Ninja - National Curriculum Programme

Scheme of Work Overview

• Target Age: Primary School (Key Stage 1 & 2 / Ages 5–11, with progressions adapted)
•  Core Themes: Jumping & Landing, Safety Rolls, Fundamental Vaults, Inversions & Spins, and Linking Movements.
• Key Focus: Smoothness, body control, and self-preservation over speed or competitive distance.

Week 1

Aims & Objectives

•  Introduction to Jumps and Landings
• Introduce standing vs. running take-offs.
• Explore 3 jumping shapes: straight, tuck, and pike.
• Establish "quiet/soft" landings to protect joints.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus on dynamic and isometric stretches for the ankles, quadriceps, and hip flexors.

Warm-Up 

• (Follow the Leader): Simple, jump-based movements on the spot. Add variations like high knees or broad jumps. Praise students who demonstrate balanced landings.

 Activity 1 

• (Take-off Basics) Line students up side-by-side. Practice jumping on the spot with bent knees upon landing. Progress to jumping slightly forward, and finally stepping 1 foot in front before taking off.

Activity 2 

• (Distance & Momentum): Teach getting toes over the edge for standing jumps, and using knee drive to keep momentum. Give students 3 attempts to mark their maximum comfortable jump distance with a floor spot, then give them 5 minutes to try and beat it with coaching feedback.

Activity 3 

• (Jump Shapes): Teach the Straight, Tuck, and Pike shapes mid-air. Jog around the space; when the coach calls a shape, students must perform a jump showing that shape and hold a solid landing.

Activity 4 

• (Shape Drills): 4 minutes of structured drills: tuck jumps over low obstacles (knee height), hopping sets, and knee-drive lunges. Re-test the maximum jump distance from Activity 2 to see if form has improved.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretching. Ask the class: "Which take-off felt easier?" "Why should our landings be quiet rather than loud?"

Week 2: 

Aims & Objectives

• Dispersing Impact & Intro to Safety Rolls
• Understand how to safely transition weight from feet to hands to disperse impact.
• Learn the prerequisites of a rolling breakfall.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus on the wrists, shoulders, and spine.

Warm-Up 

• (Ragdoll Game): Students move around. On command, they must safely collapse to the floor in whatever direction the coach says, starting very low to the ground (squat/crawl) and gradually progressing to a standing start.

Activity 1 

• (Core Roll Competencies): Spread out on mats. Walk through the physical prerequisites for the entry and exit of a safety roll. Focus on tucking the chin and making a round body shape. High repetitions.

Activity 2 

• (Weight Shifting): Set up two stations.
    Station 1: Jump off a low bench into a low "gorilla movement" (hands and feet crouch).
    Station 2: Front support position with feet raised on a bench, shifting weight into the hands.

Activity 3 

• (Rock and Roll to Stand): On thin mats, students rock back on their spines and use momentum to rock forward into a standing position without using their hands. Progression: Try it on both sides, or try holding a beanbag above the head.

Activity 4 

• (The Full Skill): Set up 2–3 side stations featuring movements covered today. Support students who feel ready to attempt a full safety roll on thick mats. For less confident students, use a "hip roll" as a safer, lower-impact regression.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretching. Ask: "What do we use a safety roll for?" "What kind of body shape do we need to make?"

Week 3: Introduction to Fundamental Vaults

Aims & Objectives

• Begin learning the Step-Through Vault and Chest Vault.
• Explore quadrupedal movement patterns balancing on 3 to 4 limbs.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus on the wrists, shoulders, and hip flexors.

Warm-Up 

• (Cats vs. Crabs): Tag game in a designated area. The majority of the class moves as "Cats" (crawling on hands and feet). The "Taggers" must move as "Crabs" (belly up, hands and feet on floor) and try to tag the cats.

Activity 1 

• (Vault Competencies): Set up benches or low vault boxes. Use visual floor spots to mark exactly where hands and feet should go for both the Step-Through and Chest Vault. Coach guides students on both sides.

