Concerns about a young person’s physical needs should initially be raised with parents/carers and discussed with relevant professionals e.g. SENDCo.

Information about a young person’s typical gross and fine motor development can be found here.

Awareness of a young person’s physical needs and how these may impact on developmental mile stones, socialisation and learning. 

Use observation in a variety of settings and contexts e.g. home visits, indoor and outdoor play to identify any barriers that affect the young person’s access to play and participation.  

Discussions with parents/carers to identify any strengths and needs can be helpful for planning. 

Teaching practice which facilitates access to the curriculum, inclusion and participation.

Creation of a One Page Profile which is shared with all staff.

Encourage peer support through whole class awareness sessions.

Create a ‘clutter-free’ environment. It may be helpful to complete a risk assessment of the setting including indoor and outdoor areas and trips outside of the school. 

Consider the organisation of the classroom and seating plans to make sure that it enables young person to move freely between them and allows for sufficient working space.

Consider positioning of the young person in the classroom to minimise distractions.

Implement an accessibility plan to move around the school and give thought to if an individualised fire evacuation plan is required. 

Incorporate physical play activities e.g. fine and gross motor opportunities into as many aspects of the curriculum as possible to support specific skill development and targets. Schedule opportunities for movement breaks for all young people during the school day.

Consider activities which focus on spatial awareness, planning and body awareness.

Reduce the amount of copying from the board.

Provide lined paper with spaces sufficiently wide enough to for writing tasks.

Use of appropriate height chairs and tables.

Consider supporting of feet using step or box.

Keep withdrawals from class to a minimum.

Incorporate handwriting/hand strengthening activities into daily plans e.g. using age appropriate resources such as Theraputty, clay, elastic bands, shoe lace tying, aqua/iron on beads, tweezer and chopstick games, peg activities, threading, jigsaws, Lego, funky fingers and finger gym.

Whole setting interventions:

·         Motor Skills United;

·         Clever Fingers;

·         Speed Up;

·         Handwriting Without Tears;

·         Teodorescu Write from the Start;

·         Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle;

·         Keyboarding without Tears;

·         Ready Steady Write;

·         Bury Community Leisure; 

·         Live Well Service;

·         Physical Literacy;

·         Balance bikes;

·         Yoga;

·         Writing in the air with dance ribbons;

·         Painting with water and large brushes/rollers;

·         Obstacle courses (young people can be supported to design their own).

Some of the above fine motor interventions are targeted at children in Key Stages 1 and 2, however may be used for older young people where appropriate.

Consider any additional support for self-care tasks, when required or requested by the young person.

Teach sequencing skills for everyday tasks to increase independence, for example putting on clothes in the right order etc.

Take account of potential fatigue and reduce the pace of structured lessons, providing regular opportunities for breaks and rest.

Consider timetabling and location of rooms where possible to facilitate movement whilst continuing to take into consideration access to facilities and fatigue.

Use technology to support learning including apps e.g. Dexteria Jr, Blobble Write and Hairy Letters.

Consider use of additional resources to guide gross and fine motor development. Motor Skills United Occupational Therapy Programme contains activities which target key areas of difficulty. 

Provide additional equipment or resources such as sloping board, adapted cutlery, chairs, scissors and pencil grips etc. 

Consider appropriate settings for educational trips as well as transport to and from e.g.  Use of a vehicle with tail-lift, specialist car seat etc.