Playground Skipping Leaders
Train Year 5 and 6 pupils as play leaders who run skipping at playtime: two 45-minute training modules, four leader roles, coaching checklists, game cards, a rota, badges and certificates.
Playground Skipping Leaders are Year 5 and 6 pupils trained to run skipping at playtime: turning the long rope, getting games going, teaching Reception to Year 2 children and looking after the kit. Training is two 45-minute modules, one PE lesson each. After that the scheme runs itself, and each summer this year’s leaders help train the next.
Free when you register your school. Registering also gives you the lesson tasters and 10% off every order.
Why pupil leaders work
Older pupils who start games and teach younger ones can get more children moving, without another adult on the playground. The idea isn’t new. The government’s 2019 School Sport and Activity Action Plan said volunteering schemes can help pupils develop skills like “leadership and self-efficacy” while they support their school, for example by “encouraging other pupils to participate in active break times”.4 This year the DfE’s PE and sport premium toolkit suggests schools “implement a play leader programme that encourages all pupils to take part in creative and inclusive active play”.3
Skipping leaders build on what research says helps at playtime: equipment that comes out every day7 and games that someone gets going. In an American trial of Playworks, which brings an adult coach onto the playground to organise games at recess, girls were more active and less likely to be sitting or standing still; there was no significant difference for boys.6
The School Games Mark. At Gold, the 2026/27 criteria ask: “Do you have a formal structure to engage your young people through Sports Leaders, School Games Crews or Committees and use them to support your offer?” A trained group of skipping leaders on a rota is a clear way to show it. Skipping leaders sit happily alongside your School Sport Organising Crew or the PlayMaker Award.
The four roles
Turner
Turns the long rope steadily with a partner, counts skippers in (“Ready, in you go, NOW!”) and keeps the queue next to the turner.
Coach
Reminds children about space, poise, holding the rope and skipping safely. Helps Reception to Year 2 children skip forwards, backwards and hopping, and partner skips face to face with beginners: shows it, lets them try, and praises the trying.
Counter
Runs the 30 second challenge: pairs up skippers, calls the time, counts fairly and writes down the scores.
Kit Keeper
Hands the ropes out, counts them back in, checks for knots and damage, and packs the bag at the end.
Leaders learn all four and take turns, so everyone gets to coach and everyone counts the kit.
Choosing your leaders
- Invite applicationsA short form in Year 5 or 6: why they’d be a good leader, and which role they’d like most. The pack has one.
- Choose a mixEvery leader needs at least basic individual skipping skills, so they can show a younger child. Beyond that, not just the best skippers: good leaders are kind, patient and reliable. Choose girls and boys equally, and some pupils who don’t usually get chosen.
- Train them togetherTwo 45-minute modules with a teacher, using the session plan below, with six younger children to practise on.
- Make it officialThe leaders’ promise, a badge, and an announcement in assembly.
Training: two modules
Training a group of leaders properly takes about 90 minutes. That’s more than a PE lesson, so it’s split into two 45-minute modules. Run them a week apart in two PE lessons, or back to back if you have the time. Run them in the hall or on the playground with a long rope, a pair of Double Dutch ropes and a rope for each leader.
Bring in six practice pupils. Invite two children each from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to join in with both modules. These are the age groups leaders look after at lunchtime, so working with them gives leaders first-hand experience before they’re on the playground.
Module 1: safety, poise, individual and partner skipping
| Time | Part | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 min | What a leader does | The four roles, the safety rules (ropes only for skipping and never round anyone’s neck, an arm’s length apart, tell an adult) and why leaders matter. |
| 5 to 15 min | Safety and poise | Safety and poise: enough space, holding the handles properly, arms in the right place, and stepping over the rope to put it back in position. Leaders work in pairs with one of the practice pupils, helping them move the rope over their head and step or jump over it, forwards or backwards. |
| 15 to 25 min | Individual skipping | Skipping forwards, backwards and hopping, double bounce or single bounce. Leaders teach each other: show it, let them try, praise the trying. |
| 25 to 40 min | Partner skipping | With the practice pupils: face to face partner skipping with a younger child or a beginner, then two skippers an arm’s length apart at the same pace. |
| 40 to 45 min | Kit and rota | Counting ropes out and in, untying and bundling, and the rota. The teacher reminds leaders of the promise. |
Playground leading isn’t just long rope. Most of the children leaders help will be learning to skip with their own rope, so Module 1 comes first.
