Nursery World - Nursery Equipment: Fine Motor Skills

Physical skills and fine motor control are declining among some school-starters, so what better time to stock up on products that aid the development of these abilities, says Marianne Sargent

Many children are now entering Reception without the fundamental physical skills and fine motor control that are needed to be able to write.

‘Teachers can’t assume any more that children arriving are going to have the underpinning skills that you can immediately work with to teach handwriting,’ says Dr Lala Manners, physical development trainer and director of Active Matters.

‘Gross motor skills, core stability, upper body strength and manipulative skills used to be a given because children would acquire them, rehearse them and refine them in play and general movement.

‘Their fine motor skills are very specific to technology but don’t link to the particular manipulative skills you need for holding a pen or a pencil, and the eye skills are not there either.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included