Activity 2 

• (Animal Travel): Set a travel distance. Introduce 4 animal walks: Bunny, Cat, Gorilla, Orangutan, or Starfish. Students must complete the distance forward and backward/each side, jogging back around the outside.

Activity 3 

• (Vault Progression): Revisit the vault stations. Tweak the visual cues slightly to encourage a short run-up and clear take-off point, emphasizing the gradual addition of power.

Activity 4 

• (Introduction to Sequencing): Line up a Step-Through station and a Chest Vault station with a few meters of gap in between. Students perform the first vault, transition across the gap using one of the animal movements from Activity 2, and immediately perform the second vault.

Cool Down Plenary: 

• Static stretching. Ask: "Does our hand or foot go first in a step-through?" "Which animal walk strengthened your shoulders the most?"

Week 4: 

Aims & Objectives

• Inversion & Introduction to Palm Spins
• Explore the feeling of inversion (being upside down) through handstand progressions.
• Begin working on prerequisites for palm spins (understanding rotation).

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus heavily on wrists, shoulders, and core/spine.

Warm-Up 

• (Mirror Game): In pairs (or trios), one partner leads with movements on the spot and the others must mirror them instantly. Swap leaders every 30 seconds. *Progression:* Balance on 1 leg if it's too easy.

Activity 1 

• (Handstand Circuit): 4–5 stations exploring weight-bearing on hands (e.g., donkey kicks, wall walks, or tuck holds). Check whether shoulders are open or closed, ensuring students are pushing up straight rather than flinging legs wildly.

Activity 2 

• (Intro to Palm Spins): Explain the long-term goal of the palm spin. Set up 2–3 stations practicing the prerequisites. Use the analogy: The hands are the point of a compass, and the feet are the pencil spinning around them. Jump from both feet while holding a tuck shape.

Activity 3 

• (Think on Their Hands): Set up an assortment of low obstacles (benches, blocks). Students must travel from one end to the other with *only* their hands touching the obstacles, keeping feet on the floor or navigating over gaps safely.

Activity 4 

• (Palm Spin Revisit): Split into small groups around benches. Spend a few minutes practicing the level of palm spin prerequisite they achieved in Activity 2. Provide manual support/spotting for confident students attempting a fuller spin.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretch. Ask: "Did you find it easier being strong for the handstand or smooth for the palm spin?" "What makes us spin faster?"

Week 5

Aims & Objectives

• Consolidation & Peer Feedback
• Refresh key skills from weeks 1–4 (2 take-offs, step-through, safety rolls).
• Use peer feedback to evaluate and improve technique.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching (Global Stretch): Briefly go through all previous stretches. Quiz the students to see how many muscle groups they can remember.

Warm-Up 

• (Follow the Leader Plyos): Jump-based follow-the-leader mixed with animal patterns and ragdoll collapses from previous weeks.

Activity 1 

• (Jumps & Rolls Circuit): Set up 2–3 jump stations and 2–3 roll stations. Divide the class in half, swapping after a set amount of repetitions. Remind them of key elements: knee drive, soft landings, and spreading the impact.

Activity 2 

• (Vault Revisit): Revisit the Step-Through and Chest vaults. Ask for student volunteers to demonstrate. Run through progressions at an accelerated pace, checking if they can maintain form without relying on visual floor cues.

Activity 3 

• (Tricks Progression): Spend time breaking down the palm spin from last week. Guide students along the continuum, moving from supported variations to attempting the skill independently if safe.

Activity 4 

• (Peer Feedback Activity): In groups of 3–4, students take turns jumping from a designated spot as far as they can land *quietly*. The other group members judge the landing on a scale of 1–5 based on how quiet it was. Lowest score wins (quieter is better!).

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretch. Ask: "Of the skills we've covered, which comes most naturally to you?" "What body shapes did we use the most today?"

