​”Earn Your Stripes” Junior inline skating programme

​The UK Inline Skating Association piloted the Earn Your Stripes (EYS) programme in April 2015. Regular sessions are now being operated by Zebra Skate in London.

EYS takes skaters from waddling Duck level to pouncing Tiger with a couple of Zebras, Foxes and Kangaroos thrown in along the way. Participants get a free ‘Earn Your Stripes’ booklet and a sticker each time they master a new skating manoeuvre.

The teaching programme is aligned with the Department for Education’s National Curriculum for Physical Education at Key Stages 1 and 2, and supports the development of fundamental movement skills, balance, coordination and physical literacy. It complements the Youth Sport Trust’s frameworks for primary PE, and contributes towards the government’s recommendation that all primary children should be active for at least 60 minutes a day, half of which should take place during the school day.

We are grateful to Tes for the invaluable resources on their site that have helped shape this programme, and to the wider PE community whose work on physical literacy continues to inform how we teach.

Skating exercises that require strategic thinking — risk assessment, lesson planning, peer teaching — not only offer a solid foundation in skating technique, they also help progress the EYS programme from an after-school activity towards a recognised, curriculum-aligned offering during the school day, which remains a primary aim of the programme.

Today, 22.2% of children in Year 6 are living with obesity — more than double the rate in Reception. In the most deprived areas of England, that figure rises to 29.2%. Inline skating is one of the most accessible cardio activities for kids — low cost, high enjoyment, easy to do anywhere there’s tarmac.” — Department of Health & Social Care, NCMP 2024-25

The programme is available to all instructors qualified with the UK Inline Skating Association.
Check the Teacher Training page for training.