Mini Athletics Exeter and Taunton

🦖 DINOSAUR WEEK IS BACK at Mini Athletics and it’s going to be ROARSOME! 🦕

Get ready for a prehistoric adventure as our Mini Athletes stomp, roar and explore their way through an action-packed 45-minute journey!

We’ll be pretending to be dinosaurs, searching for dinosaur eggs, and completing exciting challenges along the way. 🌋🥚

While the children are having fun, they’ll be developing confidence in the core fundamental movement skills that form the foundation for all future physical activity:

🏃 Running
🦘 Jumping
🎯 Throwing

This week’s adventure will also include activities designed to challenge fine motor skills as well as gross motor skills, helping little ones build coordination, control and confidence through play.

Got a Curious-Rex who would love to join our dinosaur adventure? 🦖

We have a limited number of taster sessions available in both Exeter and Taunton this week.

📍 TAUNTON – The Castle School (Saturdays)
🦕 8:55am – Teenies (walkers–2 years)
🦖 9:35am – Didees (2–3.5 years)
🦕 10:20am – Littles (3.5–5 years)

📍 EXETER – Cowick Barton Playing Fields (Sundays)
🦖 9:00am – Didees (2–3.5 years)
🦕 9:45am – Littles (3.5–5 years)
🦖 10:30am – Minis (5–7 years)

Spaces are limited, so don’t leave it until the dinosaurs go extinct! 🦕💚

KidsActivitiesTaunton

🌟 We’re Hiring! Children’s Sports Coaches 🌟

Due to the continued growth of Mini Athletics across Exeter, Taunton and the surrounding areas, we’re looking for enthusiastic, energetic individuals to join our coaching team.

Do you have experience working with children in a nursery, preschool, primary school, childcare setting, or similar? Are you passionate about helping children build confidence, develop fundamental movement skills, and discover a lifelong love of being active?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

🏃‍♀️ About the Role

You’ll be delivering our award-winning, story-led sports classes for children aged 2–7 years, helping them develop physical literacy through imaginative play, games, and athletics-based activities.

🌟 We’re looking for someone who:
✅ Has experience working with young children
✅ Is enthusiastic, energetic and reliable
✅ Loves helping children learn through play
✅ Can confidently lead groups of children and engage with parents
✅ Shares our passion for giving children positive early experiences of sport and movement

📍 Current Vacancies
We have a variety of coaching opportunities available, including:
• Friday mornings
• Saturday mornings
• Sunday mornings
• Holiday cover

🎓 Full training provided
You don’t need coaching qualifications to apply. If you have experience working with children and the right attitude, we’ll provide all the training you need.

🚗 A driving licence and access to a vehicle is required.

💚 Why Mini Athletics?
We’re experiencing exciting growth across the region, creating opportunities for passionate individuals to be part of something special. You’ll join a supportive team dedicated to helping children develop confidence, competence and enjoyment through movement.

📧 To apply, send us a message or email with a little about yourself, your experience working with children, and why you’d like to join the Mini Athletics team.

Please share with anyone who might be interested!

Yesterday I had the absolute privilege of attending the Mini Athletics Annual Conference at St Mary’s University in Twickenham — and what a day it was!

Let’s start with the speakers…

First up was Olivia Hawes, who delivered a fascinating session on physical literacy, challenging us to think deeply about how we put these principles into practice through real-life scenarios.

Next came javelin training with the one and only Goldie Sayers. Having the opportunity to learn from an Olympic medallist was truly priceless. What an incredible experience!

Later in the day, we enjoyed a brilliantly interactive session from the wonderful team at bringing together theory, play and practical ideas that are so relevant to the early years.

One of the biggest highlights of the day was also spending time with fellow Mini Athletics coaches from across the country. Sharing ideas, experiences and best practice with such passionate people was incredibly valuable and a great reminder of the strength of the Mini Athletics community.

On the drive home, I found myself reflecting on everything I’d learned. At first glance, physical literacy, technical throwing coaching and play-based learning might seem like completely separate topics. But together, they perfectly capture what Mini Athletics is all about.

Every week, we help children develop their physical literacy by building confidence, competence and a love of movement — all through fun, imaginative and engaging activities.

It’s so much more than a 45-minute class. Behind every game is research, learning, planning and purpose, all designed to give children the very best start on their movement journey.

I’m incredibly grateful for opportunities like this to continue learning and developing as a coach. We can’t wait to put some of these ideas into practice in our classes and continue growing so that every child who attends Mini Athletics benefits from the very best experience possible.

Thank you to the amazing team at for a fantastic conference, and Happy 10th Birthday too!💚

👨‍🍳 That’s a wrap (pun intended) on Chef Week in Gogo’s Kitchen! 🍝

What a fantastic week we’ve had! Our Mini Athletes served up some delicious dishes for Chef Gogo as they took part in lots of fun-filled games and adventures.

To a spectator, it might have looked like children weaving in and out of cones, tiptoeing over markers, jumping, balancing and throwing balls through hoops.

But to the children?

They were racing through Gogo’s busy kitchen, dodging hot ovens, leaping over tables, tiptoeing through a very messy pantry and serving up tasty pasta dishes to a very hungry Gogo the Gazelle! 👨‍🍳✨

And that’s the magic of imaginative play.

What looks like “just playing” is actually children developing fundamental movement skills, improving coordination, balance and agility, and building confidence with every challenge they overcome.

Children learn best when they’re having fun, and seeing that confidence grow week after week is one of the reasons Mini Athletics is such a joy to bring to so many families. 💚

Thank you to all our little chefs for another brilliant week!

Next week is shaping up to be a busy one as schools and preschools return after half term, and Gogo has another exciting adventure planned. We can’t wait to see you there! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️✨

TauntonMums ExeterMums ActiveKids MiniAthletes ImaginativePlay ConfidenceThroughMovement

👩‍🍳🍅 CHEF WEEK is here… and we’ll be back at BOTH outdoor venues this weekend causing chaos in Chef Gogo’s kitchen! 🌿☀️

Expect 45 minutes of imaginative play, energetic games and LOTS of fun — all whilst your little one is building confidence in:
🏃 Running
🦘 Jumping
🎯 Throwing
⚖️ Balancing
🤸 Coordination

Because when children are having fun, they don’t even realise how much they’re learning 💚

If your little chef would like to join us, you can book a taster via the link in bio ✨

📍WHERE WE’LL BE THIS WEEKEND:

SATURDAY — TAUNTON
📍The Castle School Sports Park
8:55 — Teenies (walkers–2 years)
9:35 — Didees (2–3.5 years)
10:20 — Littles (3.5–5 years)

SUNDAY — EXETER
📍Cowick Barton Playing Fields
9:00 — Didees (2–3.5 years)
9:45 — Littles (3.5–5 years)
10:30 — Minis (5–8 years)

Fresh air, imaginative adventures and a whole lot of movement-based fun 🧑‍🍳🥕🏃

✈️ That’s a wrap on Aeroplane Week! ☀️

We were having so much fun this weekend that I barely managed to take any photos 📸😂

From becoming aeroplanes ourselves (and with the weather, it really did feel like we were on holiday ✈️☀️), to delivering cargo and taking on all sorts of exciting challenges — it was such a joy from start to finish.

And underneath all that fun, every single mini athlete was building something bigger too 💚
✨ Growing in confidence
✨ Practising and improving their throwing skills
✨ Showing brilliant teamwork with their friends
✨ Learning through movement, play and imagination

It was such a superb weekend and I already can’t wait to do it all again next week 🏃‍♀️💨

The big question is… what will our next adventure be? 👀✨