Module 2: long rope and the basics of Double Dutch
| Time | Part | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 min | Recap | The teacher reminds leaders of the safety rules and the promise. Chalk an X on the playground for the skipper. |
| 5 to 15 min | Turning a long rope | Practise first with a 4.5 m Double Dutch rope. Turn slowly and steadily, letting the rope touch the floor, and the count: “Ready, in you go, NOW!” as the rope hits the ground. See skipping inside a long rope for how to skip with beginners, and Figure of Eight for how to hold and turn a 7.5 m rope. |
| 15 to 25 min | Long rope games | The practice pupils join in. Wiggly worms, Under the Moon and skipping inside a long rope. Turners watch the skippers closely, speeding up, slowing down and moving position if needed. |
| 25 to 40 min | Double Dutch basics | Practise turning two ropes. The skipper starts in the middle (practice pupils and leaders all try this), then leaders step and jump into the moving ropes. All leaders try turning; everyone tries jumping. |
| 40 to 45 min | 30 second challenge | Leaders skip, and the practice pupils watch. Pairing skippers and counters, the timer (“Counters ready? Skippers ready? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!”), and the counting rule: if the rope catches the feet, that turn doesn’t count, so carry on from the last number. Badges on. |
I have seen Year 4, 5 and 6 children turn Double Dutch and do Double Dutch far more capably than many adults, so they are definitely able to do it.
Lee Collinson-James, skip-hop lead coach
Not confident teaching Double Dutch yourself? Leaders can come free to a skip-hop skipping training day, so staff practise teaching real pupils and the leaders learn alongside them.
What to look for
Lee’s four checklists from 25 years of training playground leaders. Leaders run through them whenever they help someone. The pack has them as cards to take outside.
Individual skipping
- Space: does everyone have enough space?
- Handles: are they holding the handles properly?
- Arms: are their arms in the right place?
- Positioning the rope: everyone steps over it to get it back in position.
- Bounce: double bounce or single bounce?
Partner skipping
- Are the skippers an arm’s length apart?
- Are they skipping at the same pace?
- Double bounce or single bounce?
- Are they remembering to step over the rope to put it back in position?
Long rope
- Mark an X on the playground with chalk.
- Turn the rope slowly.
- Speed it up if they go in early, slow it down if they go in late.
- If the skipper moves forward, back, left or right, move with them.
- Running under the rope: far enough away not to get hit, close enough not to run too far.
- Say “Ready, in you go, NOW!” as the rope hits the ground.
Double Dutch
- Are the turners mirroring each other?
- Are the turners making smooth circular movements with their arms?
- Is the skipper on the X?
- Is enough rope hitting the floor where the X is?
Skills and games leaders teach
Start with the first skills and games, then move on as leaders and the younger children gain confidence. Each one has its own coaching page, and the pack has cards for the long rope games to take outside.
Individual skipping
- Safety and poise Start here
- Skipping forwards Reception and KS1
- Hopping Reception and KS1
- Skipping backwards KS1
- Single bounce KS1
Partner skipping
Face to face partner skipping is how leaders help a beginner feel the rope for the first time. Lee’s tips for pupils who are struggling to skip show how.
