Daily workouts for pupils as school pioneers obesity fight
A SCHOOL is to become the first in Britain to order fitness workouts every day.
Pupils will be required to attend extra PE classes as part of the curriculum.
Youngsters from the age of 11 will perform squats and press-ups in the pioneering scheme devised by an ex-Royal Navy instructor.
They will spend a total of three-and-a-half hours a week doing some form of physical exercise, a 75 per cent increase on the national average, and those who buy school dinners are being encouraged to choose meals with less fat, salt and additives.
The “Schools and National Anti-Obesity Program” – Snap – will be tried out for six weeks in the New Year at Ashwell Academy in Hull, East Yorkshire.
If it works, schools across the country could join in to combat an obesity epidemic in which poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are costing the NHS more than £6 billion a year.
The National Child Measurement Programme found almost a third of children aged 10 and 11 were either obese or overweight.
Children need to be more active as inactivity results in obesity and other health issues
NHS figures show that a fifth of children in the Hull area are either obese or dangerously overweight.
Ashwell headteacher Mike Birkinshaw said: “We are keen to introduce a better standard of physical education into our curriculum while being aware that our students’ health and wellbeing should also remain a priority.
“We have already introduced healthier lunch options but it isn’t enough.
“Children need to be more active as inactivity results in obesity and other health issues that can continue into adulthood.
“We feel that we have a duty of care to do all we can to safeguard our pupils against childhood obesity and believe that Snap will align perfectly with our aims.”
Former Navy fitness instructor Daniel Fallon devised the programme, effective because it can be used in everyday life rather than in just the gym.
Mr Fallon said: “There is concern about the state of PE in schools.
"However there has not been a credible and cost-effective alternative to existing curriculum guidelines.
"Snap isn’t about transforming schools into boot camps but rather a method of introducing simple and straightforward exercises into current PE lessons.”
