FiveApproachestoTacklingChildhoodObesityWhatcanschoolsdotoreversethetrend?WorldHealthOrganisationresearchshowsanalarmingglobalincreaseinChildhoodObesity.Obesechildrenare less likely to achievewell in school, hindering them from reaching their full potentialwhenmovingintothejobmarketinlaterlife.Theyarealsomorelikelytohavehealthproblemslaterin lifewith increased chanceofprematuredeath. The resulting risinghealthcare costs are ahugedrainontheeconomy.

“Overweightandobesityimpactonachild’squalityoflife,andposemajorhealthandeconomicconsequencesforthem,theirfamiliesandsocietiesasawhole.”

DRSANIANISHTAR,WHOCOMMISSIONCO-CHAIR

Themessageisclear;activechildrendobetter.Exercise,aswellasbeingbeneficialtophysicalhealth,improveslearningoutcomesandleadstoimprovedmentalhealth.

“Physicalactivityhasmultiple,farreachingeffectsthatlastintoadulthood.Forexample,thephysicaltraininginatypicalsoccerpracticehelpsreducetheriskfordepressionwhilethe

strengthtraininginthatsamepracticewillincreaselong-termskeletalhealth.Acommitmenttophysicalactivityisaninvestmentinthefuture

DESIGNEDTOMOVEREPORT

Schoolsareuniquelyplacedtotacklethechildhoodobesitycrisisheadonandinmanycountries,governmentsarerealisingthisandmakingfundsavailable.Ifschoolsaretohaveanimpacthowever,theyneedtoprioritisethefitnessandhealthoftheirpupils.

Hereare5approachesthatwebelievearekeytoschoolssuccessfullyshapingthefit,happyandhealthyadultsofthefuture.

1.DeliveringHighQualityPE

FantasticPEledbyknowledgeableandconfidentteachersinspirespupilstogrowaloveforsportandphysical activity.TodeliverhighqualityPE, schoolsneedconfidentandable teacherswithaccesstoqualityresources.

ResearchbytheUniversityofBedfordshireintheUKhasshownthatasmuchas32%ofprimaryschool teachers are not confident teaching PE. Over a quarter say they don’t feel adequatelyqualified to teach the program and over half wanted more professional developmentopportunities for PE. Schools must support teachers by supplying quality PE CPD where it isneededifthesefiguresaretobeimproved.

StriverwillprovidealltheresourcesaschoolneedstodeliveroutstandingPE.Schemesofworkforeveryyeargroupwillensureprogressivecoverageacrosstheschool.Clearandconciselessonplans supported by a wealth of video resources will demonstrate best practice to teachers,

fulfillingtheirCPDneed.Assessmentwillbemadeeasywithteachersmakingjudgementsagainstaselectionofkeyskillsforeachyeargroup.ThesecombinetomakeStriver’s100KeySkillswhichallpupilsshouldaimtoachievebytheendoftheirtimeatprimaryschool.

Whiletheideaofprovidingqualitylessonplanstoteachersmightseemobvious,researchbytheYouth Sport Trust in theUK shows thatmost 5-7 yearolds are getting an averageof only 102minutesofPElessonseachweek.Andofthat,mostPElessonsincludeapproximately7minutesofphysicalactivity.Striver’ssuiteofresourceswillensurethatpupilsgetthemostoutoflessontimeandschoolshavethebestpossiblefoundationstobuildarealsportingculture.

PEexpertscreateourplanningsothatitisaccessibleforall,whetherteachersarePEspecialistsornot.Theplansaimtoengageandmotivateallpupils throughhigh levelsofphysicalactivity,whatever the ability. Somany people are not active in their adult lives as a result of negativesporting experiences as a child but Striver’s planning aims to reward individual improvementfromwhateverthestartingpoint,makingeachpupilfeelempoweredastheyaresucceeding.

2.Providingopportunitiesforpupilstobeactiveandgrowaloveforphysicalactivity

Onceaschoolisconfidentthattheyaredeliveringeffectivelyinlessontime,theycanmoveontoconsidering what other opportunities they can make available to inspire a love of physicalactivity.

Children,by theirnature,arecompetitive.Anyelementofcompetitionraisesengagement.Thehighlightoftheyear formanypupils isSportsDay.Butareschoolsdoingenoughtocreatethissortofcompetitivebuzzthroughouttheyear?Itisprobablyayesforpupilswhomanagetogetontoschoolteamsbutformany,thechancetogetrewardedandreallymeasurehowtheirskillsaredevelopingcomesonlyonceayear.

