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FREE Maths Week resource for primary schools

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  FREE Maths on the Move resource We need to get pupils excited about maths. And this means we need to make it fun. Combining maths and movement is one way you can do just that. Our FREE Maths on the Move resource designed for Maths Week England uses physically active learning to engage children and make concepts easier to understand. We know it works because numerous studies prove physically active learning enhances brain function, improves focus, facilitates understanding, increases confidence and reduces anxiety. Plus, we continually measure the impact of our MOTM programme, with our 2021-2022 report revealing: ·         95% of children taking part in MOTM showed a total increase from pre to post lesson scores ·         78.5% of children reported improved confidence in maths as a result of taking part in MOTM Using the free downloadable resource, you can get children up out of their chairs, away from their desks and excited about maths. The resource is designed by t
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Introducing English on the Move.

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Physically active learning   is all the rage at the moment, and rightly so. A growing body of academic research proves that brain function is enhanced through physical activity. And is there a teacher in the world who doesn’t want their pupils’ brains functioning as well as possible?   The Maths on the Move programme has been running since 2015 and it has not only been popular with children and teachers, but the data has shown that it works . So, knowing that we were onto a good thing, we’ve been busy behind the scenes developing English on the Move.   What is English on the Move? English on the Move is a physically active learning programme which combines physical activity with spelling, punctuation and grammar teaching, aligned to the National Curriculum. Through team games, plenty of movement and well-paced tasks, pupils focus on one learning outcome per lesson, reinforcing and practising what they have learnt in their usual English lessons. English on the Move lesson
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The Primary PE Huddle - Exploring Physically Active Learning with Dr Andy Daly-Smith.

In the first episode of our new podcast series, The Primary PE Huddle, hosts Dan Hayes and Andrew Stanton are joined by Dr Andy Daly-Smith, Children’s Physical Activity Researcher. Who is Dr Andy Daly-Smith? Dr Daly-Smith’s passion is supporting schools, teachers and children to embrace physical activity. His practice driven research focuses on the impact and implementation of physically active learning. Key themes within his work include physical activity across the segmented school-day, whole-school approaches to physical activity and the efficacy, effectiveness and implementation of physically active learning. As Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity and Behavioural Science at Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Dr Daly-Smith oversaw the physically active learning research project which featured the Aspire, Maths on the Move programme and evidenced the programme’s success in driving activity and improving maths attainment. Dr Daly-Smith is currently a r
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8 reasons why children benefit from Physically Active Learning

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Indoor break is no fun for teachers. This is partly because it’s harder to set up the classroom for the next lesson or get some marking done, but mainly because teachers instinctively understand that children need the time to move around and prepare their brains for learning. A growing body of research by cognitive neurologists backs this up, showing that there is increased brain activity and improved on-task behaviours when tackling cognitive tasks following a period of being physically active. Even with these known benefits, it can be difficult to provide children with regular opportunities to be physically active within the school day, and even harder to ensure they achieve the recommended 30 minutes of in-school moderate-to-vigorous activity every day. One solution is physically active learning (PAL) – an innovative teaching and learning approach which integrates movement into the learning experience. Maths on the Move (MOTM) and English on the Move (EOTM) is an example of PA
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It sounds good, but does physically active learning actually work?

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It sounds good, but does physically active learning actually work? Learning maths whilst being physically active. It definitely sounds like fun, but does it really work ? The short answer is yes, it does. A six-week study conducted by academics at Leeds Beckett University has concluded that the Maths on the Move (MOTM) programme both improves maths attainment and increases physical activity levels.   The study, conducted prior to lockdown at the end of 2019, compared outcomes for children taking part in a MOTM programme against control groups who continued with traditional classroom-style maths lessons. All MOTM sessions were delivered by experienced Aspire-trained educators. Children wore accelerometers during the school day to measure their physical activity. This enabled researchers to find out how MOTM affected children’s chances of meeting the in-school activity target of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. Compared to the control group: 28% mo
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Combatting Disruptive Behaviour in Maths

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How much energy do you use trying to get pupils to be quiet, to be focused, to just sit still? How much time is spent by you getting pupils to conform to classroom convention and how much by them trying to resist their natural disposition to move? It’s exhausting for both you as a teacher with a pressure to keep the classroom calm and pupils as children with bounds of energy. The first ten years of a child’s life shapes their preferences and motivations, it’s a critical window for creating a lifelong commitment to physical activity. If we’re continuously telling children to sit still, what impression are we giving of movement, what long term impact are we having? So, rather than waste all this time and energy trying to conform to classroom convention why not just change it ? Really, where does having to sit to learn even come from? Well, apparently the first school desk was made in 1881. 1881! A lot has changed since 1881, apparently not, however, a classroom environmen
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Why active Lessons are needed more than ever!

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1 in 5 children are overweight or obese when they begin school. 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school. Surprised? What about when we tell you that: The number of children walking to school is decreasing. On average, 70% of children’s classroom time is spent sitting. Children spend up to half of their after-school period sedentary . Children become less physically active in primary school. Still surprised? 190 days a year of a child’s life is spent at school, that’s the majority of their time. So, what does this mean? It means schools, your school, has a unique chance to have a significant impact, to change the statistics. Because they’re not just statistics; it’s the lives of children, it’s their present and future well-being and it’s part of our responsibility. How do you seize this opportunity to support children’s health and well-being? Increase physical activity by making the most of the school day. And in doing so, we’re not
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