tickit Balance Board review and case study
Pembury School Balance Board review and case study.
The tickit Balance Board is robust and sturdy with a felt-lined bottom for extra stability. It has been designed in-house to help develop gross motor skills, to develop coordination and balance and to encourage emotional regulation. We spoke to Pembury Primary School in Kent who have been using the tickit Balance Boards in their setting to support learning and development in many different areas.
What type of setting and department within this do you work in?
Primary school setting – across both Key Stages (KS) 1 and 2.
How many children do you look after in your setting and what are their ages?
400 children within the school age range 4 -11
What do you look for in an educational product?
Value for money and durability as well as the product being fit for purpose. The product should deliver the required outcomes. Also, the engagement of the children is an important aspect, children are much more likely to benefit from products that they enjoy using.
What made you choose the tickit Wooden Balance Board for your setting?
Balance boards have multi-use purposes within a school setting and we were particularly interested in this piece of equipment to provide support across multiple areas – we wanted a balance board that would provide opportunities to calm and reset, as well as offering movement and balance exercises. Parents have also mentioned that they use balance boards in their home-settings; we wanted to find boards that we could use similarly in our setting that would provide accessibility to children for a wide range of needs, as well as providing value-for money and durability.
What were you hoping to achieve with the Balance Board from an educational perspective?
Children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) are often not fully ‘ready for learning’ – the balance boards help to regulate by challenging their focus and attention, which allows children to move to a sequential organised phase, ready to move on to their learning. When used as part of the Sensory Circuits Programme, the board provides an activity for motor sensory processing as well as opportunities to discover the components of being body aware. This has already proved successful for our learners that have had access to the boards.
What was your first impression of the tickit Balance Board?
We were impressed with the solid build-standard of the boards, we feel they will be durable which is important from a budgetary aspect. Being able to use the flip-side of the board offers a multi-purpose option.
How have you used the tickit Wooden Balance Board in your setting and how do you feel they support a child's learning & development?
We are currently trialling the boards in a range of settings – within our Zones of Regulation the boards offer children the opportunity to re-set themselves when experiencing emotional distress or upset, as well as providing an opportunity for children to ready themselves to start or continue a task. One child chose to sit and read a book whilst gently rocking themselves. Another child regularly uses the board as their ‘brain-break’ activity.
How did the children react to the Balance Board?
The children were initially excited to discover a new interactive piece of equipment that allowed them to express themselves and explore different uses and functions – they were particularly keen to demonstrate the balance-boards multiple uses to their peers.
How is the Balance Board received and played within different age groups?
So far we have only introduced the boards to KS2 children, but from next term we want to incorporate one into our sensory circuits programme. We will also provide access to one of the boards to our younger children in KS1, where we expect it to as well-received as it has been in KS2.
What are the most useful features of the Balance Board?
The children have discovered numerous different balancing techniques – balancing and moving side to side with legs astride, balancing with one foot at each end, sitting and rocking within the board, laying and rocking. On the flip-side of the board, they have laid tummy-down with arms resting either side – we are sure as time progresses they will find other ways of balancing and moving!
Do you feel the Balance Board is good value for money will have continued value over time?
We feel that the durability and build-quality offers good value for money. The board is well constructed and we anticipate it being well-used across a range of activities representing continued value for money.
Would you recommend Balance Board to other educational settings and why?
We would highly recommend the balance board to all educational settings, it provides excellent value for money, and with its varied range of use it offers multiple opportunities for a wide range of functions and activities and can be easily incorporated into programmes such as Sensory Circuits. The durability and multi-activity opportunities makes the board extremely good value for money.
Rohana Wilson
Assistant head-teacher and SENCO
Pembury Primary School