Striver can provide a competitive buzz throughout the year by rewarding pupils for personalimprovementinfitnessandskills,aswellasputtingthemincompetitionwithotherhouseteams,classesandevenschools.Itgivesthehistoricallynon-sportypupilstheopportunitytofeelasenseofachievementinPElessonsforthefirsttime,withlotsofvirtualmedalsandStrivercertificatesupforgrabsbasedonpersonalimprovement.Itsuniquesoftwareallowsschoolsfromallovertheworldtocompetewithouteverleavingtheplayground.

Itisalsoagreatsolutionforkeepingpupilsactiveatbreaktimes.Oursimpleactivitiescanberunbyplayleadersandrequirelittlespaceorequipment.

Striver works to develop attitudes to learning which do not just have value in PE lessons butwhich help to develop the child as a whole. We provide a collection of assemblies aimed atdevelopingagrowthmindsetinpupilsthroughthestoriesofsportingheroesfromthepast.Eric‘the Eel’ Moussambani teaches the children about perseverance, Derek Redmond aboutdetermination, Jesse Owens about respect, David Weir about Equality and Usain Bolt aboutexcellence.Weshowpupilsthatwitheffort,comesreward.

Afterschoolclubsprovidepupilswithanotheropportunitytobeactiveandalsosamplearangeof different sports. Schools with a thriving sporting culture make sure they have a range ofactivities for pupils to choose from and also form strong linkswith clubs in the community sopupils andparents areawareofhow toget involvedwith their favourite sportsoutsideof theschoolsetting.‘Striver’afterschoolclubsareanotherwaythatourresourcescanaddvaluetoaschool.

3.Leadingbyexample

Schoolsshouldaimtocreateacultureofphysicalactivityforallbutaretheadultsalwaysleadingbyexample?

‘Getfittoliveahealthyandhappylife’.‘Youarewhatyoueat’.‘Joinasportsclubandfeelthebenefitsofbeingpartofateam’.Theseareallgreatmessagesandonesthemajorityofteachersaretellingtheirpupilsbutwhatpercentageofteachersarepractisingwhattheypreach?Howareweshowingourcommitmenttokeepingfit?Wearetryingtopersuadepupilstokeepactiveatbreak,lunchtimesandaftertheschooldayisover.Dotheyseeusdoingthat?

Here’swhatwecando:

• Alargenumberofteacherskeepinshapeanditisimportantthattheysharethislifestylechoicewiththepupilsateveryavailableopportunity,whetheritbedroppingintoconversationthattheywentforarunthepreviouseveningorthattheyaregoingtoaZumbasessionafterschool.Itisimportantthattheyhearabouthowexercisecanpositivelyaffectourlives,especiallyiftheyarenotreceivingthismessageathome.

• Asgreatashearingabouttheeffortsofadultstokeepfitcanbe,theyarenomatchforpupilshearingaboutthewonderfulexperiencesoftheirpeersatsportsclubs.Weneedtomaketimeforpupilstoinspiretheirclassmateswithstoriesofhowtheirteamcamefrombehindtosnatchamuch-neededdrawattheweekend,howtheyswaminfrontofahugecrowdattheirfirstswimminggalaorhowtheymettheirnewbestfriendwhentheybumpedheadsplayingtagrugby.Itisthesestorieswhichshowthatthereismoretoasportsclubthansimplypractisingasportanditisthesewhichwillhavepupilsgoinghomeaskingtojoininthefun.

• Someschoolstakethehealthandfitnessoftheirstaffjustasseriouslyastheirpupilsandhavewalking/runningclubsatlunchtime,manyofwhichallowpupilstojoinin.Whatafantasticwaytobringpupilsandadultsintheschooltogetherworkingtowardsacommongoal.

• Makesurestaffroomindulgencesareconfinedtothissanctuary,awayfromthegazeofimpressionablepupils.Betterstill,encouragestafftomakehealthyeatingchoicesasmuchasweareencouragingourpupils.

• WhenteachingPEtheadultsshouldalwaysaimtogetinvolvedasmuchaspossible.Strivertasksandchallengesprovidetheopportunityforteachersandparentstoactivelytakepart.Whatbettermotivationforapupiltogetpractisingthantheprospectofbeatingtheirteacheratsomething!

