Nursery World - Special Report

With physical activity reportedly declining among early years children, Nicole Weinstein reports on the issue and the importance of increasing PD opportunities in settings

Physical activity in the early years can be a determinant for wellbeing in later life

With fewer than one in five under-six-year-olds getting the three hours of recommended daily physical activity, and parents predicting that this summer will be more sedentary than last, early years settings are making a concerted effort to boost children’s daily active play.

Going on nature walks, scooting around the playground, using paint as a whole-body sensory experience and threading beads onto a string are all examples of activities that require the use of fine and gross motor skills, as defined in the Prime area of physical development in the revised EYFS.

But a recent survey of parents undertaken by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) found that children are missing out on vital opportunities for healthy development, with only 19 per cent of children between the ages of one and five taking more than three hours of physical activity a day, and only one in four having increased their physical activity since the most recent lockdown lifted.

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