Fundamental Movement Skills in KS1

Fundamental Movement Skills are the basic building blocks of movement and are an essential part of everyday life and recreational activity. It is only when these skills are mastered that a child can go on to develop specialised movement skills, which will allow them to reach their potential in sports-specific endeavours.

Children in Year 1 and Year 2 have a block of fundamental movement skills at the start of this year. Each week they have two lessons. One is locomotor skills such as running, skipping, jumping and hopping. In their other PE lesson they focus on manipulative skills such as catching, kicking and throwing.

While many children develop good physical skills on their own by trial-and-error, there are many who do not. Research suggests that these skills can be developed through explicit instruction, highlighting the importance of these building block skills. Children in Year 1 and 2 are currently on their second locomotor skill of the year, running. Learning and developing these skills through games has proven both fun and educational so far.

By Steve O’Leary

Head of PE