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Daily Physical Activity
Daily Physical Activity
Developing a whole school activity policy
Context
It is evident from research and anecdotal evidence that physical education and school sport can play an important part in increasing physical activity. However, school sport as an area of activity only caters for approximately 32% of young people of school age. The SSP is committed to trying to get 100% of children engaged in meaningful daily activity.
This will include:
- Physical Education
- School Sport
- After school (out-of-school-hours) clubs
- Active breaktimes
- Skipping, aerobic activities as part of a daily physical activity programme
Involvement with external sports / activity clubs
One outcome of the PESSCL (PE, School Sport and club links) strategy is to make children more aware of activity opportunities and instil active habits and positive attitudes to exercise and activity from a young age.
Daily Physical Activity (DPA) can be planned throughout the day and should be integrated into both classroom activities and break times where appropriate.
The DPA activities are not intended to replace physical education but provide the enjoyable habit-forming short periods of activity which will lead to a life-long passion for physical activity as a part of everyday health and well-being. You will notice from the example of a timetable that DPA sessions often occur before Literacy or Numeracy. This is to support greater attainment in these key areas through increasing pupils' concentration levels, attitudes to learning, behaviour etc. This is based on extensive research from the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in particular as well as a host of other agencies.
Schools wishing to engage with the Callington Strategy for Daily Physical Activity should aim to:
- Provide opportunities for Daily Physical Activity for all groups and all pupils.
- Provide opportunities for quality, enjoyable physical activities.
- Promote and foster a greater understanding of healthy lifestyles and the importance of exercise.
- Focus on acquisition and development of skills to increase physical literacy.
Make it part of the ethos of the school and link with other initiatives, e.g. Wake Up & Shake up, Huff and Puff, Sporting playgrounds, Wake Up to Learning (including Brain Gym®).
Creating your own DPA policy
Schools can use the following prompts to help develop their own approach to fostering Daily Physical Activity:
- Provide a variety of opportunities for all young people to be physically active.
- Provide and encourage opportunities to walk to school, when appropriate (Safer Routes Programme).
- Provide a range of exciting, suitable and stimulating equipment for all ages and abilities.
- Ensure a planned Physical Education Programme which delivers high quality lessons that develop and progress pupils physical skills and confidence that Cornwall schemes of work recommended.
- Ensure that the core strand of learning from NCPE 2000, knowledge and understanding of fitness and health is embedded within the teaching of the above curriculum.
- Create a school ethos in which exercise and physical activity is fun and an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, celebrating children's success both in school and out of normal school hours.
- Educate young people about the importance of maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle.
- Develop a health and well-being programme for the school - involving many curricular areas and varied activities. Possibly delivering: Health & Well being week.
- Ensure that physical education and DPA are enjoyable and provide variety in order to develop confidence, increase self-esteem and develop a passion for physical activity.
- Understand the beneficial effect of exercise on their own bodies.
- Develop a range of skills, control and co-ordination.
- Identify progressions to develop, refine and progress skills, control and co-ordination.
- Allows all young people to achieve success appropriate to their abilities and age.
- Create opportunities to use lunchtimes in a valuable and structured way, to give support to what is being taught in lessons (enabling, extension activities).
- Provide opportunities for staff CPD (Continued Professional Development) and resources to achieve successful delivery by all [Advice on resources is available from PDM).
- Monitor the impact and quality of the programme to ensure that it is meeting the needs and the aims and objectives of the school.
- Educate parents and encourage them to be a part of the process through activities, newsletters, etc.
- Set high expectations and challenges for all children both in terms of skill and fitness levels.
Wake up Shake Up
To find out more about how schools can use the Wake Up Shake Up programe to increase daily physical activity, please see their website, www.wakeupshakeup.com for more information.
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