3.3y–5y12 minOutdoorActive playWith other children
No-Knees Challenge Course
A 40–60 month home ‘climbing frame’ style challenge course using safe household obstacles, where you pose playful challenge questions to help your child refine control, balance, and safe problem-solving (with a big emphasis on safety and stopping before risky jumps).
What you'll need
Essentials
- a clear space indoors or outdoors
- 3–6 cushions/blankets (for safe landings and ‘islands’)
- 2 chairs (as ‘tunnels’ to go under) OR a table edge (adult-supervised)
- masking tape or chalk (to mark a route line)
Nice to have
- a timer for a fun ‘slow challenge’ (not speed)
- a soft ball or sock ball for an add-on carry challenge
- a photo on your phone to show the course plan (optional)
Movement level: high
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- MilestoneFollows adult safety guidanceHeart· 2.5y–4y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneAdjusts to stated expectationsHeart· 2.5y–3.7y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneClimbs playground equipmentBody· 3.3y–5y· core
- MilestoneNegotiates space while movingBody· 3.3y–5y· core
- MilestoneJumps down from a raised objectBody· 3.2y–4.2y· stretch
What it practices
- Travels with confidence and skill around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Jumps off an object and lands appropriately.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Negotiates space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Pose challenging questions such as ‘Can you get all the way round the climbing frame without your knees touching it?’”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)