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

Flexible

Each child can progress at their own pace and in their own time

Why is the GriffinOT Fine Motor Skills Programme different?

Our online, video-based programme is unique. It has been thoughtfully designed to provide adults with easy to understand knowledge about how fine motor skills (FMS) develop. There are both educational and instructional videos for each activity.  We ‘show’ adults how to do each activity correctly and how to spot errors children may make.

Another unique aspect of our programme is that we have structured it in a modular way to be easily tailored to the ability of individual children. We have developed a process to help adults identify at which of the six different sections a child should start. Each activity has an expected target, which supports adults to identify when to move a child onto a new activity because they have been successful with the easier activities. It also helps to show the progress a child is making with FMS development.

What’s special about our online programme?

The first big difference with our programme is that there an instructional video for every activity in the programme.  These videos show you how to do the activities correctly.  The videos also show you the things you need to avoid when the child is doing the activities.  We feel this information is essential to ensure activities are being done correctly and children have the most benefit from doing fine motor activities.  Each FMS comes with tips on how to make it easier and harder so that you can adapt it for the individual child.  In addition, there are educational videos which describe the skills being developed in each section of the programme.

“Includes an instructional video for every activity in the programme.”

The second difference with our programme is that you can tailor it to the ability of each individual child.  The activities are divided into six different sections.  Each activity has an expected target.  This allows you to move the child onto a new activity once they are successful with the easier activities.  The result is that the child is not left doing the same set of activities until their programme is (or in many cases is not) reviewed.  It allows the adult to change the child’s programme as their skills improve.  It also means that if a child needs to spend longer on a particular activity to be successful with it, they can.

“You can tailor each activity to the ability of each individual child.”

Are there any children who may not be able to access the programme?

The programme is not specifically designed for children who have an identified neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy, causing their FMS difficulties. However, it could be used with these children, providing adults understand that they may not be able to complete all activities and their progress may be slower. These children also benefit from extra support from an occupational therapist, even if they are accessing the programme.

The programme is not recommended for children who have degenerative conditions, such as those with muscular dystrophy.

Can I see a sample of the fine motor skill programme?

Yes! If you would like to see how the FMS programme works, you can sign up for a by clicking the button below.  This will give you a feel for the structure of the programme.  It will also show you how our programmes could be the right solution to help you support your children.

Go to the Free Sample
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Activities
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Education videos

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I receive access after payment?

We aim to send out access coupons within 1 hour.   Please keep an eye on your inbox for an email with the access code. 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.

What do I have access to in the free trial?

The free trial gives access to the following

  • The Write Rules lesson plan booklet (pdf)
  • All teaching content (stories, worksheets, games, songs) for Write Rules Weeks 1-5 of Stage 1
  • All teaching content (stories, worksheets, games, songs) for Write Rules Weeks 1-5 of Stage 2
  • An example education video
  • Four example fine motor activity programme videos

What happens after I finish the free trial?

We recommend you purchase a subscription.  You will have continued access to the free content, but not to further weeks of the programme.

When does the subscription renew?

The subscription will be due for renewal at the end of 12 months.  If you have paid by credit card, the subscription will automatically renew on the day.  If you have paid by invoice, we will send you a new invoice 2 months ahead of your subscription expiry.  We highly recommend paying your invoice when it is issued, so that there is no disruption to your access.

You can cancel your renewal at any time.  You will have continued access to Write Rules until your current period is finished.  There is no part refund for unused months.

What content do teacher have access to?

The package includes includes the GriffinOT fine motor training and our fine motor skills programme and our Write Rules handwriting programme.

Is there a certificate?

There is a certificate for the training section of the programme, but not for the activity sections.   The activities are designed to be used with children and it is not expected that you would sit and watch all of them in the same way that training is watched.  You could complete a case study of how you applied the activity programme with a child for additional evidence in your CPD folder.

What is the refund policy?

We highly recommend you view the free trial first to understand whether Write Rules is for you.  We offer a 60 day refund if you are not happy with your purchase, less an administration fee of 20%.  All staff and parents will lose access to the content on the day the refund is processed.

Join the programme now!

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

Individual Teacher

£25

School Subscription

£200

Why Study with GriffinOT?

Trusted and Qualified

All content is designed by registered occupational therapist Kim Griffin.  Kim has over 15 years’ experience working with families and schools.

Affordable Training

GriffinOT has indexed our prices to the UK national minimum wage. We want to ensure our resources are affordable for parents and teachers.

Convenient Access

All of our resources are online, so you can access them anywhere you have internet.  Videos are 5-10 minutes so easy to fit into your day.

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