Education Support and Special Education schools around Australia use KIDDO to help all children develop the skills and confidence to be physically active throughout their life.

Are you interested in learning about:

  1. KIDDO resources that can support you
  2. Creating Special Education lessons and programs
  3. Using the Fundamental Movement Skill assessment tool
  4. Using KIDDO for Morning Fitness

Watch the webinar - How to teach movement skills in Special Education / Education Support schools >

 

1. KIDDO resources that can help you

The key starting point for schools and educators using the KIDDO program is completing the online professional development, the Certificate of Physical Literacy. This 6-module course takes 2-3 hours to complete and includes a module on Physical Literacy for All, covering strategies for inclusive education.

Other KIDDO resources that you will find useful when developing your physical literacy, physical education and fundamental movement skill program include:

  • Skill - information and videos on all the Fundamental Movement Skills and how to teach them
  • Activity database that is searchable by skill and activity type
  • Resources - a range of printable resources for families, planning and promotion

In your dashboard, once you have set-up your classrooms and added your educators you can then access:

  • Lessons 
  • Programs
  • FMS Assessment tool - assess FMS develop and use this to measure progress, inform your planning and engage families
  • Planner - schedule in your morning fitness activities for the year
  • Parent Hub - link parents in with the skills you are teaching and share activities and information with them to continue the learning and development at home

When starting with KIDDO, firstly you want to explore the activities and try them out with your students. Some of the favourites with special education students include Wicked Witch, Beans, Sneaky Sheep, Ready, Aim, Fire, Toilet Tag, Obstacle Course, Throwing Stations and Animal Walks. 

As a starting point in special education you want to focus on the introductory fundamental movement skills of Balance, Run, Jump, Overarm Throw, Catch and Kick. Focusing on one skill at a time in your program for at least four weeks will help the children develop these skills.

Now you are familiar with some of the KIDDO activities, you can try developing your own lessons and programs. Keep reading below for information on how to do this.

 2. Creating Special Education lessons and programs

In the dashboard for each of your classrooms you will find a whole-year program and lessons already created, as well as an example program and lessons specifically for Special Education schools to help provide you a starting point for developing your own program and lessons. 

Where can I find the Special Education lessons?
  • In the dashboard, go into one of the Pre-school - Year 2 classrooms
  • Go to the lessons tab
  • Scroll down the list of lessons to find the Special Education lessons
  • Here you can view or print these lessons

Learn how to create your own lessons > 

How do I add the Special Education program to the program schedule and dashboard?
  • Still in the dashboard of one of your Pre-school - Year 2 classes
  • Go to the Programs tab
  • Scroll down the list of programs to find the Special Education program
  • Scroll down to 'Program schedule' where you will be able to see all the KIDDO programs currently scheduled in
  • Click 'Customise'. You will now be able to delete the KIDDO programs by clicking on the blue cross in the top right-hand corner of each program
  • Drag and drop the Special Education program into the dates you would like it to run. It will now appear on your dashboard on the dates you have chosen

Learn how to create your own programs >

Learn more about developing and adapting programs for Special Education schools on the KIDDO website in our Special Education webinar replay (fast forward to the 48 minute mark)

How do I create a program and lessons for Years 3-6 classes?

KIDDO can be used all the way through Primary School and even in high school in the special education setting. To use KIDDO for these year groups follow these simple steps:

  • Add your year 3-6 classrooms
  • Create lessons for your year 3-6 classes
  • Create a program for your year 3-6 classes by adding in the lessons you developed
  • Add the program/s you created to the program schedule and then you are ready to go! 

Note: Before creating your programs we would strongly recommend assessing the student's Fundamental Movement Skills so you know which skills to focus on in your programs. In addition to the six skills focused on up to Year 2 you should introduce the Fundamental Movement Skills of Skipping, Hopping, Galloping, Underarm Throw and Striking.

3. Using the Fundamental Movement Skill assessment tool

KIDDO's world-leading FMS assessment tool is a valuable resource for special education schools. It allows you to have an understanding of where your students are in terms of their FMS development before creating a program specifically tailored to their needs. In addition, it also allows you to track students' development over multiple time points. 

Watch a short overview video of the FMS assessment tool in action >

Many schools using the FMS assessment tool train their Education Assistants to run the assessment with the students twice per year. You might start in Pre-Primary with just a few of the skills such as Balance, Jump and Bounce and Catch. Assess these skills again later in the year to see the improvement that has happened.

The assessment tool produces two types of automated reports:

  • Percentile reports - this compares students to other students who have completed the assessment in the same six-month age bracket around Australia. Please let us know if you are a special education school as we can put your school in the special education data pool so that your students are only compared to those who also attend special education schools.
  • Progress report - this is a valuable resource for special education schools as it allows you to track improvements in FMS development across a number of timepoints

Learn how to create and run FMS assessments with KIDDO's online platform >

4. Using KIDDO for morning fitness

Regular physical activity breaks are essential in special education schools to assist with regulation and improve focus and attention.  This is particularly beneficial for neurodivergent students. This is related to regulating the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine which play a role in attention and executive function and reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity in class. Scheduling your daily physical activity breaks is easy with KIDDO:

  • In the dashboard, go into one of your classrooms 
  • Go to the Planner tab
  • You will see a whole year of planned daily KIDDO activities for all pre-school to Year 2 classes 
How do I customise the morning fitness activities for my classes?
  • Click on the 'Customise Morning Fitness' button at the top of the page. All the KIDDO morning fitness activities that are appropriate for that age group will appear on the left-hand side
  • Choose your selected activity from the list. Use the search bar to search for specific activities, or simply scroll through. Click the yellow 'View' button to see each of the activities in more detail
  • Share the morning fitness schedule with your teachers and assistants by adding them to the relevant classroom in your management menu and you are good to go!