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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
School headmaster hails the importance of sport for children
By Laura Howard, Sportsbeat A headmaster from Sunderland emphasised the importance of activity for children after his school launched the Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week on Monday. Iain Williamson has embedded a culture of activity at Dame Dorothy Primary School and celebration was in full swing as pupils at the school got involved in a range of sports to kick off the week. Advertisement The Youth Sport Trust's annual campaign promotes the importance of daily physical activity by encouraging schools, families, and communities to engage in 60 minutes of PE, sport, and play and there was no better place to witness its impact than Dame Dorothy where activity is at the core of their ethos. 'We think activity is absolutely imperative. It's what we do all the time. Just because it's the National School Sports Week this week, it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in other weeks. It should be happening all the time,' said Williamson. 'It's wonderful to see today. We pride ourselves at Dame Dorothy on being a very active school. We wear active uniform, and we have daily activities from breakfast club right the way through the school day. 'Because that's what children should be. Children should be active.' Advertisement The Sunderland primary school were donning their 'Always Active uniform' which removes barriers to participation in activity throughout the school day. It means children feel comfortable to move and do not have to have the discomfort of getting changed with their peers so teachers can utilise activity when they feel it is needed. 'We realised that we wanted our children to be active all the time. We looked at some of the barriers like inappropriate footwear, the uniform didn't lend itself to being active as well,' explained Williamson. 'By 2024, we launched our active uniform, which has reduced the number of children who miss out on PE sessions because you can dress for PE, you can dress for activity and there's no reason why you can't take part. Advertisement 'You can see children are more attentive. It allows teachers to take the children outside, have a quick run around the field for five minutes so they can refocus for the next lesson.' The pupils put their active uniform to good use on Monday as they took part in a day full of activity. There were Girls Active sessions where older pupils delivered coaching and encouragement to the younger years followed by PE sessions using National School Sports Week resources. The children also received a visit and the opportunity for a Q&A with world Thai boxing champion, British boxing champion and Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentor Rachael Mackenzie. Advertisement It is activity and awareness that is needed more than ever in young people with less than a third of teachers and parents currently aware that children and young people should be active for 60 minutes a day. 'It's never been more important than it is now. In schools we have got to show them that being active is not just good for their physical health but it's really important for their mental health and their well-being too,' added Williamson. 'There is a national obesity crisis. Many of the children, certainly in the city of Sunderland, are what's described as being overweight or obese. That trend is rising, and we need to do something to address that.' National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Rachael Mackenzie launches Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week
British boxing champion Rachael Mackenzie highlighted the transformational power of sport as she helped to launch the Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week on Monday. The Thai boxing world champion was attending a day full of activity at Dame Dorothy Primary School in Sunderland as part of the campaign promoting the importance of daily physical activity by encouraging schools, families, and communities to engage in 60 minutes of PE, sport, and play. Advertisement Mackenzie took part in a Q&A with pupils and got stuck into activities, including hockey sessions led by the pupils, knowing firsthand the power sport has to positively impact lives. 'Sport for me as an individual was transformational. I was a fairly inactive teenager, and I found my sport of Thai boxing at 18 years of age having come through some really significant mental health problems,' she explained. 'It was actually finding sport and learning to thrive in that environment that taught me how to manage my own mental health because sport's a great place for children to learn to fail but also to learn their strengths. 'Personally, it was sport that gave me that robustness and resilience to be able to cope with life really and to cope with everything that life throws at you.' Advertisement Now, Mackenzie is passing on that impact of sport as a Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentor with the need for the awareness of the positive impact of sport greater than ever. Research shows that less than a third of teachers and parents are currently aware that children and young people should be active for 60 minutes a day. 'It's really important for kids to remain active over the course of the day because it's one of the foundations of normal brain development,' said Mackenzie. 'Active children have happier, healthier, bigger brains, brains that are primed for learning. We see in brain imaging but also in results for young people that those children who are active outperform those inactive young people. Advertisement 'So young people who meet those recommended daily 60 minutes actually perform better academically. We see that those children are more productive and, most importantly for me, those children are happier.' Dame Dorothy Primary School are setting the standard for schools looking to incorporate more movement into their school day with an 'always active uniform' that allows children to move freely throughout the day and a perimeter path for children to go on runs at school. 'It's a real joy to be here at Dame Dorothy for the start of National School Sports Week,' added Mackenzie. 'The opportunities for the children here are absolutely outstanding but what I have loved more than anything is the energy and the enthusiasm of the young people themselves.' National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
National School Sports Week kicks off in style
