Motor development is the continuous process of a child gaining control over their body and movement, progressing from large, whole-body actions (gross motor, like crawling) to smaller, precise actions (fine motor, like grasping).
These are fundamental elements to child development – helping a child to explore and understand the world around them.
Health visitors play a crucial role in the early promotion of motor development and the identification of babies and children with developmental delay or signs of atypical motor development, requiring more specialist assessment and support. For some conditions like cerebral palsy and spinal muscular atrophy, the late identification of atypical development/‘red flags’ can cause unnecessary delays to treatment, with life-changing and sometimes catastrophic consequences. In line with the NMC Standards for SCPHN-HV, it is therefore important that all practitioners involved in child development assessments have the knowledge, skills and competencies to assess for early signs of atypical patterns of development.
Please use our range of resources to support your practice and CPD, including our Motor Development Toolkit:
iHV Resources
📃 Good Practice Points and Parent Tips
Developed in collaboration with topic experts, health visitors, and other professionals, our resources draw on the latest available evidence at the time of publication. Each resource is produced through a robust quality assurance process and peer reviewed to ensure accuracy, relevance, and strong alignment with health visiting practice.
Supporting Gross Motor Development in babies and children under 5 years: Part 1
Good Practice Point
Gross Motor Skills Development in babies and children under 5 years: Part 2
Good Practice Point
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – recognition, diagnosis and clinical care
Good Practice Point
🔎 iHV LEARN Programmes (free to access for iHV members):
We offer a range of e-learning and toolkits to support your practice via our learning platform iHV LEARN. Additional resources are available within courses for those who have completed the corresponding training programme.
This Toolkit has been designed by leading experts to equip health visiting practitioners in the promotion and assessment of motor development with a range of short videos and resources to support the early identification of atypical motor development/‘red flags’.
Motor Development Programme
🏷️ Cost: From £240
🕒 Duration: 5 Hours
👥 Suitable for: Health Visitors and Skill Mix
External Resources
When Should I Worry About My Baby’s Movements?
Developed by the iHV in collaboration with Healthier Together.
When Should I Worry About My Child’s Movements?
Developed by the iHV in collaboration with Healthier Together.
