How it works
The bouncer (the one without the rope) faces the skipper for two turns of the rope, clapping twice on the second. Then they turn 90 degrees and clap again on the fourth turn, and so on round.
skip-hop tipSay "bounce, bounce, clap, clap / turn and clap, clap".
Why partner skipping matters
skip-hop coach Lee Collinson-James has used partner skipping for 25 years to help children learn to skip. It’s the doorway that unlocks the mystery of turning a rope and jumping, and putting the two together. It can give a child their first ever experience of being inside a turning rope, and their first step towards understanding how a moving rope and bouncing feet fit together.
Partner skipping is surely one of the most effective ways to develop children’s physical health and spatial awareness. None of it is possible without the three C’s: cooperation, coordination, concentration.
It is that eureka, “I can do it” moment that can make the most reticent child into an active teenager. I have first-hand experience of this: lifelong adult skippers.
For a child who is struggling to skip, start face to face with them: Lee’s tips for SEND pupils and young skippers.
Teach facing turn and clap with the All-Access Skip Pass
Everything a teacher needs to teach this skill to a whole class, from skip-hop coach Lee Collinson-James:
- Step-by-step teaching: bounce, bounce, clap, clap, then a quarter turn
- Getting the whole class clapping along
- Spot the fault, with the fix
- A pupil self-check and links to the Purple and Red Awards
£149 a year for the whole school, or 6 months free with the whole-school rope set.
Where it fits
Facing turn and clap: Purple Award
Purple Award: Routine
A related skill for the Purple Award: one to include in lessons.
To pass, a pupil:
- Links any 6 tricks into a routine, 8 skips each, without stopping
- Turns a long rope steadily for others
- Keeps the pot boiling in Figure of Eight in a group of 6 to 8, completing 2 full figures of 8 (4 jumps)
Also a related skill for the Red Award.
In the scheme of work
Where this skill is taught in the skip-hop scheme of work.
- LKS2Lesson 4: Partner skippingSkills and Tricks · Years 3 and 4
What you need
A longer rope gives two skippers room. skip-hop ropes are designed specifically for the skills shown on this site.
SEND and inclusion
Make it work for everyone
Ideas for pupils with SEND, and for anyone who finds facing turn and clap hard. Change one thing at a time.
What usually makes it hard: Clapping and turning to the side while staying in time.
- CommunicationSay “bounce, bounce, clap, clap / turn and clap, clap”, as the skip-hop tip says.
- TaskClap patterns without the rope first.
- PeopleA familiar partner.
Seated or no-jump version. The seated pupil claps the rhythm while the partner turns, or turns while the partner claps.
An adapted pass is still a pass on the Skipping Awards. Use your own judgement and each pupil’s care plan. More in SEND and inclusion at skip-hop. Pupil struggling to get started? Try Lee’s tips for pupils who are struggling to skip.