Progress doesn’t look the same for every child. Especially in the context of SEND, small steps can be profound. This week, I had the privilege of delivering a PE session at a SEND school, working with children with PMLD (Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties).
🔍 Understanding the SEND Context
Children with PMLD often have extremely varied needs—motor, sensory, communicative, and cognitive. Goals are personal:
- Some may reach, track, or respond.
- Others use wheelchairs, alternative communication, or need sensory support
PE in this context is not about scoring goals—it’s about access, engagement, and connection.
🏃♀️ What Our Session Looked Like
- Regular warm-ups: Beginning each session with the same, predictable starting game.
- Body awareness games: Rolling, supported standing, simple catch
- Communication-focused activities: Encouraging eye contact, choice-making, non-verbal responses
- Cool down: Calm yoga style moves
🌱 How I Reflect & Adapt
After the session, I reflect on:
- What worked well? Which child responded, touched, tracked, or smiled.
- What might I adjust? Could I offer more time for a child to respond?
- Individual takeaways: For one child, engagement might be tracked visually; for another, it might be physical reach or vocalisation.
🧩 Tailoring to the Child, Not the Curriculum
It’s less about “delivering PE” and more about meeting each child where they are—physically, emotionally, and developmentally
For PMLD, progress may look like:
- Motor: pushing up into seated position
- Sensory: focusing attention on a stimulus
- Interaction: showing choice or non-verbal communication
These are wins—every time.
🎯 Why It Matters
- Celebrates diverse progress instead of uniform outcomes.
- Reinforces why PE is important for all—it supports physical health, mental wellbeing, and social inclusion
- Inspires educators to think creatively about PE in SEND, not just mainstream.
💛 Connect With Me
If you’re a teacher, SENDcos, or parent interested in:
- Seeing a demo at school or home,
- Learning how to use movement as a developmental tool,
- Staying in touch while I build a home-based SEND movement programme
Let’s connect. Hit reply or comment below—I love nurturing this community, one child at a time.