Schools keeping children active during holidays

Sports staff from Carre’s CGS Outreach service have been working with primary and secondary school pupils to maintain activity levels at home and are running a holiday club for key worker children.

Matt Evans from the team said they are encouraging children away from the TV for around 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The staff have been putting out daily challenges via their Twitter feeds.

Matt said various high profile characters are putting out videos such as Joe Wicks, Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock and Strictly stars. But his team have a nine-week plan in place for any age.

“We are getting the parents to broach the subject of isolation from their children’s friends and have awarded students for demonstrating the School Games values, recognising effort. We don’t want it to be just taken up by the sporty kids. One challenge was to make a maze and get a family member through it wearing a blindfold.”

Each day has a different theme: Manic Mondays is about speed work, Sunday is more chilled out, Tuesday is about gymnastic strength and conditioning, while Thoughtful Thursday had people in the press-up position strategising to stack a tower of objects. Matt said youngsters have been encouraged to respond by sending in their own videos.

“It is a different way of learning and takes a bit of time for people to get their head around but this could have some real benefits in terms of getting across your points and allowing children to ‘replay’ the teaching if unsure.”

Laranya Caslin, principal of St George’s Academy, said they were sharing the holiday provision with the Robert Carre Trust, including funding free school meals.

She added: “We’re trying to be a bit of an anchor for our school community in these times of great uncertainty.”