At Aspire, we recognise the power of coaching as a catalyst for change, not just in sports but in every walk of life where guidance is invaluable. Yet, there's an undeniable gap — an underrepresentation of women in coaching roles, which, in turn, affects the diversity and inclusivity of our industry. It's time to address this imbalance and nurture the potential of female coaches who can act as role models and mentors for the next generation.

Acknowledging the 'Gender Play Gap'
A report highlighted by the Telegraph throws light on the 'gender play gap' that stops girls from taking up sport, an issue raised by MPs that has far-reaching implications. This gap not only reduces physical activity amongst young girls but also significantly limits the pool of potential female coaches in the future. By addressing this play gap and encouraging more young women to participate in sports, we lay the groundwork for a more robust pipeline of future coaches.

The increasing need for...

For most people, professional development means building new skills, enhancing performance and unlocking opportunities. For teachers and coaches, it means all those things and more.  

Because when you’re boosting children’s physical and mental health, expanding your knowledge base doesn’t just benefit you. It gives pupils a better start in life.  

According to Sport England, physically literate children are more likely to be active for the long term – but more than half of children aged five to 15 in England aren’t doing the recommended daily amount of exercise. 

For many pupils, school provides the mainstay of their physical activity. It’s where they learn Fundamental Movement Skills – from balancing to throwing a ball – that blossom into sporting talents and vital life tools like teamwork and taking part. It’s also where they discover the power of play.  

As an educator, the wider your...

It’s in line with the national primary curriculum. It helps children master fundamental movement skills. And it can be transformative in its impact on a child’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social development.

And yet gymnastics is barely covered in initial teacher training.

As a result, it’s seen as a difficult and dangerous sport to teach, with teachers left apprehensive about delivering lessons.

But with the developmental benefits it offers, gymnastics is an essential component of the primary curriculum.

So how do you move from fearing the sport to making it one of your favourite to teach?

With this brand new course from Ryan Bradley, former international gymnast and founder and director of RB Gym & Sport.

What will you learn?

The course gives you the skills, knowledge and confidence to plan, teach and assess primary gymnastics.

It’s broken down into three modules. Module 1 focuses on KS1 gymnastics skills and progressions, Module 2 covers...

When it comes to a child’s development, gymnastics can be transformative.

The impact ranges from physical to emotional to cognitive to social.

Here we break down that impact and take a closer look at why gymnastics is an essential sport to teach in primary school.

Teaching gymnastics develops key physical skills

If you’re looking for a sport that covers just about all of the physical skills that children need to develop, gymnastics is your answer.

Flexibility, strength, technique, speed, control, coordination and balance are all developed through gymnastics. Which leads us on to our next point…

Teaching gymnastics is in line with the national curriculum

KS1:
“Pupils should develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others.”

KS2:
“Pupils should be taught to develop flexibility, strength, technique,...

This week on the podcast we’re joined by class teacher and PE Coordinator Louisa Mulvey.

Who is Louisa Mulvey?

Louisa is a qualified teacher based in Hampshire. Louisa has been working in primary schools since 2014 where her career began on the sunny, leafy side of Wimbledon Village. Louisa spent three years teaching PE exclusively before qualifying in 2017 where she managed the role of class teacher alongside PE coordinator.

Louisa’s teaching journey began after graduating university armed with a 2:2 in Sports Science and minimal career advice. During summers Louisa worked as a children’s camp manager. The company proceeded to offer Louisa a job as a site manager/PE teacher/lunchtime supervisor/afterschool club manager/ competition coordinator. The following three years saw Louisa manage numerous apprentices alongside the continuation of full-time teaching.

At the beginning of Louisa’s third year in teaching she decided she needed to progress her...

Movement is our first language, our first form of communication with the outside world.

It also forms the foundation of how young children engage with themselves.  Fundamental physical skills provide children with essential life skills; the first touch, giggle, step and smile.  Interaction - reaction, body movement and language are the main methods of communication.  From birth the brain prioritises movement, it is one of the primary functions in early life after the rudimentary survival functions; heartbeat, breathing and digestion.  Each move a child makes builds critical neural pathways in the brain and develops physical competency.  The more repeated physical experiences the increased sensory receptors and subsequent cemented neural pathways.  Overtime movement becomes fully automated.  Once movements become automated children’s brains are then free to process other thinking (conscious) tasks like talking and listening.  Each...