- Face to face partner skipping With a beginner
- Facing turn and clap Once confident
- Mirror skipping Once confident
- Windscreen wiper Once confident
- Travelling Team game
Long rope games
- Wiggly worms Reception and KS1
- Under the Moon Reception and KS1
- Skipping inside a long rope KS1
- Running into the long rope Years 2 to 4
- Figure of Eight Years 3 to 6
- Cluster jump Years 3 to 6
- Teddy Bear rhyme Everyone
- 30 second challenge Years 1 to 6
Double Dutch
- Turning the Double Dutch ropes Leaders
- Starting in the middle Years 3 to 6
- Jumping into Double Dutch Years 4 to 6
Week to week
- A rota on the wall. Two leaders in each of the skipping and long rope zones at lunchtime. With 10 to 12 leaders, each is on duty about twice a week, so nobody misses all their own playtimes.
- Kit out, kit in. The Kit Keeper counts the ropes out and back in, and tells the adult on duty if any are missing.
- A ten-minute leaders’ meeting each week: what went well, who needs help, which game to try next.
- Scores that count. In the Virtual Skipping League, Young Leaders can send in playtime scores for a teacher to approve, so the class gets credit.
- Copy Hoppy at wet play. Leaders put Copy Hoppy on the classroom whiteboard and lead the class while Hopkins skips.
- Celebrate. Leader of the week in assembly, and a certificate at the end of the year.
- Pass it on. In the summer term, Year 4 apprentices shadow the leaders, ready for September.
Safety and responsibility
Leaders do
- Run games, turn ropes and help younger children
- Keep ropes in the skipping zones
- Keep an arm’s length between skippers, and the queue next to the turner
- Tell an adult straight away if someone is hurt or upset
- Count the kit out and back in
Leaders don’t
- Take charge of the playground: an adult on duty always is
- Let ropes be used for anything but skipping, or go round anyone’s neck
- Deal with fallings-out or first aid themselves
- Give up their own playtime every day
Kit for your leaders
The Young Leaders skipping rope set gives leaders everything they need: 20 KS2 ropes, 10 KS1 ropes for the younger children they help, a long rope, a pair of Double Dutch ropes and a kit bag that lives by the door, with 3 months of the All-Access Skip Pass. £148 for registered schools. For a smaller team, the playground set has 20 ropes in the sizes you choose.
Questions people ask
What age should playground leaders be?
Year 5 and Year 6 pupils usually make the best skipping leaders: they are old enough to turn a long rope steadily and to teach younger children. Some schools add Year 4 “apprentices” in the summer term to take over in September.
How many playground leaders does a school need?
Ten to twelve is a good number for one playground. Two leaders in each of the skipping and long rope zones at lunchtime makes four a day, so each leader is on duty about twice a week and still has most of their own playtimes.
How do you train playground leaders?
In two 45-minute modules with a teacher, one PE lesson each. Module 1 covers safety and poise, individual skipping and partner skipping, and ends with the kit and the rota. Module 2 covers turning a long rope, long rope games, the basics of Double Dutch and the 30 second challenge. Six younger children, two each from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, join in so leaders practise with the ages they will help. The leaders pack has the session plan, and leaders can also join a skip-hop training day for free.
Are pupil leaders in charge of the playground?
No. An adult on duty is always in charge. Leaders run games, help younger children and look after the kit, and they tell an adult straight away if someone is hurt or upset.
Does a playground leaders scheme count for the School Games Mark?
At Gold, the School Games Mark 2026/27 asks whether you have “a formal structure to engage your young people through Sports Leaders, School Games Crews or Committees” and use them to support your offer. A trained, rota’d group of skipping leaders is one way to show it. Your SGO verifies the application.
Is the leaders pack free?
Yes, for registered schools. Registering your school is free and also gives you the lesson tasters and 10% off every order.
Sources
- School Games Mark 2026/27 criteria, Your School Games
- Leadership and volunteering: the School Sport Organising Crew, Your School Games
- PE and sport premium transition toolkit, Part C, Department for Education, on the Youth Sport Trust website
- School Sport and Activity Action Plan (2019), DfE, DCMS and DHSC
- The PlayMaker Award, Leadership Skills Foundation
- The impact of Playworks on boys’ and girls’ physical activity during recess, Mathematica; Journal of School Health 85(3), 2015
- Verstraete et al. (2006), providing game equipment at recess, European Journal of Public Health 16(4)