Colden FUNdamentals

Children learn an enormous amount during their time at school, with the foundations laid in Early Years education. This formative stage is when cognitive and motor skills develop most rapidly, shaping children’s future learning and overall development. Central to this are fundamental movement skills such as balancing, coordinating, throwing, catching, running, jumping, turning, and anticipating movement within a dynamic environment. Simply put, children need the physical confidence and capability to act and react to what is happening around them to enjoy being active.

The Calderdale FUNdamentals programme has been developed to build these essential skills through fun, immersive sessions that can be delivered by teachers and higher-level teaching assistants. This approach was successfully piloted at Colden Primary School in October.

The sessions were delivered to a mixed-ability Year 5 and 6 class, followed by a mixed-ability Year 3 and 4 class, and were built around a shared theme aligned with the aims of the current National Curriculum and Assessment Guidance*. Through simple, inclusive games, completed individually and in pairs, children developed core physical skills such as balance and counter-balance, moving in different directions and planes, and throwing and rolling a ball with accuracy. Activities also supported pupils to anticipate where a ball would land, recognise its highest point, and improve overall movement coordination.

An adaptive teaching approach ensured each session responded to differing ages, stages of development, and additional needs. As a result, 33 children and three staff took part in an accessible, skills-based PE lesson that reinforced the importance of regular physical activity. The sessions were fully aligned with the National Curriculum, Sport England’s Physical Literacy Consensus Statement, Sport England’s Place Partnership ambition for positive physical activity experiences, and Calderdale MBC’s Public Health commitment to ensuring all young people have hope and aspiration.

Participant Feedback

Teachers commented:  

The children enjoyed the sessions, focusing on basic skill development which helped them to identify key skills, how they can be applied in a variety of sports and activities, and fun ways to develop competence. 

Whilst pupils commented: 

It was really fun!

Everyone got involved and there were great games. There weren't teams just sat around doing nothing, everyone had a role and was able to get involved.

It really helped us think of different fitness games and ideas and Rebecca really made sure we understood everything.

She made sure everyone was having fun and explained why it was all good for us and everyone had an amazing time!

It made me think about the skills I need to work on and what I’m good at. 

I love PE and this was a fun way of helping me to improve.

Following positive feedback, the programme will now be offered to all schools. Where take-up is sufficient, a twilight Continuing Professional Development (CPD) session will be delivered, supported by the creation and sharing of practical resources. This will follow a train-the-trainer model, enabling attendees to cascade learning and skills to colleagues within their own schools.

The long-term goal is that more of Calderdale’s children will benefit from upskilled and confident teachers delivering high-quality lessons that enable children to cultivate and develop the basic skills needed for successful life-long participation in physical activity. 

*This is currently under review, with findings expected to be published in November 2025.