It is fair to say that some of the children were a little bit shocked with their baseline results, and have since made a fantastic effort to improve their levels of activity. The enthusiasm and sustained effort the pupils have displayed has really impressed both of the year 6 teachers.

The class teachers said: “It’s great to see the children so keen to get active and taking responsibility for their own health and fitness. The programme also helps to develop the children’s ICT skills.”

On a day to day basis ‘Schools on the Move’ monitors are in charge of collecting the children’s daily steps, with monitors changing every two weeks. This was suggested by one of the pupils, who believed monitors were gaining an unfair advantage over their peers as they were being provided with an opportunity to increase their daily steps.

At the beginning of every week, children spend five minutes uploading their previous weekly steps total and discuss new targets with their SOTM talking partners. They discuss how they were successful, offering support, encouragement, feedback and motivation to maintain and increase activity levels. The pupils and the teachers love it as every week they get to chat and share ideas with someone different, and it is always fun to hear what people are doing to reach their targets.

Quotes from Pupils:

“I’ve been top of the class for two weeks in a row – I’m going for GOLD!!” said Anthony McKeown enthusiastically

“Well, it makes me generally more energetic so therefore much happier,” explained David Gordon

“I think it helps you become fitter because it really motivates you to achieve!” exclaimed Rachel Campbell.

“Schools on the Move is enjoyable because it turns exercise into fun games for everyone to do no matter what their ability,” said Jacob Marvel.