Developmental Movement Play
Look beneath the milestones at the building blocks of physical development
Babies and children are Infant Experts in their own physical development - hardwired to seek what they need for their unique body, in the midst of their unique life.
Infant Experts need Helpful Adults who understand the detail of how physical development works and how to help them get what they need.
There are two important foundations for physical development - sensory processing (the feel and awareness of the body) and motor skills (the way it moves). Helpful Adults know how to support both in equal measure.
The movement that happens in a focused space inside, is different from the movement that happens outside - and of equal value for development We need to plan for - and support - both.
Infant Experts
Helpful Adults
Sensory and Motor Development
Indoor Movement Play
Values the approach is built on
Developmental Movement Play is a framework for looking in greater detail at how physical development unfolds - so that we can support our children better. In the early years children create the foundations that will shape their body for a life time. How that happens makes such a difference.
Help children to build
Confident, Skilled, Comfortable,
Expressive, Happy Bodies
How can we make space for children to follow their natural drive to seek the physical experiences they need for sound development?
Developmental Movement Play enables you to:
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Understand more about why children move as they do
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Focus on how children create a secure sense of self in their body, and a connected, adaptable physicality
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Ensure that children’s natural drive to move in ways that support their development is valued, focused and purposeful
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Develop your pedagogy in line with your aspirations for your children's physicality
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Build new movement observation skills to deepen your everyday observations
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Scaffold children’s physical development more effectively
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Set up indoor movement play spaces as a key aspect of your continuous provision
Developmental movement
Go beneath the milestones to see how they build. Know how physical foundations are created and when they need more time to establish
Movement play
Recognise and support children’s free-flow spontaneous movement play as the key driver of physical development
Sensory & Motor
Work with the two equal components of building a body - motor and sensory development - which intertwine to create body awareness and physical skill
Movement observation
Build your movement observation skills so you can see more of what your children’s bodies are telling you - and ask why? Why is this child moving like this?
Creating the space
Create the kind of environments that prompt and invite developmental movement - indoors as well as outside
Working together
Take a setting-wide approach - make simple, but fundamental tweaks to the way you support physical development across your team
Core pillars of the approach
Evidence based
Created within a 10 year research project undertaken with early years partners across the UK
Theory informed
All aspects are rooted in contemporary child development theory and placed within a wider theoretical framework
Developing pedagogy
Offers a new perspective, then invites you to integrate this within your own pedagogical approach
Leaning and development
A setting-wide approach
Wider context
Wellbeing
Children need to feel right in their own skin in order to have high levels of wellbeing.
They use movement play to get to know the body signals that accompany whatever is going on in their life - joyous, everyday or difficult. And to discover ways to take care of themselves when life is challenging.
Special Needs
Developmental Movement Play supports each unique child - regardless of where they are on a spectrum of development and learning - and asks what their body needs to equip them for their own developmental path.
It’s especially helpful in supporting children who find it hard to ‘self-regulate’, supporting them to build the sensory foundations and strategies they need, to manage how they feel.
2. Press play
Dive into a world of new knowledge about how physical development works.
3. Embed new practice
Take the approach back into your setting and implement immediately.
1. Choose a course
Choose a single course or grow your understanding of the full approach.
Developmental Movement Play Online
Daily movement diet
Children need lots of different kinds of movement to build their bodies and develop skilled motor control. They are very good at making opportunities through their movement play - and we can help them by providing environments and resources specifically designed to support a rich movement diet.
Developmental Movement Play offers a simple five-part framework to help observation and planning.
Developmental Movement Play Research
Developmental Movement Play was first developed through a 10-year R&D project which brought together movement specialists and early years practitioners to explore and generate new ways to support children’s whole-hearted physicality.
The approach has developed a great deal since the final report and recommendations were published in 2009, but many of the original findings are as relevant as ever.
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