Week 6: Linking Movements & Flow

Aims & Objectives

• Understand how to link different movement combinations smoothly.
• Use fundamental skills to overcome physical challenges and obstacles.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Global stretch focusing on matching the correct stretch to the corresponding muscle group.

Warm-Up 

• (Simon Says - Add-on Version): Traditional Simon Says, but start combining commands into sequences of 2 or 3 actions (e.g., "Simon says: Cat crawl, then tuck jump").

Activity 1 

• (Skill Drills): Running approach to a step-through or chest vault, immediately transitioning into a standing jump. Use visual markers for feet and hands. Emphasize prioritizing smoothness and control over raw speed.

Activity 2 

• (Team-Based Ground Zero): Split the group into 2 teams with 2 lines of obstacles. Teams must get across the obstacle course, but there is a rule: The team can only have members on 2 obstacles at any one time. Count floor touches as penalties to create a fun, cooperative challenge.

Activity 3 

• (Full Sequence Drills): Bring back the setups from Activity 1, but join them together into longer chains. Remove visual cues to ensure students achieve flow without unnecessary stutter-steps between obstacles.

Activity 4 

• (Coach-Led Add-on): The coach sets 1 simple move, and everyone copies. The move is repeated, and another is added, building a long movement sequence step-by-step. For older or advanced children, let them take over setting the next move.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretch. Ask: "What is more important in parkour: speed or smoothness?" "Where did you lose your momentum or flow in the sequence?"

Week 7: Precision Landings & Plyometrics

Aims & Objectives

• Develop precision landings (landing and sticking on specific targets/edges).
• Introduce continuous plyometric jumps (strides, bounds, continuous hops).

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus heavily on the ankles, quadriceps, and hip flexors.

Warm-Up 

• (Rock, Paper, Scissors - Leg Version): In pairs, students play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The loser must do 8–10 jump squats, while the winner balances on one leg until they are finished. Continuous play for 2–3 minutes.

Activity 1 

• (Bounce Back Extravaganza): Set up multiple stations requiring quick rebound jumps (off mats, low edges, or bouncing off walls). Keep groups small and rotate every few minutes.

Activity 2 

• (Intro to Plyometrics): Set out 2–3 lines of floor spots or low hurdles. Teach the importance of picking feet up rapidly. Challenge students to complete a set amount of jumps within a specific timeframe.

Activity 3 

• (Stick Challenge): In pairs, one student completes a precision jump onto a target line or low balance beam. The partner rates their "stick" (holding the landing perfectly without moving the feet) out of 10. The goal is to achieve 5 high-quality "sticks" within 10 attempts.

Activity 4 

• (Continuous Jumps Expansion): Refresh plyometrics, then explain continuous strides, bounds, and hops. Set up visual cues indicating single-foot vs. double-foot landings among different stations, rearranging the order frequently.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretch. Ask: "What does it mean to 'stick' a landing?" "Where do we point our feet to get a good bounce-back?"

Week 8: Advanced Rolling & Impact Dispersion

Aims & Objectives

• Increase competency and instinct with the full safety roll.
• Apply the safety roll dynamically to disperse impact from movement.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus on wrists, shoulders, and spine.

Warm-Up 

• (Over-Under Circuit): Class forms a side-by-side line in a front support (plank) position. The first student at the end crawls under or steps over the line of students to the other side, and the next follows. Challenge them to get the whole line through in a target time.

Activity 1 

• (Impact Refresh): Revisit weight-shifting from Session 2. Practice moving weight smoothly from feet to hands. Remind students that a quieter landing always indicates better impact absorption.

Activity 2 

• (Full Safety Roll Refresh): Set up 2–3 rolling stations ranging from regressions (hip rolls/mat rolls) to advanced versions. The coach should spot the most difficult station to offer real-time corrections. Progress confident students to a harder floor surface.

