Innov8 Sportz Community Interest Company

Leisure Opportunities have posted an article on their website highlighting that physical activity levels in schools are declining, with only 21 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls aged 5-15 years old meeting the recommended guidelines.

They are reporting  on the publication by Public Health England (PHE)of new guidance for educators and exercise providers on how to boost physical activity in schools.

This latest guidance from PHE follows examination of the progress made since the launch, last year, of PHE’s framework to tackle inactivity, Everybody Active, Every Day.

The new guidance aims to help schools capitalise on the links between regular exercise and academic success,  while at the same time helping to narrow the wide gap between recommended levels of activity and what is generally achieved.

 

The report highlights the physical, mental and social benefits of regular physical activity at school and evaluates various principles which can help to achieve this. The principles are ranked based on the amount of evidence to support their efficacy, with the principles of creating active environments and delivering multi-component interventions across the curriculum, school culture and wider home life, rated as being among the most effective.

According to PHE, the briefing is designed to provide an overview from the evidence about what works in schools and colleges to increase levels of physical activity among children and young people. It aims to inspire the reader through practice examples. It also highlights links to Ofsted inspection criteria and signposts to useful sources of support.

The briefing comes as wellbeing provider Nuffield Health has recently launched a pilot scheme to fund a ‘head of wellbeing’ in a UK school for children aged 11-18. The scheme sees the two-year secondment of a head of wellbeing to help develop and implement a health and wellbeing strategy at the school, with a strong focus on physical activity.

As well as being shown to help children be more confident and achieve better results at school, recent research has highlighted that forming an exercise habit in early teens can also reduce the risk of cancer in later life and help ward off diabetes. 

In the New Scientist, Teal Burrell reports on findings that “specific exercise regimes can fine-tune your mind”.

The article states that science is discovering there are numerous ways exercise makes you smart and research is uncovering specific effects related to different kinds of exercise.

For adults, aerobic exercise, such as running or cycling, is linked to improvements in memory and strengthening exercise, such as lifting weights, improves reasoning, planning, problem solving and multitasking.

Exercising in the heat and interval training have both been linked to reduction in appetite, while exercising in the cold increases it. Also, any type of even moderate exercise can help control cravings.

In children, offering an opportunity to run around will help improve their ability to focus.  A 20 minute walk, sprints or skipping have immediate effects on attention levels, reasoning, planning, problem solving and multitasking, leading to higher achievement in maths and reading tests.

Although scientists agree children should have at least 1 hour of physical exercise a day, research is showing this may be better spaced out throughout the day and advocates a “whole school approach” to fitness.

Research has also found that training for a specific sport or to improve Fundamentals will help children achieve on tests which require high levels of concentration.

Physical fitness generally, in children, can lead to lasting cognitive benefits, helping them turn thoughts into actions and switch easily between tasks.

And scientists have found just a couple of hours of activity of the type often enjoyed by children, such as climbing trees, crawling along a beam, running barefoot or any activity where the child must balance and think at the same time, has a dramatic effect on working memory.  This is the ability to hold on to information and manipulate it in our minds at the same time.  It prioritises and processes information, allowing us to ignore what is irrelevant and work with what is important.

All of the scientists agree it is never too early, nor too late, to start and that benefits are seen right into old age.  And if you are not sure which type of exercise to pick? Do something you enjoy!

Full Day (8am to 6pm) £25 per child, includes breakfast and tea

School Day (9am to 3pm) £20 per child

Half Day (9am to 1pm or 1pm to 5pm) £15 per child

Snacks will be provided. Parents only need to provide a packed lunch (for children attending for a Full or School Day). Full day bookings will be given priority.

Childcare Vouchers will be accepted.

 WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PLANNED ACTIVITIES!!

BOOKING CLOSES: Friday 13 March 2015.