Introducing the MOVE Programme and the mutual benefits of Liquid Listening

 

What is The MOVE Programme?

The MOVE Programme (MOVE) is an education-based training programme that has been designed to teach children and young people with complex needs and physical disabilities the skills of head control, sitting, standing, walking and transitioning through a functional skills framework. As a small charity we combine the expertise of education, therapy professionals and individual’s families to implement a holistic approach to physical development throughout the learning day. This collaborative approach underpinned by three core principles:

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1. Opportunities: All children learn and develop through being given multiple opportunities each day to move and explore the world around them. However, for children with complex needs, these natural learning opportunities are often limited when a child is unable to access these independently. Therefore, children with complex needs often require support to be able to access meaningful learning opportunities.  MOVE supports all those involved with the child’s development to identify multiple opportunities each day where functional movement can be embedded into their everyday activities, tailored to their needs.

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2. Motivation: Children are more likely to engage in activities that are fun, engaging and meaningful to them. MOVE provides a clear framework to identify and work towards clear and functional goals that are going to have a long-lasting impact on the child and their family now and in the future.

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3.  Progress: Children often make the most progress when their abilities are celebrated. MOVE adopts a ‘can do’ approach, celebrating the abilities and achievements of all children on the programme whether this is big or small. When using MOVE, progress is not an end result, it is An ongoing celebration of the child or young person’s achievements throughout their MOVE journey. Additionally, the ‘can do’ approach places no unnecessary limits on children, focusing on what they are able to achieve and what could be possible in the future, ensuring every child is able to dare to dream.

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Who can benefit from The MOVE Programme?

The MOVE Programme has been designed to support any individual who has not yet developed skills relating to head control, sitting, standing, walking and transitioning in between. The programme is currently used in over 165 schools and therapy teams across the UK alongside a handful of settings across Europe, benefitting over 1,500 children and young people with a range of disabilities, including those with degenerative conditions. Feedback from our existing MOVE settings and families continually demonstrates the real impact MOVE makes to the lives of children like Hugo:

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MOVE’s central ethos of providing as many opportunities as possible to engage in functional movement ensures children and young people are able to gain vital movement skills needed for everyday life. At the same time, MOVE’s approach has also been proven to help maintain existing skills for children with degenerative conditions whilst slowing the decline in others. Data from our latest impact report revealed that 90% of individuals accessing the programme gained or maintained skills, whilst 61% of schools utilizing MOVE continued to see positive impacts when using the programme to support children with degenerative conditions.

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What are the benefits of using The MOVE Programme?

The MOVE Programme has a wide range of benefits for children and young people, their families and for education and therapy teams.

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Firstly, providing increased opportunities to engage in functional movement throughout the learning day enables children with physical disabilities to increase their mobility and independence, which in turn provides greater access to learning and the wider community.

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Furthermore, as children and young people lead increasingly active lives through engaging with functional movement this ultimately has a positive impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. With improvements in overall wellbeing, many MOVE settings report additional improvements to children’s confidence and social skills. As children are able to explore the world around them this often opens up new perspectives, leading to increased engagement and communication skills as one MOVE school describes:

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“MOVE has enabled pupils to achieve goals from improving head control leading to increased engagement in classroom activities and more social interaction both in school and at home, to pupils being able to stand unsupported at tables to interact with their peers or other motivating activities” Acorns Primary School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, the MOVE Programme provides meaningful opportunities for children and young people to exercise autonomy. By working on goals that are personal to them and engaging in purposeful activities linked to their motivations and interests, every individual on the programme can make meaningful progress where their achievements, no matter how big or small are celebrated.

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Alongside long-lasting benefits for children and young people, MOVE has many benefits for families themselves. The ‘can do’ approach MOVE adopts often provides families with greater hope for better outcomes for their child. The collaborative nature of MOVE provides families with the opportunity to have increased input in their child’s development. This often leads to greater confidence to be able to support their child’s mobility and the progress they can make through providing motivating opportunities for movement within everyday family life. Data from our recent impact survey also revealed 75% of settings utilising MOVE have seen increased engagement from families through the programme.

 

Finally, MOVE provides notable benefits for education and therapy professionals. The collaborative approach at the heart of the programme helps to ensure responsibility for children’s physical development is shared. This ensures movement is integrated into all areas of the curriculum rather than being restricted to dedicated times and spaces, helping to address many of the challenges SEN schools and therapy teams continue to face with budgets and staffing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, as all those involved in supporting the child are involved with working towards the same shared goals, progress with children’s physical development can often be facilitated more quickly, subsequently evidencing a commitment to making the curriculum accessible and inclusive for all.

 

What are the benefits of using Liquid Listening & The MOVE Programme?

The MOVE Programme and Liquid Listening share many mutual benefits for children and young people with complex needs, as well as for the education and therapy teams supporting them. Enabling positive physical and mental wellbeing is at the very heart of both programmes. Similarly, MOVE and Liquid Listening have both been designed to increase mobility skills which often leads to improvements in communication. For children and young people accessing both programmes, musical hydrotherapy can provide a motivating, but equally a calm and relaxing opportunity to develop functional movement skills tailored to their specific needs. The calming environment and weightlessness of the water enables those with the most complex needs to experience gentle movement and stretching that may be harder to achieve away from the pool.

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Similarly MOVE and Liquid Listening provide key opportunities for shared physical development goals to be created and worked upon across both programmes. These goals can be easily incorporated into EHCP targets and personal learning goals where progress can be clearly measured and demonstrated, a key benefit for education and therapy teams.

Finally, the complimentary nature of both programmes ensures physical development is integrated into a fully accessible and inclusive curriculum which provides a truly unique offering where all children and young people are supported to reach their greatest potential.

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Bedelsford School, a MOVE Centre of Excellence are a shining example of how both programmes can be used to complement each other, leading to fantastic outcomes for children and young people with complex needs. During a recent visit to Bedelsford School we had the opportunity to learn more about the fantastic impact adopting both programmes continues to have for children and young people but also for the staff supporting them.

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Staff spoke passionately about how Liquid Listening provides unique and motivating opportunities for movement as music and the relaxation of the hydrotherapy pool are often huge motivators for children who face challenges with movement away from the water. Additionally, the calming environment helps to relieve muscle tension making movement easier both in and out of the water as skills become transferable and can increase in frequency. Staff at Bedelsford School also spoke highly of the opportunities Liquid Listening provides for intensive interaction. This has enabled staff and children to build trust with one another leading to new opportunities for movement to be explored as confidence increases. For children with very limited mobility, the mindfulness promoted within Liquid Listening has enabled them to initiate small movements in the water which has then continued outside of the pool, following the ethos of MOVE, leading to increased wellbeing and engagement in education and beyond.

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Here at the MOVE Programme, we are excited to be working with Liquid Listening to ensure even more settings like Bedelsford School supporting children and young people with complex needs are able to benefit from both programmes, enabling them to lead inclusive, healthy, happy and meaningful lives.

 

How can I find out more about The MOVE Programme?

If you are interested in finding out more about the MOVE Programme and how this can complement your existing work using Liquid Listening, please don’t hesitate to get in touch using the details below. We would love to hear from you! Additionally, please keep an eye out on our website for information on upcoming events designed to provide you with further information about MOVE including our FREE Intro to MOVE webinars. Click here to find out more:

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Contact us:

Email: contact@moveeurope.org.uk

Phone: 0203 327 1553

Website: https://moveeurope.org.uk/

Facebook & X: @MOVEprogramme

 

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