Corefulness®

Nursery and Primary Schools’ Programmes

Corefulness® – Education at its core.

The Corefulness® Nursery and Primary Schools’ Programmes have been designed to support children with Special Educational Needs and to break down barriers to learning for all children. 

The programmes give nurseries and schools new ways to enhance children’s education, none of which are provided under the existing national curriculum in the UK.

The Corefulness® Nursery and Primary Schools Programmes are simple, effective, accessible tools which: 

  • Improve children’s ‘readiness to learn’
  • Address the root causes of learning difficulties
  • Are classroom-based ensuring ‘inclusion’ of all children
  • Work alongside ‘Quality First Teaching
  • Benefit children who require special education provision (both registered and unregistered SEND)
  • Complement the work of SEN and class teachers for pupils with complex needs
  • Assist teachers in identifying children who may require further support.
  • Improve pupil attention and concentration in class
  • Improve pupil core stability, posture, balance and co-ordination
  • Improve reading, writing and phonic skills.

How it works:

The short, fun and engaging video-based exercise programmes provide a new way to enhance children’s education. This is done by improving fine and gross motor skills, eye tracking, balance, co-ordination and integrating retained primitive reflexes. 

Primitive reflexes are normal infant reflex movements which help babies feed, move and survive. By 6-12 months babies should mature (integrate) these reflexes. In some cases, a block in the developmental pathway of the nervous system occurs and the reflexes are kept (retained). This adversely affects children and can lead to immature motor skills, poor eye control and lower educational achievement notably in reading, writing and mathematics.

Retained primitive reflexes have also been linked to conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The specific exercises in the Corefulness® programmes help unblock these developmental pathways, which in turn helps children with their processing, motor skills, eye tracking and ultimately educational achievement.

Schools following the programmes have seen significant improvements in children’s concentration, reading, writing and co-ordination. Schools report Corefulness® is an invaluable tool to help children with SEN, as well as those who have more subtle learning difficulties.

Nurseries follow the classroom module and the big moves module.

Primary schools follow the classroom module and the big moves module. Teachers can also access the PE warm-up module and the running module to engage the children’s physical activity.

The Corefulness® Classroom module

The Corefulness® Classroom module is easy to introduce into the curriculum and requires no extra teaching. Each video is:

  • 4 minutes long; best done at the start of morning and start of afternoon sessions
  • self-explanatory and easy to follow with an 11 year old boy demonstrating
  • accessed directly from the Corefulness® website.

The Corefulness® Big moves module

The Corefulness® Big moves module is either followed from the video or can be teacher led; teachers watch the video and teach the children. Each video is:

  • 5 minutes long, containing 5 simple exercises for the children to follow
  • shown 3 times a week
  • progressed each term

The Corefulness® PE

The Corefulness® PE warm up module for Primary Schools is teacher led. Each video is:

  • Specific to an age group
  • Teaching stretching and muscle activation ready for sport

The Corefulness® Running module

The Corefulness® Running module for Primary Schools is teacher led. Each video:

  • Teaches the mechanics behind improving speed and efficiency in running
  • Teaches how to minimise injury whilst running
  • Teaches warm up programmes for running and exercise

Why Corefulness® in Schools?

In a state primary mixed YrR and Yr1 class, 13 objective measures looking at tasks such as balancing, hopping, throwing and catching a ball, were tested at the beginning and end of a 10 week trial period. These measures relate to balance, core stability, shoulder control and hand eye coordination, which are skills required for writing. The 26 children in the trial followed the Corefulness® Schools Programme twice a day, 5 days a week. Results showed that 65% of those children had improved their scores by the end of that 10 week period.

Similarly, in a state primary reception class of 14 children, using the same objective measures and following the same course for 10 weeks, results showed that 78% of those children had improved their scores.

And perhaps most important of all the children enjoy the programme!

“I am excited about Corefulness®. It is a powerful, proactive programme which tackles some of the issues around learning difficulties and the associated frustrations that our learners experience.” – Barnaby Sandow, Head of School, ACS International School, Cobham

“Corefulness® at Port Regis has been integrated easily into daily school life since the start of 2022. The programme provides our teachers with tools to enhance all children’s learning experiences both in the classroom and during PE and sports related lessons. The programmes provide us with new ways to enhance a child’s education, none of which are provided under the existing school curriculum in the UK. It is brilliant to already be seeing noticeable improvements in children’s behaviour and concentration levels in the classroom since we started the programme. On top of this, the children are absolutely loving it!” – Mrs Lee, Director of Sport & Physical Wellbeing, Port Regis Prep School

“We have been doing Corefulness in our EYFS for the past two years. We were looking for something to help our children develop their pre writing skills when we found Corefulness. It has proven to be very successful and we have had great results. The children really enjoy the programme and we have seen an improvement in their concentration, in addition to their fine and gross motor skills. It has become an integral part of our curriculum and I cannot recommend Corefulness highly enough.” – Melanie Osborne, EYFS, St Peters Clee, Primary 

“We have a mix of SEN and non-SEN children who lack concentration, appear floppy and exhausted and display characteristics of dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD. We have implemented the Corefulness® programmes throughout our school from nursery to year 6. Every child is benefitting.”  – SENCo Lead Preparatory School, Surrey

Corefulness® is for every child, and they will all benefit from the regular, specific exercises to support their bodies and brains as they grow.

Corefulness® for Senior schools

Corefulness® can be incorporated into the PSHE course for children and young adults in key stages 3, 4 and 5. The Corefulness® programmes will teach life skills which will benefit students both during and after their time at school.

Senior school children can benefit by using the Corefulness® foundation programme, the running programme and the work programme.

The Corefulness® foundation is a six week long, video based programme of exercises designed to train and strengthen four key stability muscles, including the pelvic floor, and teaches you how to use these muscles in every day activity and sport.

NICE guidelines for pelvic floor dysfunction December 2021 in section 1.1.8 states we should “teach young women (between 12-17) in education settings about pelvic floor muscle exercises”. The pelvic floor is one of the most important stability muscles in the body, and it is strengthened in the Corefulness® foundation programme. This is as valuable to boys as it is to girls.

The Corefulness® Running programme instructs staff on how to teach students to improve their running technique, increase speed and efficiency, and minimise injury.

The Corefulness® work programme assists senior school pupils with understanding how to work at their desks correctly. Videos teach basic anatomy, correct working habits, and ergonomics which will minimise the risk of repetitive strain injuries and improve posture.

Combining all three programmes into the PSHE curriculum will provide pupils with valuable skills for life.

BECOMING A COREFULNESS® SCHOOL

We are delighted to be working with schools in both the state and private sector.

Becoming a Corefulness® school can commence during a school year and can be incorporated easily within the existing school timetable.

Corefulness.com provides regular marketing updates for wider circulation and interaction with parents and staff, school accreditation schemes and certificates for pupils. Scroll down to apply now.