Skipping in Schools
How to get every pupil skipping, from Reception to Year 6: a goal for every child, lessons any teacher can run, the right ropes and a league to aim for.
skip-hop taught skipping in UK schools from 1997, in nursery classes, primary and secondary schools, special schools and secure units. We no longer run workshops for pupils. Instead, everything our coaches taught is here, and skip-hop teaches the teachers on training days, so your own staff can lead skipping with confidence.
A skipping school needs five things: a goal for every pupil, a plan for the lessons, coaching for the skills, ropes that fit, and something to compete in. This page takes you through each one.
Skipping in schools, with a coach on your board
Meet Hoppy, the interactive skipping coach for your school
Hoppy is skip-hop’s skipping coach, and he is a coach you can control. Put him on your classroom board, hall screen or tablet and he shows a skipping skill again and again, exactly the way your class needs it, so any teacher can teach skipping with confidence, even if they have never skipped themselves.
- Slow him down or freeze frame to show the timing of the rope and the feet.
- See him from two views, and at any angle, and zoom in on his hands or his feet.
- Copy Hoppy! He skips 8 jumps while the class counts, then it is their turn to copy him.
- Teacher mode puts the teaching points on screen and turns the music and games off.
Try the interactive coach now Meet Hoppy
The forward double bounce is free for everyone, with no registration. Register your school free to open Hoppy on the other basic skips too, or see everything the interactive coach can do.
Five steps to a skipping school
Want to try a lesson first? Registered schools can open the free lesson tasters: the first lesson of each unit, plus our Long Rope and Double Dutch lessons.
Why skipping works in school
- It counts towards the daily hour. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise children and young people aged 5 to 18 to average at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity a day across the week, and the NHS lists skipping as one of the activities that count.
- It builds muscle and bone. Jumping is one of the muscle- and bone-strengthening activities the guidelines ask children to do each week.
- It needs very little space or kit. A hall, a playground or a corridor, and a rope per child.
- Every child can succeed. Skills progress in small steps, so beginners and confident skippers work side by side, each on their own Award.
- It gets children working together. Partner skipping, long rope games and Double Dutch rely on timing, turn-taking and communication.
- It helps children focus. The UK Chief Medical Officers link being active with better concentration, confidence and wellbeing, and a few minutes of skipping makes an easy brain break between lessons.
The research behind this: the benefits of skipping for primary school children, and what the latest research says about skipping.
What to teach at each stage
The Awards loosely follow the year groups, but children move on whenever they’re ready.
| Stage | Awards | Scheme of work unit | Good starting points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery and Reception (EYFS) | WhiteYellow | Ready, Steady, Jump! | Jumping over a still rope on the floor, Under the Moon, rocking the rope gently (Rock the Baby), first turns of their own rope. |
| Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) | OrangeGreen | Skipping Foundations | Ten skips in a row, skipping backwards, counting out loud, running into a turning long rope, simple counting rhymes. |
| Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) | BluePurple | Skills and Tricks | Beginner tricks such as straddles, crosses, slaloms and bells, partner skipping, long rope games and a first routine. |
| Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6) | RedBlack | Tricks, Teams and Double Dutch | Side swings, crossovers, turns, double unders, team partner skills, Double Dutch and a performance. |
| Confident skippers and Key Stage 3 | BronzeSilverGold | Medal awards | Linked routines of advanced tricks, speed and endurance challenges, and skipping for fitness. |
Skipping and the PE National Curriculum
Skipping isn’t named in the National Curriculum for PE in England, but it teaches a lot of what the programmes of study ask for.
Key stage 1
- “Master basic movements including running, jumping…” Two-footed jumps, hopping and running on the spot over a turning rope.
- “Developing balance, agility and co-ordination” Turning the rope and jumping in time is co-ordination practice on every turn.
- “Participate in team games” Long rope games need turners, jumpers and a queue that works together.
- “Perform dances using simple movement patterns” Skipping to rhymes and music, and simple routines.
Key stage 2
- “Use running, jumping… in isolation and in combination” Tricks that link skills, from the side straddle to the crossover.
- “Develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance” Double unders, crossovers and the medal Awards.
- “Perform dances using a range of movement patterns” Partner, team and Double Dutch routines.
- “Compare their performances with previous ones… to achieve their personal best” One-minute counts, the Skipping Awards and the free Virtual Skipping League.
And it serves the curriculum’s aim that pupils “are physically active for sustained periods of time”. The skipping scheme of work sets out the lessons for each year group.
Playtimes and clubs
Skipping keeps going outside PE. A long rope and a queue of pupils will fill a playtime, and the old playground rhymes give everyone something to count and chant.
