By Catherine Brooks
Junior Adventures Group UK (formerly Fit for Sport) is offering 'Brain Breaks' in primary schools to improve behaviour both in the playground and classroom, grow children’s social skills and support with self-regulation, and reduce disruption inside the classroom.
Run by Luc Martin-Modest, a student studying for his Bachelor of Science in Sports and Exercise at the London Met, whilst working as a Primary PE coach at Junior Adventures Group UK, the programme takes children out for 10-15 minutes for 'brain breaks' during class time, changing the timings each day
so ‘it’s not always the same subject they miss out on’. During these sessions, children complete various activities, from structured sport drills (agility ladders, mini hurdles, dribbling balls, etc), to yoga and
breathing work.
Luc will sometimes take out two children who ‘typically wouldn’t work well together’, with the aim of teaching them how build their relationship. For example, last year he regularly paired Ben* who struggled with his behaviour and the academic side of school, with another child who wasn’t as physically able but excelled in other aspects of school life and ‘Ben* really flourished, he loved getting to teach another child, it did a lot for his confidence’
We could up with Luc who told us that these schools often have ‘extremely limited facilities, especially in terms of space’, ‘riffs’ between children are commonplace and ‘lots of the children have many additional needs: behaviour, autism, suspected autism and difficulties with anger-management’. In addition to teaching PE, Luc provides ‘brain breaks’ through sport for children. Used as a reward for good behaviour, and for some children aspart of their daily provision, these breaks from the classroom have a ‘positive impact children’s emotional state, focus and learning’ and benefit the rest of the class who likely become distracted by children in ‘dysregulated states, sometimes very angry’.
As a former teacher myself in a diverse inner-city school, year-on-year I witnessed more children
presenting with challenging behaviour and potentially undiagnosed mental health issues, a
concern that echoes across schools nationwide. Whilst in the past year, the number of SEN
(special educational needs) units and resourced provision has ever so slightly increased, the
NASUWT union reported that incidents of violence and abuse in school by pupils ‘has risen
notably’ since the pandemic; a survey commissioned by the BBC quotes that ‘nearly one in
five teachers in England has been hit by a pupil this year’ (2024).
According to recent research from the LSE, children from more affluent areas have higher
chances of being diagnosed with certain conditions including ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia
and are thus more likely to receive an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan). Funded by
local authorities, these plans identify and provide the additional support and provisions that
need to be put in place, in order to help young people improve their achievement. Without an
official diagnosis’, children are unable to get the additional support that they desperately
need to access the curriculum, as a result they fall further and further behind their peers.
Alongside poor academic outcomes and crumbling self-esteem issues for these children,
many begin seeking external validation elsewhere and become more and more disruptive in
class.
Time with Luc is the highlight of the school day, for many of the kids he works with. Through
speaking with a teacher of a child who received additional support from Luc, she mentioned
how she has noted that the child had gotten ‘progressively calmer’, with a ‘huge reduction in
the number of angry outbursts’. Parents, often through no fault of their own, are having less
and less time to spend with their children. A 2023 UNICEF survey commented that many
parents are having to work longer hours, with finances ‘stretched to the limit’, the survey also
found that ‘37% of parents are having less time with their children’ compared to previous
generations. Having this one to one, or one to two time and attention with attachment figures
is hugely valuable in promoting social and emotional development, helping children to
establish the foundations for trust and empathy.
Through increasing blood flow to the brain, exercise has well cited attention and focus
benefits too, helping with academic outcomes. Researchers at the University of Illinois found
that more physically fit children were better at reading, with another study published in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine citing ‘just a single session of moderate physical activity
immediately boosts brain function, cognition and academic performance’ in children.
In additional to the benefits to the individual children, the rest of the classes he worked with
were also helped by brain breaks. Through diffusing anger and building bonds between
children who were previously at loggerheads with one another, distractions to other pupils
learning is reduced the teacher can better use his/her time to teach, as opposed to focusing
on dealing with challenging behaviour.
For Luc, what started out as providing some extra help alongside teaching PE, turned into
providing a structured support scheme across several London schools. Whilst there is no
magic wand that will fix all behavioural issues, brain breaks through sport are a simple, yet
effective way to support pupils and improve behaviour in the classroom, and an attractive
additional offering to schools from sports clubs.
References:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-68674568
https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-crisis-leaves-parents-spending-less-time-with-their-
children-poll-finds-12958912