About KIDDO | Kiddo

KIDDO gets kids aged from birth to 8 years old, moving.

Building their physical literacy. Helping them to have fun. And developing the skills, motivation and confidence to be active for life. That’s what KIDDO is all about!

KIDDO (pronounced kid-oh) was born from world-class exercise and sports science research at The University of Western Australia. We translate the latest research into online resources and tools that support primary school teachers, early childhood educators, parents and carers to deliver physical literacy programs to children. They're all designed to nurture a love of physical activity that will last a lifetime.

Over 60,000 children, 1921 primary schools and 738 early learning services have benefitted from KIDDO since we launched in 2014.

Find out more about KIDDO for Primary Schools >
Find out more about KIDDO for Early Learning Services >

What is KIDDO?

We hope this video gives you a better idea of what KIDDO is all about, but nothing beats starting a free 30-day trial - that way you can explore it for yourself! There are no obligations and no credit card details are required. So go ahead, be our guest!

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Meet the team behind KIDDO

Let us introduce you to...

Prof. Michael Rosenberg

KIDDO Director

Michael’s primary research interest is the complex interaction between children, their families, and engagement in physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Michael is also an expert in health promotion evaluation. He has acted as an expert consultant to the World Health Organisation, the National Heart Foundation and the Health Department of WA.

Amanda Derbyshire

KIDDO Program Director

As a sport and exercise scientist and researcher at UWA, Amanda has overseen the development, delivery and rollout of KIDDO from its inception in 2014 to where it is now. She is at the forefront of physical literacy implementation in Australia and has led the development of KIDDO's world-leading and proven professional development the 'Certificate of Physical Literacy'.

Amanda is renowned for her expertise in practical and effective methods that educators and coaches can use to help children develop gross motor skills and fundamental movement skills through teaching and the encouragement of active play.

Professor Ben Jackson

Head of Brain and Behaviour at Telethon Kids Institute

Ben's research has a leading focus on advancing our understanding of health and physical activity and the development of sustainable and effective health promotion interventions. Ben has also contributed to the development of practical strategies to increase children’s psychological resilience, self-regulation, confidence and motivation. Ben is heavily involved in a number of research projects surrounding the KIDDO Program. Ben also leads the Psychology of Active, Healthy Living (PAHL) group and is hte head of Brain and Behaviour at Telethon Kids Institute.

Dr Ashleigh Thornton

Senior Research Fellow

Ashleigh’s research has a strong focus on factors that influence motor development and physical activity in children. Ashleigh is an advocate for knowledge translation, and has contributed to the development of evidence based physical activity programs for children, as well as providing professional development to physical educators, early childhood educators, and allied health professionals.

Aaron Simpson

Associate Researcher

Aaron is a PhD Candidate at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute. Aaron has worked with KIDDO since 2018 in coaching, administration, and research roles. He brings extensive knowledge and experience in developing physical literacy, to the KIDDO team, and has been involved in numerous research projects in the field. Aaron is most passionate about the impact that KIDDO has on the lives of children who do not get equal opportunities to develop their physical literacy, and his research focus is centred on providing these opportunities to underserved children.

Allison King

KIDDO Program Manager

Allison has a Bachelor of Science (Human Movement) and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Physical Education and Science) and brings over 10 years teaching experience to the KIDDO team. She has taught in rural, government, private and catholic schools and has also supervised preservice teachers. Allison is particularly passionate about developing fundamental movement skills and upskilling teachers and educators to deliver quality programs in schools and early learning services.