- Long rope games, from Figure of Eight to Clusterjump
- Traditional skipping rhymes, with how to play each one
- Double Dutch for an after-school club
- Active playtimes: a playground plan, and how to train Playground Skipping Leaders
- Skipping and the School Games: competitions and School Games Mark evidence
Skipping for pupils with SEND
Our coaches worked in special schools and secure units for years, and almost any skill can be adapted. Every Award’s assessment guide includes ideas like these:
- A rope with foam handles, or a slightly longer rope, gives a slower, bigger turn.
- A beaded rope turns more slowly for pupils who need more time.
- Accept a double bounce, or hold up fingers instead of counting out loud.
- In the long rope, an adult can stand beside the pupil and jump with them.
- A pupil who uses a wheelchair can turn a long rope seated, or show rhythm and counting by turning a rope to one side of the chair.
Read how the whole site is built for every pupil, and the thinking behind it: SEND and inclusion at skip-hop and our article Fit the activity to the child.
From schools that worked with skip-hop
Everyone really enjoyed the sessions (staff and children) and there’s lots of skipping every play time.
Everyone at Annyalla National School had a great day skipping with skip-hop. The kids are still skipping on the yard during play times. Your coach had a fantastic way of engaging all the children and teachers during the day.
Safe skipping in school
- The right rope. Stand on the middle: the handles should reach just below the armpits. A rope that’s too long trips; one that’s too short catches heads. See the rope size guide.
- Room to turn. About an arm’s length of clear space all round each pupil, away from walls, furniture and doorways.
- A good surface. A hall floor or a dry, even playground. Avoid wet or uneven ground.
- Trainers, laces tied. Not school shoes or bare feet.
- Small, soft jumps. Land lightly on the balls of the feet, with jumps just high enough to clear the rope. Warm up first and build up the time gradually.
- Long rope turners. Hold the rope at the end, never wrapped round a hand, and keep the queue to one side.
- Tidy away. Ropes back in the bag between activities so nobody trips on one.
What schools say
You will be pleased to hear that Stalyhill are ‘Skipping’ mad! It’s fantastic to see them all at lunchtime and playtimes with their ropes.
We have been skipping ever since. It was the best thing that ever hit St Louise’s enjoyed by everyone. It is wonderful for lunchtime - everybody enjoying themselves - no squabbles.
They can take large groups, they relate the activity to health and the curriculum, it’s fun, interactive and educational.
What skip-hop does for you
Head teachers, PE leads, class teachers, School Games Organisers and Active Partnerships each get something different.
skip-hop teaches the teachers. A training day for PE leads and teachers, for one school or a group of schools. Find out about training days →
Questions schools ask
Does skip-hop still run skipping workshops?
Not for pupils. After a quarter of a century of school workshops, we have put everything our coaches taught into this site: the Skipping Awards, the scheme of work, coaching for every skill and the ropes to go with them. We now run training days for teachers instead, for one school or for a group of schools through an Active Partnership.
Do teachers need to be able to skip?
No. Every lesson is written for class teachers, with teaching points, common faults and how to fix them. The lessons run from the board, so the class can follow the trainers and timers, and All-Access Skip Pass members get video for every skill.
How much space do we need?
Very little. A hall, a playground or a cleared classroom is enough. Each pupil needs about an arm’s length of space all round to turn their own rope; long rope games need a strip about 8 metres long.
What size skipping ropes do pupils need?
As a guide, 2.1 m for Reception to Year 2, 2.5 m for Years 3 to 6, and 2.8 m for secondary pupils and adults. To check a rope, stand on the middle: the handles should reach the armpits.
Can we pay by purchase order?
Yes. Schools can pay by card, or by invoice with a 30-day purchase order. skip-hop is not VAT registered, so the price shown is the price you pay.
How does the All-Access Skip Pass work?
One whole-school pass covers every teacher: the scheme of work, the Skipping Awards assessment guides and certificates, coaching and video for every skill. It is £149 a year, or £399 for 3 years, with a free 30-day trial and no automatic renewal.
Does skipping cover the PE National Curriculum?
Skipping isn’t named in the National Curriculum, but it teaches much of what the PE programmes of study ask for: jumping, balance, agility and co-ordination at key stage 1, and combining skills, control and balance, routines and improving on a personal best at key stage 2. It also keeps pupils active for sustained periods of time.
Is skipping safe for primary school children?
Yes, with a rope of the right length, trainers, a hall floor or dry even playground, and an arm’s length of space around each pupil. Teach small, soft jumps on the balls of the feet, warm up first and build up the time gradually.