Early Years CPD Training and Consultancy

Helen is an internationally renowned consultant, trainer and keynote speaker in Physical Development/movement in Early Education. Her training style is energetic, passionate and highly motivational. She has been working as a dance and movement specialist for over 19 years and continues to work directly with children. Helen was fundamental in the creation and release of Change4life’s ’10 Min Shake up cards’.

Children have an innate desire to move, respond to music and role-play. Our ethos focuses on a child-centred approach to learning. The courses are practical and combine a unique mix of both movement play and theory. Our training focuses on building confidence, self-belief and competence in all practitioners. Our aim is to boost staff well being, raise confidence in the area of movement practice and theoretical concepts. We develop an eagerness within practitioners to become more active within their own lives and to adopt a ‘Are you worthy of imitation!’ (Steiner) approach. Equipping practitioners with ideas, resources and the confidence to incorporate dance/movement effectively within their setting and planning.

Training Events & Conferences

Online Training On Demand

Course	Date	Hosted By	Location	Cost per place	Booking Link
Inspiring Early Years PE, Physical Activity and Physical Development	on-demand	Aspire:ED	Online	£295 (£147.50 with Aspire:ED Thrive Membership)	Booking
Physically Active Learning in the Early Years	on-demand	Aspire:ED	Online	£295 (£147.50 with Aspire:ED Thrive Membership)	Booking
Early Years Courses Bundle Special Offer	on-demand	Aspire:ED	Online	£395 (£197.50 with Aspire:ED Thrive Membership)	Booking
Let’s Get Moving – Early Years Physical Development – Perfect for transitions (Course to introduce to new families)	on-demand	My CPD Group	Online	£95	Booking
How best to support young children in a post Covid-19 world – CPD Course	on-demand	My CPD Group	Online	£40	Booking
Super Scribers and Storytellers – Movement Matters – CPD Course	on-demand	My CPD Group	Online	£85	Booking
Making it work for Childminders (aged 2-5 years) – Coming Soon	on-demand	My CPD Group	Online	Free	Booking

International Payments

Please ensure that the telegraphic transfer covers the full amount stated above, and all bank charges incurred.

Forthcoming training courses across the UK and Worldwide

Scheduled Training Face-to-Face & E-Learning

Course	Date	Time	Hosted By	Location	Cost per place	Booking Link
Early Years Physical Development to Physical Education	14 March 2025	9.30am – 3.30pm	Music+Movement	Barnes Primary School, Richmond	£155	Booking
Boosting Communication, Language and Literacy through Movement	22 May 2025	9.30am – 3.30pm	Music+Movement	Barrow CEVC Primary, Barrow, Bury-St-Eds, IP29 5AU	£155	Booking
Maths Movers – Movement Matters	6th Nov 2024	4 – 5.30pm	Infinite Learning	Online Face to Face session	AED504	Booking
Active Learning in Early Years	20th & 21st Jan 2025	8.30am – 3pm (UAE Time)	Infinite Learning	Face to Face	AED1386	Booking
Music and Movement for SEND	22nd Jan 2025	8.30am – 3pm (UAE Time)	Infinite Learning	Face to Face	AED1320	Booking
Early Childhood PE	23rd Jan 2025	8.30am – 3pm (UAE Time)	Infinite Learning	Face to Face	AED1320	Booking
Super Scribers	3rd Feb 2025	4 – 5.30pm	Infinite Learning	E-Learning	AED480	Booking
Early Childhood PE	9th Jun 2025	4 – 5.30pm	Infinite Learning	E-Learning	AED504	coming soon

With our help and guidance you will be inspired and confident to deliver dance and movement based lessons in your settings.

“We felt that the content of the course was very relevant to our Early Years setting and really emphasised the importance movement has to every young child and how it makes for a positive learning experience. Also the link being active has to learning. With the skills we were shown during the course, we have introduced a lot more movement into our circle/group activities i.e. during a Maths activity we will now include a physical element e.g. running, jumping instead of sitting in a circle. This might include a shape hunt, relay or number hunt outside using positional language and moving. We have always had music in our setting but now we use it during activities and have introduced different genres to include classical. We now consciously think when planning how we can adapt our activities to include music and movement e.g. an activity using instruments and singing phonics which normally would be planned in a circle we’ve adapted this to include moving to the music. Our observations are that the children seem to enjoy and engage better when the activity is more physical. This is something we will always remember for our setting.”

