The Youth Sport Trust promotes the idea of a ‘well’ school, creating a link between being healthy and happy and effective learning.
4th January 2024
The statistics for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing can make for worrying reading, with the Guardian last year reporting record levels of mental health crises among this group, according to NHS data analysed by the charity YoungMinds.
The NHS also says that numbers of young people requiring treatment for their mental health rose by more than a third (39%) in 2023 alone.
Clearly, neither the Covid-19 pandemic, its aftermath or the cost-of-living crisis have helped. Nor has the fact that kids are spending more time online and living increasingly sedentary lives.
A wealth of research shows that being inactive leads to children becoming both unhealthy and unhappy. Additionally, they are not learning or realising their full potential. So it’s common sense to encourage physical activity from an early age, and for schools to offer pupils the chance to move and be active throughout the school day.
Ali Oliver, the Chief Executive of the Youth Sports Trust (YST), which works with schools on their PE programmes, often asks audience members to get to their feet when she gives talks, and to complete an activity which, she says, “changes the energy in the room”.
The same concept applies to classrooms and learning. Exercise boosts attention and concentration and engagement while reducing depression and giving a greater feeling of belonging to the school community.
Yet fewer than half (47%) of young people currently complete the recommended daily hour of physical activity, the guideline from the Chief Medical Officer.
The YST promotes the idea of a ‘well’ school; i.e. one which prioritises wellbeing for its staff and students and which appreciates the link between being healthy and happy and effective learning. Some 2,000 institutions now work together in the charity’s Well School movement, sharing good practice and learning. And it’s an approach parents have welcomed. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of parents said in a recent survey that pupils’ wellbeing was an important factor in deciding on a secondary school for their kids.
The three cornerstones of a ‘well’ school include strong leadership, being well prepared and well equipped.
Meanwhile, the YST also says it has a concept of three ‘bones’ – the funny bone, i.e. the notion that physical activity should be fun, the backbone, which is about developing resilience, and the wishbone, to do with building optimism and boosting mood through movement.
Speaking at the Why Sports ‘Unlocking the Potential’ conference in London last autumn, Oliver said:
“I … encourage all of us to change … physical activity … education and sport in schools. What were previously seen as ‘nice to have’ and potentially optional, could be what we need to build happier, healthier learners.”
There’s more information on the Well Schools website (www.well-schools.org).
Fresh Air Fitness is the award-winning UK supplier of outdoor gym equipment for schools. One of the cornerstones of a ‘well’ school is being properly equipped, and that’s where we come in, with a range of quality products seeing pupils through from Key Stages 1-4, including those with Special Educational Needs. We have dozens of pieces of equipment to choose from. So get in touch – and start planning your ‘well’ school for 2024.
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