Wokingham Borough Council has announced more children will be increasing their activity levels with the return of the Active Movement scheme.
The programme is running for a third year, and brings a unique approach that has already inspired many schools in the borough by getting pupils to sit less, stand more often and move more as part of their everyday routine.
This comes after 12 schools took part in the 2022/23 programme, which saw children showing an increased desire to take up and play more sport.
Schools are still being recruited, but it is expected that at least eight schools will be benefiting from Active Movement during 2023/24.
As part of this initiative, the council has integrated other wellbeing services to work alongside Active Movement. It will join forces with two other initiatives – Modeshift STARS and the Air Quality Project – as part of the My Journey Wokingham initiative, which is a borough-wide sustainable travel campaign that aims to help and inspire pupils to go to and from school by active and sustainable travel.
Modeshift STARS is a free online planning tool that enables schools to identify opportunities for being more active when travelling to and from school. The Air Quality Project, which is funded by the Government, provides schools with resources, training and expertise to educate pupils, school staff and parents about the benefits of improving air quality.
From last Monday, children have been taking part in Active Movement’s ‘Active Journey’ campaign, which aims to reduce the amount of time spent in cars through special activities, including a walking bingo challenge.
Cllr Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services, said: “It is great to see that Active Movement is returning for another year.
“The feedback we get from participating schools is that children not only buy into the fundamental aspects of this scheme, but it also motivates them to play more sport and be more conscious of how they can move more every day.
“During the next school year, Active Movement will empower all children to add activity to their lives, not only today, but possibly for a lifetime.
“Good physical activity habits established in childhood are more likely to be continued into adulthood and this will build a happy and healthy borough for the future.”
Initiatives such as My Journey Wokingham are designed to reduce air pollution across the borough, especially outside schools when there is increased traffic for drop-offs and collections.
It also helps the council to honour its pledge to do all it can to address the climate emergency.
National figures show more than half of children fail to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily moderate physical activity. Regular exercise is not only a benefit to our physical health, but also our mental health.
Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said: “The Active Movement scheme has successfully demonstrated how easy it is to give children the right opportunities to stay active.
“We continue to make every effort possible to encourage all residents to travel sustainably and actively and the council has invested significantly in this area.
“By joining forces with Modeshift STARS and the Air Quality Project, we can increase participation and we believe this holistic approach will benefit children’s wellbeing both inside and outside school.
“I am sure children will have lots of fun taking part and hope this leads to them making long-term positive changes.”
