Leeming Primary students get taught finer points of parkour

LEEMING Primary students have taken their love of nature play to new heights with the school recently running parkour training sessions.

Parkour is the practice of moving through an environment at speed through a combination of running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping and rolling.

Leeming Primary School principal Clive Emby approached Perth Parkour to run workshops after noticing the impressive skills some students were displaying while at play.

“As part of our school’s commitment to nature play, the school community built a play area at the front of the school with large logs for senior students to climb on,” he said.

“They have been incredibly popular and the students have used them in creative and challenging ways.

“We wanted to build on this enthusiasm and athleticism, while supporting students with the tools to do it safely.”

Middle and senior primary students demonstrating particular capability for parkour were selected for the training, which included how to tackle obstacles and jump and land in a safe way while respecting the environment.

The training was an extension of the school’s commitment to a range of nature play activities including building bush cubbies and loose parts play – playing with materials that can be changed and manipulated in multiple ways.

“Our school has a strong focus on developing digital literacy but we also believe that nature play is important for encouraging students to take risks, problem solve and play cooperatively with others,” Mr Emby said.