Carolyn Lee
Bedgrove Infant School

“Helen delivered a twilight session for practitioners working with 3-5years olds in maintained schools. Prior to the session information was provided on what the focus would be so that it tied in with the current CPD that the delegates were receiving. I was ever so impressed at how Helen was able to tailor the session to fully meet the brief. Her delivery was practical with key information shared to support current thinking and theory. The session was energetic and engaged all practitioners who enjoyed taking part alongside developing their understanding of the importance of music and movement in supporting children’s learning. We are now looking forward to welcoming Helen to deliver further training as a result of her fantastic input at the twilight session.“

Lucky Khera
Lead Early Years Adviser
Herts for Learning Ltd

Courses Delivered

Early Years Movement Skills (Levels 1-3)

The Early years Movement Skills course combines practical and theoretical content and focuses on equipping delegates with the skills required to produce their own movement activities for children age 2-6 years. Delegates will understand how movement should be the foundation for all learning within the early years. Using evidence based research delegates will create their own music and movement activities to support all areas of learning and reach into all the aspects of a child’s physical and psychological needs.

Baby Music and Sensory Play and Mini Movers

This course looks at providing delegates with the knowledge and skills to implement movement based activities with young children (Baby Music – age 3 months- walkers, Mini Movers- early walkers). The course promotes the principles of baby development, reflexes, neural activity and movement play. Delegates will build a foundation of ideas and skills to further develop within their setting.

Primary – Let’s Get Moving

This course is aimed at Primary staff and encourages a whole school approach to reduce sedentary behaviour and adopt an active learning philosophy. During the course we will focus on evidence based research, practical skills, inspirational ideas and cross curricular links.

Maths Movers

Fundamental mathematical concepts provide us with the foundations for life, spatial reasoning, negotiating space to avoid or reach for objects, understanding distance and developing temporal awareness. Sequencing builds the concept of time; past, present and future. Reinforcing rhythms allows us to build musical comprehension, doubling, halving, counting time. Dance is inherently connected to mathematical concepts.
Dance was not invented, it is something visceral, deep within all of us, a form of expression, social interaction a shared experience. This course provides a welcome insight into how to inspire mathematical learning using innovative methods.

Super Scribers

It is no surprise the impact physical development has on writing and literacy skills. Movement underpins all learning in early childhood, we were born to move. 80% of communication is non verbal therefore children must develop an awareness of their bodies and can only do this by building their vestibular and proprioceptive senses. Dance is a form of expression, a social interaction and rhythm supports the process of understanding syllables and sentence structures. Gross motor skills lay the foundations for fine motor as the muscles develop, a strong core is imperative to boost fine motor control. This training session will not only explain how, but we will look at how and why, using evidence based research and practical content.

Communication Language and Literacy Workshop - Super Scribers (Early Years and KS1)

Our CLL workshops are aimed at introducing early years children to a fantastical world of literacy and oracy adventure. During the 45 minute session children will explore and enhance their imaginations through movement storytelling, using musical entrainment to engage and stimulate learners, provide gross motor letter structuring activities to further develop the 60+ combined muscles in the hand, use “syllabology” to support language acquisition and provide an environment to foster creativity.

All training provision will:

Support children’s physical development in a whole school approach.
Great INSET for teams to work together in an informal, fun and creative way.
Improve children’s learning across the school and develop new ways to motivate and encourage children to become independent learners.

Prioritise opportunities to be more creative within your planning.
Inspire teams and members of staff by developing their confidence.
Provide hands-on experience and active learning, to understand how music and movement stimulates brain development.

I had the pleasure of being a part of the Level 1 Music and Movement course that took place in June at my school. From the start, the level of engagement was high, I felt that I had learned new ways of critical and creative thinking that I was eager to put into place within my own teaching practice. Helen had us thinking outside of the box by challenging the groups ways of working through tasks and exercises. I was so inspired that I felt the need to share what I had learned with other practitioners and therefore I asked Helen to come back in September and work with our wider EYFS and Specialist teacher team. I can’t wait!

