We're always being told that children don't exercise enough. But are things really that bad? As the weather improves and the days lengthen, there are plenty of opportunities for getting out and about and your child's school will be keen to help.
Tim is an educationalist with both primary and secondary teaching experience. This is his first post as an education expert for Ready for Ten.
Reports suggest that children these days miss out on opportunities for regular exercise. Many rarely walk to school, for example, and children's leisure activities often involve passively sitting in front of the TV or playing electronic games. But establishing habits of regular exercise is something best done at a young age and schools, government departments and local authorities have combined to establish a variety of initiatives to make it easier for our children to be more active.
Your child's school should be aiming to increase levels of physical activity among pupils in a variety of ways. In the curriculum, there's Physical Education (P.E.) and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) both of which form a compulsory part of the Key Stage Two learning programme. There's also the Healthy Schools Initiative, a joint Education and Health Department scheme designed to make the most of every opportunity in school to encourage healthy lifestyles.
In 1971 over 80% of school children walked to school each day. Of course, a lot has changed since then and many local schools have closed which means longer home-school journeys. But many more than the current 10% of pupils who walk to school regularly could do so safely on occasion.
Since 2003 the Travelling to School Initiative, run jointly by the DCFS and the Department for Transport, has sought to encourage parents and pupils to consider healthier ways to do the school run. The scheme requires all schools to draw up a Travel Plan and if you aren't aware of it, ask your child's school for a copy. It should contain some good advice, and might even provide an idea or two you hadn't previously thought of.
Of course, schools can't do it all and since December 2008 the government has backed an investment of £235 million in new playgrounds and support for play in communities. Playing outside, unsupervised -- which everybody once did -- not only encourages exercise, it helps develop a range of lifeskills and foster a child's growing awareness of risk.
And this is the best time of year to consider gently increasing the amount of physical activity your children get.
Diary dates and further resources:
Walk to School Week 17-21 May 2010
Directgov's Schools, Learning and Development resources
About our education expert: Tim has over twenty years teaching experience. He was Assistant Headteacher at Boston Grammar School, Lincolnshire until 2008 and is now an educational consultant and the author of several school textbooks.
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mum
22 April, 2010
Hi Tim, Excellent post. I'm sure the Scottish Government has similar initiative that I will attempt to track down when I get a mo.
mum
22 April, 2010
Welcome to the team, Tim! My daughter loves exercising (possibly more than me!) and we have a park near us where we have started visiting most evenings if the weather is good. I walk to school to collect her every day and we get the school bus back. It takes me about 30 minutes. At the moment it is too far away for her to walk. It would take her about an hour to walk there. A think the walk to school initiative works best for schools with small catchment areas. For example, when IJ moves to secondary school, some of the pupils will be travelling about 18 miles each day. At the moment IJ's school is about 4 miles away but at least we get the school bus home together which has to be better than using the car.
22 April, 2010
With regards to children walking to school I know at my children's school a lot of children are dropped off by car as their parents are rushing to work and don't have time to walk to and from school prior to the journey to work - it's sad but necessary :( - Our school does run 'walk to school' weeks regularly and rewards the children who take part with stickers and entering them into a prize draw to win skipping ropes and footballs.
22 April, 2010
There is no lack of excercise here. My son is on the go from the second he opens his eyes, we have to bargain with him to prevent him being out on the trampoline at 7am. Park, running, football, bike, scooter, trampoline the list is endless.
admin
22 April, 2010
Welcome Tim! My son seems to have boundless energy at the moment and he isn't old enough for school just yet but a horrible realisation has just dawned on me - we moved recently.. to the top of a really steep hill. I'm going to have to walk up it twice a day when he starts school! But at least he'll be fit and healthy that's the main thing - and it looks like I'll get there too then.. Guess it's a bonus.. (?!) Great post :)
Sue
Ready For Ten team
mum
23 April, 2010
Hi Tim! My 9yo currently misses her one and only stab at a PE lesson because that's when she has her flute lesson. Not sure what to do about it but I do think, sometimes, schools can do a bit more.
There is so much that could be done by local authorities too - play areas in safe, easy to get to locations, compulsory 20mph speed limits in built-up areas, play equipment that fuel the imagination and encourage play...
23 April, 2010
Thanks Ellen, and yes - very similar initiatives exist in Scotland and Wales (as I should have made clear).
There's no doubt Wendy that - for many - being driven to school is essential for all sorts of reasons. But parents rushing to work themselves could consider dropping older children off a short distance from the school gates... something which might also ease the school-gate congestion!
Thanks for your words of welcome Rosie! You're very lucky to have a park on hand: that must make getting outside much easier and is just the kind of thing to do when - as you describe - things like walking to school are a problem.
That makes me tired just thinking about it dmbell! But seriously, most children love to be active (as you know!) and finding something enjoyable for them to do to burn off all that energy can be a real parental pleasure.
You said it Sue! The school-run can be a useful source of exercise for parents too! I know it was for me: my daughter had a trailer bike attached to mine for years before cycling on her own.
Schools are under so much pressure to implement the never-ending stream of new initiatives it can be difficult, sometimes, to fit everything in. But you're right: there is a responsibility to make sure the opportunities exist for all children, and both the local authority and individual schools have both the responsibility and the funding for it.