By Laura Howard Pupils at a primary school in Sunderland showed the impact of an active uniform as the Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week kicked off in style in Sunderland on Monday. Dame Dorothy Primary School wore their active uniforms to get involved in a range of activities as they launched the campaign promoting daily physical activity by encouraging schools, families, and communities to engage in 60 minutes of PE, sport, and play. Advertisement The school hosted a Girls Active session where pupils took on leadership roles to coach the younger years in sports including badminton and hockey, while British boxing champion Rachael Mackenzie was also in attendance to deliver a Q&A. 'It's a real joy to be here at Dame Dorothy for the start of National School Sports Week,' she said. 'The opportunities for the children here are absolutely outstanding but what I have loved more than anything is the energy and the enthusiasm of the young people themselves. 'The way that they have taken the model of sport and physical activity and become leaders is brilliant. It's those young people leading themselves that will truly transform the world.' Advertisement In a sport-packed morning pupils also enjoyed PE lessons using National School Sports Week resources and Year Six took a trip off-campus to participate in paddle boarding at the local marina. It represented the perfect start to a week aimed at raising awareness of the importance of activity for children across the country. The demand for such a campaign is greater than ever as research has shown that less than a third of teachers and parents are currently aware that children and young people should be active for 60 minutes a day. It means that fewer than half (47%) of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officers' guidelines of reaching that target goal of activity a day. Advertisement 'It's so important that when children are at school, they're encouraged to be always active, not just in physical education, not just in after school sport, but at break times, in between lessons,' said Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver MBE. 'One of the things we see here at Dame Dorothy Primary School is that the children come out every day and they do some laps of the playground at a time when the classroom teacher thinks they are getting a bit restless, and they need to refocus. 'That is really important, not just for their health and wellbeing, but for their concentration and their engagement in learning.' The Sunderland primary school presented the perfect setting to launch National School Sports Week having adopted an active uniform in 2024. Advertisement The Youth Sport Trust are calling on all schools to adopt an 'Always Active uniform' for National School Sports Week to enable pupils to feel comfier and get active at school. '[The active uniform] has reduced the number of children who miss out on PE sessions because you can dress for activity and there's no reason why you can't take part,' said Dame Dorothy headteacher Iain Williamson. 'You can see children are more attentive. The fact that we have an active uniform allows teachers to take the children outside for a quick run around the field for five minutes to make them refocus for the next lesson. 'Even during PE lessons, where you might spend 10 to 15 minutes, getting changed for PE and getting changed back at the end of the session. The whole session now is just available to be active. Advertisement 'It also sends out the statement that this is what we are an active school. It is part of our identity and we are immensely proud of it. It has been a real success.' Activities will continue throughout the week, culminating on Friday with Sports Star Friday as schools come dressed as their favourite sports star as a celebration of sport, movement, and the athletes that inspire us. '[The Youth Sport Trust] have a wonderful vision, which is a future where every child enjoys the life-changing benefits of PE and sport,' added Oliver. 'The whole campaign is about shining a light on why it's, so important children are active every day, not just for their health and wellbeing, but for their engagement in their learning and their overall happiness.' National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ali Oliver highlights importance of keeping children active
National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. By Laura Howard Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver MBE hopes to create awareness of the need for children to be active as she helped to launch National School Sports Week on Monday. Oliver was at Dame Dorothy Primary School in Sunderland for a day packed with sport and activity as they kicked off the campaign which promotes the importance of daily physical activity by encouraging schools, families, and communities to engage in 60 minutes of PE, sport, and play. Advertisement Pupils were involved in a Girls Active session where leaders from the student body taught sessions to younger years and PE classes using National School Sports Week resources. It marked the start of a week dedicated to bringing attention to the need for children to spend 60 minutes active each day. 'National School Sports Week is an opportunity to shine a light on why it's important children are active and get those important messages across about not just physical health, but social wellbeing in the digital age,' said Oliver. 'Playing together physically is really important for the cognitive benefits, because sadly lots of adults will judge physical education on their own experiences. Advertisement 'Today's generation is a much more sedentary generation, and it's really important that the school day compensates for some of the time that young people are more sedentary in the rest of their lives.' The annual campaign highlights and aims to change worrying statistics that indicate children are less active than ever. Research shows that fewer than half (47%) of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officers' guidelines of engaging in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity daily. In Sunderland, where the week was launched 25% of children in reception are overweight or obese - and over 40% by Year 6. Advertisement But the Youth Sport Trust are on a mission to change the direction of travel and transform the lives of young people through sport. '[We want] to equip educators and empower young people so together they can create brighter futures through the power of play and sport,' explained Oliver. 'We have a wonderful vision, which is a future where every child enjoys the life-changing benefits of PE and sport. 'We also deliver a number of products and services which schools can use to help them think more creatively, whether it's about how they use their playground, or how they make their maths lessons more active.' National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Gossip: Sunderland keen on Lyon's Caleta-Car
Sunderland are keen on signing former Southampton defender Duje Caleta-Car from Lyon. The 28-year-old Croatia international played 13 times in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. (Newcastle Chronicle), externalWant more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip columnFollow the gossip column on BBC Sport
