Ready…steady…Zoom! ‘Daily Boost’ Launched

The Daily Boost aims to encourage children and young people to do 15 minutes of organised activity at school every day. It was officially launched at Brocks Hill Primary School in Oadby on Thursday 7^th June.

The launch aimed to showcase how schools can incorporate the Daily Boost in to their normal day. Making activities available before school, at lunchtime, after school, or during the school day in an 'active lesson'. With the aim to encourage children and young people to walk, run, skip, hop or jump around a set lap or loop at school. Or simply do their favourite sport or activity that gets them active – dancing, cycling, scooting, anything!

Years 1-6 at Brocks Hill got involved, with the pupils taking part in a range of activities such as multi-skills, invasion games, skipping, trim trail, active maths, gardening, dance, tennis, pilates and even Star Wars yoga!

'Zoom' the Daily Boost mascot was also introduced to the pupils, and to Faatimah Ismail from Brocks Hill, who won the mascot naming competition. GO GOLD Ambassadors and supporters of the Daily Boost, Amy Griffiths (1,500m runner) and Ben Dijkstra (triathlete) joined in on the day to celebrate the first school to implement the programme, the two athletes having a genuine interest on why it's so important to get young people involved in physical activity at an early age.

Asked about how a school can fit such activity in a typical busy day. Brocks Hill Primary School Head Teacher, Michelle Walton said: "Part of the ethos here is not only developing children specifically for fitness but also developing their mental wellbeing. It's a way of developing lots of strategies to support mental health and we see the impact on children in the school because its not just about the outcome, it's about building their confidence and resilience".

Brocks Hill pupil Aiden, was thrilled about the launch and adds how the programme will benefit his school: "The Daily Boost is essential to our wellbeing as it encourages more children to go out in the fresh air and have fun. This strategy also includes children doing exercise which promotes good health".

Geoff Maltby, Children & Young People Lead at Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport said: "The Daily Boost is just one of our initiatives, as part of our 'Active Schools' programme, to ensure that every young person in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland receives high quality physical education, school sport and physical activity opportunities for the benefit of their health and well-being.

"Our ultimate long-term aim is for every pupil in every school to engage in the Daily Boost. It's so easy to do just 15 minutes of activity every day and the long-term benefits to our children and young people's physical and mental health are huge."

Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport, alongside initial funders Leicestershire County Council are pleased to launch the Daily Boost, a programme designed to support children and young people in schools and early years settings to become more active.

The Daily Boost is free* and all schools and early years settings will receive resources and rewards and access to a bespoke website to log all activity at www.lrsport.org/dailyboost

Schools can now sign up for the Daily Boost, by registering their school to receive resources including posters, flyers and classroom wallcharts. After every 'boost' of activity the school records the participation levels on their wallchart and termly on the website for pupils to earn boost bands and certificates! The website also features a Boost Tracker so schools can monitor the number of boost activities and participation numbers undertaken over the term and school year.