Activity 3 

• (Applying the Roll): Teach students to intentionally wobble off balance from their tiptoes, then transition into a safety roll or hip roll. Progress to doing a small jump forward directly into a roll, or jumping over a very low foam obstacle into a roll.

Activity 4 

• (Instinctive Rolling): Mark out a large floor square with arrows on each side pointing in different directions. Students slowly jog around the perimeter of the square. When the coach claps, students must instantly drop and perform a safety roll in the direction of the closest arrow.

Cool Down / Plenary: Static stretch. 

• Ask: *"Why do we roll diagonally across our body instead of straight over our neck?" "What parts of our body are we trying to protect?"

Week 9: Vault Connections, Speed, and Lazy Vaults

Aims & Objectives

• Reinforce technique and combine the step-through and chest vaults.
• Begin working on prerequisites for the **Speed Vault** and **Lazy Vault**.

Lesson Structure

• Stretching: Focus on wrists, shoulders, and hip mobility.

Warm-Up 

• (Team QM Race): Quadrupedal Movement (QM) race. In small teams, students must carry an object (like a beanbag or flat cone) on their stomach or back while crawling, transporting it across the room to a hoop without dropping it.

Activity 1 

• (Vault Refresh & Scale): Set up 4 stations (2 for each vault). Introduce scalability: challenge students by varying the height/distance of the obstacle, changing the approach surface, or restricting foot placement.

Activity 2 

• (Vault Connections): Set up combination stations utilizing the linking concepts from Week 6. Emphasize combining a step-through and chest vault back-to-back, prioritizing smoothness and rhythm over speed.

Activity 3 

• (Speed & Lazy Vault Prerequisites): Introduce core components of the Speed and Lazy vaults. Practice side and back supports on benches. Have students practice jumping off 1 foot with the inside knee driving up, or performing straight-leg swings to tap a hand. Use crash mats for side-jump variations.

Activity 4 

• (Full Skill Practice): Practice full variations of these new vaults using waist-high blocks or benches. Walk through progressions and explain the mechanics behind ideal body positioning.

Cool Down / Plenary: Static stretch. 

• Ask: "What body part makes contact first with the obstacle during a step-through vault?" "What shapes do we need to stay strong in for a lazy vault?"

Week 10

Aims & Objectives

• Advanced Inversions & Palm Spins
• Deepen control during inversions (handstands).
• Consolidate palm spin progressions into complete movements.

Lesson Structure

Stretching

• Comprehensive stretch for wrists, shoulders, core, and spine.

Warm-Up 

• (Mirror Game - Advanced): Run 30-second rounds of the mirroring game in pairs. Challenge students by enforcing one-leg balances or requiring low-tier quadrupedal movements to be mirrored.

Activity 1 

• (Handstand Circuit Evaluation): 4–5 stations exploring different handstand weights and holds. Look closely at form: ensure shoulders are open and students are actively pushing through the floor rather than letting their legs drift backward.

Activity 2 

• (Palm Spins Progression): Re-introduce palm spin execution points. Focus heavily on exact hand positioning, maintaining a tight tuck shape, and launching/landing with both feet. Use the compass analogy to maintain turning alignment.

Activity 3

•  (Think on Their Hands - Obstacle Travel): Arrange an assortment of obstacles at varying heights. Students must cross from one end to the other using *only* their hands on the equipment. Space obstacles carefully to challenge foot placement and reach, while prioritizing safety.

Activity 4 

• (Full Trick Practice): Split the class across available benches. Spend several minutes practicing their highest achieved tier of the palm spin. Provide manual spotting so students can experience the full rotation safely before trying it independently.

Cool Down / Plenary: 

• Static stretch. Ask the final review questions: "What was something you tried really hard at today?" "Is it easier to be strong and rigid for a handstand, or smooth and relaxed for a palm spin?"

