Supporting fine motor skill development

Fine motor skills are all of the small movements our hands and fingers make completing fine motor activities. Doing up buttons, squeezing toothpaste onto a tooth brush, and cutting with scissors are examples of fine motor activities. Handwriting is a fine motor skill children need to be successful with. In fact, any activity that you do with your hands and fingers relies on your these skills.

Our fine motor skills programme is designed to support children who may have skill delays.  It’s perfect for schools looking to train and support staff running fine motor groups and to help with poor handwriting.  It includes specific activities for handwriting, scissor skills and development of pencil grasp.  Each activity has been thoughtfully crafted by occupational therapist Kim Griffin.  There is clear progression and a focus on functional fine motor skills.

mother and child sitting and writing

Supporting fine motor skill development

Fine motor skills are all of the small movements our hands and fingers make completing fine motor activities. Doing up buttons, squeezing toothpaste onto a tooth brush, and cutting with scissors are examples of fine motor activities. Handwriting is a fine motor skill children need to be successful with. In fact, any activity that you do with your hands and fingers relies on your these skills.

Our fine motor skills programme is designed to support children who may have skill delays.  It’s perfect for schools looking to train and support staff running fine motor groups and to help with poor handwriting.  It includes specific activities for handwriting, scissor skills and development of pencil grasp.  Each activity has been thoughtfully crafted by occupational therapist Kim Griffin.  There is clear progression and a focus on functional fine motor skills.

A solution – GriffinOT’s Online Fine Motor Skills Programme

Our online, video-based fine motor skills programme for schools is unique. Its thoughtful design provides adults with easy to understand knowledge about how fine motor skills develop. It starts with Kim’s online course Introduction to Fine Motor Skills.  There are  instructional videos for each activity.  The programme offers a structured way for adults to help children with immature fine motor skills.  Furthermore, it ‘shows’ you what you can do to help and also teaches you the ‘why.’  The annual subscription is perfect for schools.  It includes activities your staff can use to support children with fine motor skill delays.  The course videos are great CPD.

Who will the training help?

  • Schools receiving limited occupational therapy support

  • Schools wanting a structured programme to support fine motor skill development and to measure progress

  • Teachers and teaching assistants running groups for children who have fine motor skill delays

  • Early years practitioners looking for supports to help children with immature fine motor skills

  • Parents who want to know how they can help their child with their fine motor skills, including pencil grasp, using scissors and doing up buttons

  • Children from 18 months – 12 years of age with delays in their fine motor skills

What’s included in the programme?

  • Course – Introduction to Fine Motor Skills  (2.5 hours)

  • Structured programme of activities which increases in difficulty (160+ activities)

  • Write Rules Handwriting Programme

  • Scissor skills programme

  • Clear targets for each activity to support progress

  • Dough Dance and Move with Jessie children’s videos

  • Instructional videos for each activity

  • Tips for helping children who are finding it more difficult

What do the Fine Motor Skill Programme for Schools videos look like?

Here’s an example training video and an activity from the programme.  Training videos include a mix of pictures, demonstrations and Kim presenting.  There are summary handouts to help with learning.  Each activity video includes clear instructions on how to do the activity and how to track progress.  There is a set goal and recommendations to make the activity harder and easier.  Where needed, worksheets are also provided.

Training video

Activity video

Fine Motor Skills Programme Subscription Pricing

The programmes is available for purchase as an annual subscription.  This gives 12 months’ access to all of the content.  This includes the full programme, training videos, activity video and our handwriting programme Write Rules.  The subscription will need to be renewed annually to provide continued access to video content

You will receive access within 1 hour of payment via email.  If you have planned to start the training on a specific day, it is highly recommended you purchase and activate the training a couple of days in advance to ensure you definitely have access on the day.

Individual Teacher

£25

School Subscription

£200

What are the different sections of the Fine Motor Skills Programme for Schools?

There are six sections in the programme, plus our Write Rules Handwriting Programme.  It is really important that children start at the level most appropriate for their current ability.  This questionnaire can help you to determine the best level for each child.  The levels are developmentally sequenced.  There are targeted programmes to support pencil grasp development and scissor skills.  The annual subscription includes access to all of the content.

graphic of the 6 sections of the fine motor programme

Introduction to Fine Motor Skills

This 2.5 hour course covers everything you need to know about fine motor skills.  Kim starts with development of postural control and hand grasps.  She also explores tips for helping children with pencil grasp, scissor skills and handwriting.  This section includes a certificate for your CPD portfolio.

Level 1

Level 1 is the first stage of our programme.  It is designed for children from 18 months of age.  By the end of this level, the child should be able to snip with scissors, turn on the tap to wash their hands, pour themselves a drink and play successfully with toys like Duplo, blocks and large beads.  Includes 40 activities and education videos on posture and grasp development.

Level 2

Level 2 is the next stage.  Some children might start at Level 2, it just depends on their age and skill level.  At the end of Level 2, the child should be able to cut along a short line with scissors, do up large buttons, open and close their food containers and successfully trace within curved paths and stencils.  Includes 40 activities and educational videos on pencil control and scissor skills.

Level 3

By the end of Level 3, the child should be able to cut out a circle with scissors, to do up medium sized buttons, to butter a slice of bread, cut with their knife and fork and successfully trace within zigzag paths.  Includes 40 videos and education videos on finer finger control.

Level 4

Some children may be able to start at Level 4 without completing earlier levels.  By the end of Level 4 the child should be able to cut out irregular shapes with scissors, do up shirt sized buttons, deal out playing cards, successfully use tape and fold simple origami.  Includes 40 activities and additional worksheets.

Supporting Pencil Grasp

This programme is specifically designed to help children to improve their pencil grasp. It can be completed at any point after Level 2.  The activities focus on improving the hand dexterity required to hold a pencil.  The worksheets help with pencil control.  By the end of the programme the child should be able to hold their pencil using a mature pencil grasp.

Scissor Skill Development

This section helps with scissor skill development.  It includes the same activities in the fine motor skills programme, but the focus is solely on scissor skills.

Write Rules Handwriting

Our Write Rules handwriting programme is specifically designed to support handwriting development from four years old.  You can read more about it here.

Read More

Further information on all of GriffinOT’s programmes is available in this brochure.

Structured

Developmentally sequenced activities to support children’s progression

Clear

Education and instructional videos to enhance staff understanding