Evidence & Academic Research
Funding has been received so that quantitative and qualitative research around the impact of the MOVE Programme can be carried out, focussing on the following areas:
- The impact of the MOVE Programme on the family unit
- The impact of the MOVE Programme on the care team (teachers, therapists, carers, parents) once they have been trained
- The difference made in a child’s ability to sit, stand, walk and transfer once accessing the MOVE Programme.
Demonstrating real outcomes for children and young people with complex physical and learning needs, particularly where progress may be slow, can be extremely challenging. However, MOVE does measure such progress - it provides a means to observe, record, monitor and evaluate attainment and achievement. We began the process of measuring the progress of 200 children from 18 special schools across the UK over a three year period in order to provide publishable the research. The children’s progress was then compared against cognition and learning through five schools sampling 75 children’s progress in learning using a Comparison and Analysis of Special Pupil Attainment process. This evidence was then supported by qualitative data from questionnaires looking at improvements in the quality of life for the child and team members.
Please click here to see the full results from this study. The outline of the results are below;
- 98% of children on the MOVE Programme either made progress or maintained their skills in functional mobility over the period of study.
- 100% of children in the cognition and learning sample made progress in language, communication, numeracy and physical skills.
- 90% of team members indicated improvements in the quality of life and collaborative working across professional boundaries.
As evidenced by the results above, the MOVE Programme, through trans-disciplinary working has demonstrated how children with the most complex needs continue to gain motor skills, and also maintain these functional skills throughout their school career and into adult life. By placing functional movement at the centre of learning this has led to a significant improvement in their cognitive abilities and educational achievement. Ultimately, participation in the MOVE Programme is shown to improve the quality of life for the child and their family.
These show that the MOVE Programme has many benefits not only for children and adults with complex disabilities but also their carers.
Our Sponsor a Child study, which allowed us to measure the annual progress made by individual children, showed that after a year on the MOVE Programme all of the children assessed had progressed in at least one skill and 94% of the children had managed either to maintain or to improve their mobility skills. To find out more, please see our summary of our results.
Other studies have also provided evidence that, whilst using the MOVE Programme, 86% of adults progressed in both health and social categories. 81% of parents of children using the programme also felt that it provided a framework that both encouraged and helped professionals and parents to work more efficiently as a team.
Please click here for a summary of results from our transition study. In addition to this there is also much academic research which supports the principles of MOVE. For further information please see our extended list of references.
Read more about the MOVE Programme.