-pandemic, with just 36% of children doing the recommended 1 hour of physical activity a day.

And so, the benefit of using physically active learning is twofold: academic outcomes improve, and physical activity levels increase.

But where do you start?

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