“30 minutes extra activity a day” policy is now being introduced in schools…

The first survey of schools in England, following up on the government’s new “30 minutes of activity a day” directive* for all pupils, shows that the policy is starting to make an impact, although some teachers who reported back suggested that they were not yet implementing the policy within lessons. it is just compulsory in England, but “has attracted considerable interest from the rest of the UK”.

When asked about the key barriers to implementing the 30 minutes of structured activity, over half of the schools that replied stated that it was a lack of time within the school day that was holding them back.

A quarter stated that a lack of teacher confidence and knowledge of how to integrate more activity into lessons was the major stumbling block.

This is particularly interesting, because a series of lessons has now been published which allow the 30 minutes a day activity criteria to be built into existing lessons in all subject areas.

In short, these lessons show exactly how all teachers can implement the new policy, in the classroom, exactly as the new directive requires.

Given that most of the teachers who responded to the survey agreed that additional exercise will not only reduce obesity among children but will also reduce mental health problems and improve academic performance, this approach could be very helpful.

You can find details of how schools are already implementing the new requirement for an extra 30 minutes a day activity for all pupils, outside of PE lessons, by visiting https://imoves.com/ and then scrolling down to our “Example lessons” section.

Or, if you would like to see a copy of the research into the implementation of the new policy, or if you would like to talk through how our approach works and how it meets all the government’s new requirements, just call us on 0114 266 1061 or email active@schools.co.uk

Ian Pickles

*This new directive is compulsory in England, but has attracted considerable interest from the rest of the UK.