Acommitmenttochangeslikethesecanreallyaddtothesportingcultureataschoolandifapupilisattendingaschoolwhichreallyvaluestheimportanceofthis,thenahealthylifestylewillbeanaturalandenjoyablepathtofollow.

4.Makinglinksbetweenhomeandschool

Ofalltheapproachesdiscussedthismaybetheonewhichhashadtheleastattentiongiventoitbyschools.Ifanimpactistobemade,itisofvitalimportancethataconsistentapproachisbeingtakenathomeandatschool.

Schoolsshouldaimtokeepparentsuptodatewithwhat’sbeingcoveredinlessons,challengesgoingonintheschoolandanywidercompetitionswhichpupilscangetinvolvedin.Ascheduleof

afterschoolclubsshouldbeavailabletoparents.Someschoolsgoonestepfurtherinthisrespectandsetthemselvesthegoalofensuringthateverypupilattendsatleastonesportingafterschoolclub.

Striverwillmakethelinkbetweenschoolandhomeeasy.Pupilshavetheirownpersonallog-inandcansharetheirachievementsandvirtualmedaltallyathome.Theycanalsoshowparentsexactlywhatskillstheyarelearningthroughourvideocollection.Withaccesstothefullcollectionofactivitiesandvideosathome,parentsandpupilscangooutandpractisethesetogether.

Parentswillbeabletologinseparatelyandseehowpupilsaredoinginrelationtotheirendofyearexpectations.Theyalsohaveaccesstothefullrangeofresourcesandcanseewhatactivitiesandgamestheycoulddowiththeirchildtohelpthemmeettheendofyearexpectations.

5.Creatingalegacy

SchoolsprovidetheperfectplatformtotackleChildhoodObesityandthismessageisbeginningtoreachtheupperechelonsofgovernments.IntheUKforexample,theycontinuetosupportthisagendainschoolsthroughtheSportPremiumfunding.Whatisimportantforschoolstokeepinmind,astheyconsiderhowbesttospendavailableresources,isthelongtermeffectoftheirspend.Aretheypluggingaholetemporarilywithquickfixsolutionsoraretheycreatingalegacywhichissustainableandcanholdstrongformanyyearstocome?

Thefirststepinmakingpositivechangesinaschoolistoassessthecurrentsituation.Everyschoolshoulddoathoroughauditofwhat’scurrentlyonofferinschoolandtrytoprioritiseanygapsthatmaybecomeevident.

TherearesomanydifferentwaystoputmoneyintoPEinaschoolandschoolsmustaimtomakesurethatwhateverisintroducedaddsvalueandmakesadifferencetopupilsoverthelongterm.Itisthiselementofsustainabilitythatiskey.WhenspeakingataconferenceonfundingintheUK,ClareFowler,SeniorPolicyAdvisorwithinthePEandSportTeamoftheDfEintheUK,proposedakeyquestionforschoolstoconsiderwhenchoosinghowbesttospendtheirfunding,‘Ifthefundingwenttomorrow,whatwouldthelegacyimpactofitbe?’Itiseasyforschoolstogodownaroadofusingthemoneytohiresportscoachestoteachlessonsbutifthefundingwent,schoolswouldbebackwheretheystarted.

SchoolswhoarechoosingStriverasasolutionknowthattheincreasedmotivationandcompetitionitbringswillhelpcreateasportingethosattheirschool,avitalcomponentifthelegacyofthefundingistobefeltformanyyearstocome.Theregularstreamofnewcontentsuchasvideos,planningresourcesandblogpostsmeansthatteachersarecontinuallybeingupskilledandkeptuptodatewithbestpractice.

Withitsdepthofcontentandskilledexpertisebehindit,StrivercannotonlymakeanimmediateimpactinthePEprovisionataschoolbutalsohasthecapabilitytoensurethatthisissustained.

ConclusionOurchildrenaredependingonus–allofus;parents,teachers,HeadTeachers,governors,government,suppliers–tohelpthemgrowintohealthy,productiveadults.

Let’sjointogethertohelpthem!

Ifyouwouldlikehelpintakingtheseideasfurther… Contactustodiscussyourbespokerequirements.Suchasvideoslocalizedforyourcurriculum, languageandculture,andforyourregion’sfavoritesports.

ContactStriverMariaBrosnan–ManagingDirector

P:+44(0)2075866198

E:maria@striver-challenge.com

T:MariaBrosnan

W:www.striver-challenge.com