How St John’s C E Primary School is putting movement at the heart of learning through the Creating Active Schools pilot.

For staff at St John’s C E Primary School in Dewsbury, taking part in the Creating Active Schools pilot has been about much more than finding new ways to get children moving.

It has encouraged teachers to rethink how children learn, how classrooms can work and how movement can support engagement, concentration and behaviour.

The school is one of five Kirklees schools taking part in the Creating Active Schools pilot, supported by Move More Kirklees, Yorkshire Sport Foundation and Move & Learn.

For Year 4 teacher Laura, the difference is already clear. “As a Year 4 teacher, I’ve seen a massive difference myself.”

Making movement part of every school day

One of the biggest changes at St John’s has been making movement a regular part of the school day. The school’s expectation is now that every class includes movement at least once every day.

For Laura, the approach has been particularly valuable because it can be adapted for children of different ages and stages. “The feedback from staff, from Reception right through to Year 6, has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Staff have found that the same principles can be used in different year groups, with activities adapted to suit the age and needs of the children. This has helped movement become something that belongs across the school – rather than being limited to PE.

Changing how teachers think about learning

The impact of the project has not only been seen in what teachers are doing, but in how they are thinking about teaching.

Headteacher Aidan Blackburn has seen this first-hand through the school’s work with an Early Career Teacher.

Following the Move and Learn staff training, the teacher began using active learning approaches in his lessons and reflected on how he had previously felt constrained by existing schemes of work.

“This is how I wanted to teach, but I didn’t know if I was limited by schemes of work.”

The experience helped demonstrate that active learning does not have to sit separately from the curriculum. Teachers can continue to meet curriculum objectives while finding creative ways to introduce movement into lessons.

Aidan said the teacher has since been using the approaches in a range of different ways, building on the ideas shared during the staff session.

For St John’s, this is an important shift: movement is not being viewed as something that takes time away from learning, but as another way of delivering it.

Supporting learning and concentration

At St John’s, staff have also been exploring how movement can support learning.

Laura has seen a significant improvement in the school’s Multiplication Tables Check results this year compared with previous years and believes movement has played a part.

“Our Multiplication Tables Check results this year have improved dramatically compared with previous years. I’m convinced that movement has played a huge part in that success.”

While the school recognises that many factors contribute to attainment, the experience has reinforced for staff the potential value of incorporating movement into learning.

Creating different ways to learn

The school has also introduced standing workstations for some children who find it difficult to remain seated or whose behaviour can be challenging.

“One teacher has seen huge improvements in behaviour, engagement and concentration.”

For St John’s, this is about recognising that children do not all learn in the same way. Creating opportunities for children to move, change position and engage differently can help teachers create learning environments that work for a wider range of pupils.

From small changes to whole-school culture

For Aidan, the next challenge is making sure the enthusiasm generated by the project becomes a lasting part of school culture.

The school is already thinking about how active learning can be reflected in lesson observations, learning walks and future staff development.

“We’ve had the Move and Learn staff CPD and we were all on board with it. We can see how much benefit it brings to our children. So it’s now about, how do we make it long term and lasting?”

Aidan believes that embedding active learning into existing school processes will be important in making sure the approach continues, particularly as the school grows and staff move between year groups.

“If we don’t think about putting it in appraisals and things like that, things like this could get lost and we don’t want it to.”

The school is therefore considering how active learning can become part of its wider expectations for teaching and learning, rather than remaining a standalone initiative.

Changing the way teachers teach

The influence of the project is also being seen in the way teachers approach lessons.

Laura recalls a recent interview with an Early Career Teacher who was competing against a number of experienced candidates. The candidate delivered a maths lesson that could easily have been quite conventional – but instead chose to make it highly active.

“He delivered what could have been quite a dull maths lesson, but instead he made it highly active. It was an outstanding lesson, and he secured the job because of the way he engaged the children through movement.”

For Laura, this captures something important about the Creating Active Schools approach.

Movement isn’t simply an activity added to the school day. It can change the way a lesson feels, the way children engage and the opportunities teachers have to bring learning to life.

“This is how teaching should be”

Perhaps the biggest change at St John’s has been cultural.

Laura remembers returning to school after the first get together on the programme at Birkby Infants and Nursery School with Headteacher Aidan and immediately recognising the potential of the approach.

“I remember after the very first training day [at Birkby Infants School], Aidan and I came back and said exactly that: this is how teaching should be.”

The project has encouraged staff to question whether learning always needs to follow rigid structures and whether there are opportunities to bring more creativity and movement into the classroom.

As Laura explains:

“Somewhere along the way we’ve become tied to schemes and structures that can make learning feel rigid and, at times, dull.”

And her reflection on what the project has brought to St John’s is perhaps the strongest indication of its impact:

“This project has lit a spark in our school again.”

A different way of thinking about physical activity

St John’s experience demonstrates what a whole-school approach to physical activity can look like in practice.

It is not simply about giving children more opportunities to exercise. It is about creating a school culture where movement is part of learning, teaching, behaviour, engagement and everyday life.

For Aidan, that means ensuring the changes being made now have the opportunity to become embedded for the long term.

The school is continuing to explore how active learning can be incorporated into its wider teaching and learning expectations, while staff continue to build their confidence and share ideas.

Through the Creating Active Schools pilot, Move More Kirklees is learning from schools like St John’s about what helps make these changes possible – and how that learning could support more schools across Kirklees in the future.

For St John’s, the journey is continuing. But one thing is already clear: movement has become much more than something that happens in PE. It has become part of how the school thinks about learning.