Loughborough College is offering free online PE lessons to boost lockdown health for children as part of the Daily Telegraph’s Keep Kids Active campaign.
The College will broadcast five, 60-minute PE lessons on social media aimed at getting 10-14-year-old children moving and staying active, whilst developing the learning outcomes of the national curriculum. The Telegraph campaign urges the government to ensure children’s physical fitness is supported during lockdown.
The online lessons have been designed by a qualified PE teacher so that they can be done in any home and the majority of sessions require no equipment or need for parental supervision, making them highly accessible.
The College is also offering a free Step Into Health qualification to parents which teaches nutrition, healthy lifestyles, physical activity and stress management.
, Principal and CEO at Loughborough College, said: “We have a proud sporting heritage at Loughborough College and a passion for supporting our community. By combining the two, we want to play our part in boosting the physical and mental health of young people during this lockdown.
“The Telegraph’s Keep Kids Active campaign is a fantastic initiative and a perfect platform upon which we, and other organisations around the country, can make a difference.
“To deliver maximum impact we hope to collaborate with schools and colleges across the UK who can use these lessons as part of their remote delivery and also get involved by adding their own lessons to the free resource bank. I am delighted that Ashmole Academy, North London, have already joined the campaign and will lead on week two of lessons.”
Jo added: “For parents who want to get involved they can join in the virtual classes and we also run a fantastic qualification called Step Into Health which is totally free and which gives practical and professional guidance around nutrition, healthy lifestyle, physical activity and stress management.”
Each online PE lesson will aim to cover three of the four aims of the National Curriculum for PE, develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, are physically active for sustained periods of time, lead healthy, active lives.
Adam Sills, Head of Sport at The Telegraph, said: "We are delighted and hugely grateful that world-class tuition will be turbo-charging the Daily Telegraph's Keep Kids Active Campaign from Jan 18.
“Our call on Government to urgently tackle the burden lockdown is placing on children has struck a chord with the sporting sector like few newspaper campaigns have done before. Loughborough College's plan to keep children active in line with the PE curriculum is a potential lifeline for parents during the difficult weeks ahead.”
Tim Sullivan, Headteacher at Ashmole Academy, said: "We are delighted to be an active part of this programme. Any initiative that encourages young people to stay active and engaged during these trying times needs our complete support and I am very pleased to provide the expertise available at Ashmole Academy to assist with this. The correlation between young people’s mental health and their physical health has never been more explicit and it is imperative that we do all we can right now to improve on both."
The College’s sporting alumni includes England internationals Ben Chilwell, Steph Houghton, Harvey Barnes and Jude Bellingham, along with Paralympian Ellie Simmonds and tennis star Katie Boulter.
Parents and Teachers:
Parents and teachers can access our interactive PE sessions here: https://www.loucoll.ac.uk/keep-kids-active
19+ Adults based in England:
Adults interested in improving their health and fitness can join the free 'Step into Health' programme here: https://www.stepintohealth.org.uk/what-is-step-into-health