Week 11

Aims and Objectives

• Refresh key skills from previous weeks (precision landings, continued momentum, speed/lazy vault, etc.)
• Revisit problem solving to see if results improve

Stretching

• Description: Global stretch, try to briefly go through the stretches used in previous weeks (can they remember which muscle groups each stretch goes with?)
• Notes: Dynamic, Active or Isometric stretching is ideal as it better simulates the way in which they will be using these muscle groups

Warm Up

• Description: Rock, Paper Scissors Game
• Notes: Set a 2-3 min timer. If a student wins they do 8 tuck jumps, if they lose they cat crawl/bunny hop around a designated area. Must be constantly moving, as soon as they finish they look for someone to play, if no one is available they play the coach.

Activity 1

• Description: Recap Jumps and Rolls
• Notes: Set out 3-5 stations of jumps including a bounce back, stick and plyo/stride, otherwise be creative with it. Then question the students as to what type of jump they think each station is for, start without visual cues then add them if struggling. Give groups 2-3 mins per station after.

Activity 2

• Description: Recap Vaults
• Notes: Show the students a static hold (side/back support, etc.) and get them to tell you what vault/vaults it goes with. Can also be done the other way around. Then again allow some practice time on each vault.

Activity 3

• Description: Recap Tricks
• Notes: Get everyone to talk through each trick (cartwheel, scoot, macaco). Once they've remembered they key points of each they do a couple mins of practice. Use question time to set out floor markers if necessary.

Activity 4

• Description: Recap Sequencing & Problem Solving
• Notes: Split the group into 2 teams, lay out lines of different obstacles/marked floor areas. Each team must get across but they can only have members on 2 obstacles at once, keep count of how many times they touch the floor and use that number for a forfeit at the end. Remind them of what they got previously as a target.

Cool Down/Plenary

• Description: Wind everyone down with a static stretch while we reflect on the aims & objectives
• Notes: What word beginning with M makes a big difference to our jumps? Can you remember the name of 3 different vaults?

Week 12

Aims and Objectives

• Gain confidence in simple sequences with the aim of performing one to the class
• Practice & Complete a sequence of, at least 3, more complex movements

Stretching

• Description: Global stretch, try to briefly go through the stretches used in previous weeks (can they remember which muscle groups each stretch goes with?)
• Notes: Dynamic, Active or Isometric stretching is ideal as it better simulates the way in which they will be using these muscle groups

Warm Up

• Description: Coach Led Game of Add-on
• Notes: This starts with 1 simple move being set and every participant copies this move. Then the first move is repeated and another added until a long sequence is created. With older children you can pass it on to them to set the next move.

Activity 1

• Description: Rhythm & Foot placement Exercise
• Notes: In groups of 4-5, each group needs 2-3 obstacles they can vault. They must start by taking as many steps as they want between both vaults, with other group members counting. They then try to decrease this number as low as possible and see how everyone does.

Activity 2

• Description: Intro to longer runs
• Notes: Explain some key points like the order of difficulty, not thinking too far ahead, focusing on good landings, etc.. then begin an exercise similar to add on but with a course they run, gradually adding more challenges for them.

Activity 3

• Description: Challenge Selection Exercise
• Notes: In the large area you have constructed, through activity 2, you are going to prescribe challenges but not specifically where to do them. So you may tell the students to look for 2 standing jumps, then 2 different places to vault, 2 ways to use a roll, etc..

Activity 4

• Description: Perform final run to the class
• Notes: Bring everyone back in, explain that the task is now to find 4 simple challenges of each topic we've covered (jumps, rolls, vaults, tricks) and then perform it at the end. They can add more skills if they wish but must stick to what has been covered in lessons. Coach must be very available during practice time and give global cues of combo suggestions for those struggling with ideas.

Cool Down/Plenary

• Description: Wind everyone down with a static stretch while we reflect on the aims & objectives
• Notes: What is parkour to you? What different kinds of 'feeling' can movement have? How do we manage risk & fear?