Exploring equipment

• I can hold a racket safely
• I can balance a beanbag on my racket
• I can carry my racket by my side

• Physical Development: develop ball skills including batting and aiming
• Physical Development: develop confidence, competence, precision and accuracy when engaging in activities that involve a ball
• Gross Motor Skills ELG: demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing

1. Walk carrying the racket by your side; on the drum, 'park' it on the floor and stand next to it.
2. Pick up and walk on.

Show 'shake hands' with the racket handle. Racket face is like a pancake pan. Show balancing a beanbag on the 'pan'.

Organisation: All children work individually and simultaneously, each with one racket and one beanbag. Use the 12 cones for the boundary and start children at least three racket-lengths apart. The teacher stands where everyone can see the demonstration, then moves through clear gaps to support; any additional adult supports from the opposite edge.

1. For this 7-minute activity, invite everyone into the pretend pancake kitchen. Demonstrate wrapping fingers around the handle; pupils copy with their racket held still.
2. Place a beanbag 'pancake' in the middle of a level racket. Pupils balance theirs in their own space while you check grips.
3. Say, 'Deliver your pancake!' Pupils take small, slow steps through clear spaces, keeping their rackets steady at waist height.
4. Call, 'Kitchen closed!' instead of using a drum. Pupils stop their feet and keep their pancake balanced; repeat with short journeys.
5. Demonstrate what to do if a pancake falls: stop, lower the racket, pick up the beanbag and restart. Finish with everyone showing a still, balanced pancake.

Organisation: Use 15 pairs, each with two rackets, one balloon and one beanbag. Each pair has two distinct practice spaces, with at least three racket-lengths between children and extra room between pairs. Store unused beanbags outside the playing boundary. The teacher demonstrates from the front, then circulates along the outside of the spaces; any additional adult watches balloon drift from the opposite side.

1. For this 7-minute activity, demonstrate a gentle upward tap followed by a two-handed catch. Rest the racket flat on the floor before catching; pupils rehearse the sequence without a balloon.
2. Give each pair one balloon. One pupil taps and catches while their partner balances a beanbag on their own racket in a separate neighbouring space.
3. Invite the balloon pupil to release the balloon just above the racket, give it one tiny tap, put the racket down and catch with hands.
4. Call, 'Swap jobs!' after a short practice. Pupils put rackets down, pass the balloon by hand and swap the beanbag so both remain involved.
5. Ask pupils to count gentle taps aloud before putting the racket down and catching. Alternate jobs regularly and finish by sharing a favourite successful tap.

Organisation: Move 10 cones into widely separated island stations, with three children per station and one racket and beanbag each. Allocate three separate approaches around each island; each child curves around only their own side rather than circling into another child's route. The remaining two cones mark the equipment resting area outside play. Use existing space edges as the boundary. The teacher circulates between stations; any additional adult stands where the approaches are easiest to oversee.

1. For this 7-minute activity, introduce beanbag 'treasure' that must travel along the ground. Demonstrate a low, gentle push with the racket face; pupils copy in their own spaces.
2. Explain that a beanbag may slide or tumble rather than roll smoothly. Pupils explore moving it with small pushes, stopping it close to their feet.
3. Show each pupil their approach to a cone 'island'. Pupils push their treasure towards it, curve around their own side and return along the same approach.
4. Call, 'New side!' Demonstrate turning the racket so its other face touches the beanbag. Pupils repeat their journey using that face.
5. Invite pupils to choose the face that gives them most control and complete one final slow treasure journey, stopping the beanbag beside the cone.

1. Lay the racket down, sit beside it, breathe slowly.
2. Help tidy equipment into hoops.

• Racket heads point down when walking
• Arm's-length 'racket bubble' around each child
• Check balloon latex allergies; use scarves or soft foam balls instead if needed
• During Balloon taps, children leave drifting balloons rather than chasing them into another space; an adult retrieves them. Remove any burst balloon pieces immediately.
• For Pancake flippers, distinguish a stationary, level balancing racket from a walking carry: if the beanbag falls, stop the journey before retrieving it and reset before moving.
• During Racket explorers, keep racket faces below knee height and stop play if a beanbag enters another child's approach; retrieve it only when that route is clear.