The Virtual Skipping League is built with Key Stage 2 in mind. Juniors get the most out of the 30-second speed skip, the league tables and the awards. But younger children don't have to be left out. Key Stage 1, and even Reception, can be part of the league from day one.
In every Year 1 and Year 2 class there are children who can already skip. Some skip at home, some have older brothers and sisters, and some just pick it up quickly. They are perfectly able to post a score.
That's why we made sure you can add Key Stage 1 classes to the league and record their scores like any other class. We don't expect every child to post a score straight away. But the ones who can will set the pace, and the rest of the class will want to join them. Seeing a classmate's name in the table is one of the best reasons a six-year-old will ever have to keep practising.
Every school can download a free Key Stage 1 lesson plan from skip-hop, so you can run a skipping session straight away. First Turns is a 45-minute lesson for Years 1 and 2. Children learn to hold and turn their own rope, jump a turning long rope and play Under the Moon, with easier and harder versions of every activity.
It's built around play, so children develop their coordination while they're having fun. Little by little, they get to the point where they can take part in the 30-second speed skip and add their scores to the league.
📄 Download First Turns (PDF). League schools also find it in the teacher area under Toolbox → Lesson plans.
You don't have to wait for scores to be part of the league. Whenever you run a skipping session with your Key Stage 1 children, whether it's a PE lesson, a playground session or a few minutes in the classroom, you can add that activity to the Virtual Skipping League.
There are league tables for activity, so your classes can see how active they are compared with other classes. And every minute goes towards your school's total. A Year 1 class that is still learning to turn a rope is already helping the school.
📊 Why does it help to record activity at all? Read why build a record of your children's skipping.
Over many years of running skip-hop workshops, we saw the same thing happen again and again. In schools that chose to introduce skipping in Key Stage 1, the children were brilliant young skippers by the time they reached Key Stage 2. Those schools went on to have display teams, skipping clubs and much more.
Once skipping catches hold in a school, it stays.
That's one of the most important reasons we include Key Stage 1 in the league, and why we encourage every school to start their children skipping as early as they can.
You don't have to bring the whole school in at once. If just one teacher wants to use the league with their Year 6 class, that's fine. You can start with one class and add others as and when you're ready.
Adding a class is quick and easy. Once it's in, you can record its activity and its scores, and all of it counts towards your school's total.
Membership of the skip-hop website also gives you two important resources for Key Stage 1.
It carries on through Key Stage 2, but it was designed and developed from the start for Key Stage 1 children. The early levels begin with jumping a still rope on the floor and build, step by step, to skipping in a rhythm and counting skips aloud. Download certificates for every level, just as you can for Key Stage 2.
Built around the way Key Stage 1 children progress, with ideas and tips for every lesson. The Key Stage 1 lessons end with the 30-second speed skip, so your class is ready to enter its first scores in the league.
Every skill in the award scheme and the scheme of work links through to the member area. There you'll find a card for each skill with teaching tips and tricks. Many skills also have a video of children performing them, so you can see exactly what the children need to do. You can show the videos and moving diagrams to the children too, so everyone understands the skill. Together, the scheme of work and the skill cards explain how to teach every skill to every age group.