Alex Kais - Leader of learning for Art, Design, Technology and Specialist Teachers, Monteagle Primary School

My students have loved using the going balls that we use for movement and music activities, including learning about tempo changes, pitch and structure. I use scarves for movement activities, including the Rainbow fish story and Jack and the beanstalk. The children from 3-5 years love the mime and movement stories. I have included Jack and the beanstalk, We’re going on a bear hunt (I taught this out side) and I have included many other musical mime stories that link in with the IEYC topics that the children are covering at the time. The children 3-5 really enjoyed having the bells and pipe cleaners on their feet for the Indian dances and castanets for the flamenco rhythms. I have included the parachute activities for 4-5 year olds incorporating nursery songs, counting songs and phonics activities. The children love the wave drum which fits in nicely with 2-3 year old topic of ‘The seaside’. Active learning is the best way to learn, you can see that the children have enjoyed their experience with the activities when they ask in the following lesson “can we do what we did last lesson?”

Feedback from Course Attendee Upon Implementation

Seminars and Workshops

Seminars/Keynotes

Are we moving enough? – Suitable for all audiences.

Engaging parents in movement, interaction and intervention – Aimed at practitioners working in the early years and focuses on strategies to support parental engagement within a movement philosophy.

Understanding the importance and impact movement has on Early Education -Early years theory and practical seminar focusing on how movement supports all areas of learning.

Boosting Communication, Language and Literacy through music + movement -Primary and Early years – Ideas and Skills to boost CLL within early education.

Music, the language we ALL speak – suitable for all audiences can be tailored accordingly.

The ‘F’ word in education – suitable for all audiences.

Workshops

Super Scribers – Engaging activities to support fine motor skills for handwriting.

Instant Impacting Movement Ideas – Ideas for early years staff to engage pupils in all subject areas through movement, ideal for boys!

Boosting Communication Language and Literacy – Early years (as above).

Early years Movement Skills to inspire learning – Simple ideas and strategies to encourage a movement based methodology.

Storytelling through music + movement – Supporting literature and reading through role play and movement.

Maths Movers – supporting numeracy skills through movement.

Movement Matters – Well being – Focuses on physical, social and emotional well being.

Continuing Professional Development Training

‘In-Set’ Training Days for Schools

Are you looking to have a specialist ‘inset’ day on movement skills? Our training provides staff with the skills to create a movement based methodology. Staff are often found to increase their personal physical development needs following the training.

Host Schools

Would your school be interested in becoming a ‘host school’? Host schools receive up to 5 free places on the training course. The host school must fill a further 5 places through contacting cluster schools, feeder settings etc at a cost of £100 per delegate. If this is something which interests you please contact me on [email protected]

Parents Course

Parenting courses are offered throughout the year on assisting parents with an awareness of the importance and impact movement has on all areas of a child’s development.

In today’s society, as parents and educators, we have a battle on our hands against technology and sedentary behaviour. Research demonstrates how this ‘change’ in society has impacted on our child’s physical, emotional and psychological behaviour. Following the release of the governments Social Mobility Commission Report ‘Helping Parents to parent’, we will be focusing on strategies and skills we can have in place to create a secure, nurturing, playful environment where our children can explore and grow to become creative thinkers.

“Super hands-on course. Great fun and I can’t wait to try out the ideas in school!”

“Amazing Course, can’t wait to put the ideas into practice. So much content!”

“I got so much more from the course than I had expected”
“Invaluable, great value for money”

“Outstanding course, ALL EYFS staff should attend this course!”

“Fantastic, engaging, inspiring, enjoyable course, thank you.”

“Just to let you know we did Rainbow Fish at preschool today. I made a cardboard tabard with scales on for Rainbow and we had coloured silk scarves to ‘give away’. We sat in the hall and read the story to the children first, then discussed feelings when the fish wasn’t included – it was very interesting how some children could empathise and some could not. I also took in a bubble gun, which I only used when rainbow fish shared with the other fishes. They absolutely loved it and we also had the children playing the part of the rainbow fish and, as you said, they were lining up to do it. After the session they had snack time and then before our session ended, we asked the children about what they had done in the hall – the majority of them remembered it very well. I have been at the preschool 20 years and it is the first time I have ever ‘lead’ the activity session. The other staff thought it was very good on several levels.”

Feedback from Course Attendee