Physical pursuits

Alistair sometimes takes a group of learners to the Scouts Centre in the local town to participate in a variety of games and physical activities. Before the session begins he gives a copy of his session plan to the support assistant and talks about what he particularly wants each learner to achieve and how she can support certain learners. All the learners have objectives for literacy, numeracy and language skills that are incorporated naturally into the session.

The session begins with a warm-up. Learners are asked to make a circle, putting out their arms to ensure they are not too close to the learners on either side. For a number of the learners, this in itself is quite a difficult task. Each learner in turn is asked to think of a warm-up activity, starting with the head and moving down the parts of the body as they go round the circle. They are asked to tell the others what exercise they would like them to do, say how many they are to do and then count them through the task. They are then asked to name the person whose turn it is next. For most of the learners this is a real challenge but they clearly enjoy the session and try to do the task as well as they are able. One learner rarely communicates in any sessions and finds sequencing activities very difficult. When it comes to her turn, after standing smiling for a while, she puts her hands on her waist. Alistair asks her which part of the body this is and what exercise they should do. She eventually says ‘Tummy’ and proceeds to count out loud 10 stretching exercises!

Alistair gives lots of praise throughout the session and the learners respond well to this. Throughout the next few games, learners are asked to respond to instructions relating to direction and position and to count and keep scores. One learner marks the scores on a whiteboard and adds them up while another learner puts different coloured sticks out each time a team wins a point. Games are timed either with the clock or using a timer with a bell. At the end of the session Alistair and the support assistant work together to assess and record the progress the learners have made against the objectives he has set for them.