In the busy world of the schools, we often focus on academic achievement and progress, social-emotional learning, and behavioural development. Although we are starting to see a shift in people’s understanding of the importance of physical and sensory development in relation to their learning, gross motor skills such as balance and coordination often go unnoticed, or staff may feel de-skilled in their understanding of supporting and recognising difficulties in this area. Gross motor skills are foundational for children and young people, impacting not just their physical development, but also their academic performance and social-emotional wellbeing.
Why Are Balance and Coordination Important in Schools?
Balance and coordination are more than just physical abilities; they play a critical role in a child’s overall development. When students struggle with these skills, it can affect their confidence, participation in physical activities, and even classroom performance. In the early years in particular, our brains prioritise movement. When children’s movements are automated (they can move without putting too much thought into it), their brain’s capacity for learning and thinking is opened up. If children struggle with their sensory motor development, such as their postural security (balance and coordination), it is unlikely that they will cope well with the demands of a mainstream setting.
The Role of Frenkel’s Exercises
One specific intervention that can be beneficial for children and young people with balance and coordination difficulties are Frenkel’s exercises- a well-known method of improving balance and coordination at any age. Frenkel’s exercises are used to improve balance and coordination through increasing proprioceptive feedback from joints and muscles and reinforcing sequencing in movement through rhythm. The main principles of Frenkel’s exercises are maintaining concentration, precision and repetition.
Here’s why Frenkel’s exercises may be important:
- Building Body Awareness: These exercises help students become more aware of their movements, making them more intentional and less prone to accidents.
- Improving Precision: By practicing specific sequences of movements, students can enhance their fine and gross motor skills over time.
- Boosting Confidence: By setting goals, and successfully completing the exercises daily, students can gain a sense of achievement, encouraging them to engage more in physical activities.
- Adaptable and Accessible: Frenkel’s exercises can be tailored to the child’s abilities and don’t require expensive equipment, making them feasible in most education settings.
We have a free resource available here for completing Frenkel’s exercises. We also have a dedicated training course written and delivered by children’s Occupational Therapist Roz Roscoe. This dives into gross motor skills in more detail and introduces the Cool Kids programme, a teacher-friendly exercise programme to improve and support the development of gross motor skills (more information can be found in this blog post).
