Active travel is broadly any form of getting about that involves physical exertion. From simply walking through to cycling or roller skating, it stands in contrast to travel by car, train or bus. There are numerous benefits to its wider adoption, including macro social benefits such as reduced air and…
Many primary school governors will have come across the term ‘sport premium funding’ but may be unsure as to what it is and how it could and should be spent. Given how important physical activity is to wellbeing and educational success, making the most of any available funding is incredibly…
There is a lot of pressure on school staff and pupils to fit as much as possible into a limited amount of time. So, it’s no surprise that sport, PE, and other forms of physical activity – even free play at break times – can have their time allocation squeezed.
Wellbeing has been a big concern in schools for a long time, but the events of the last year in particular have put mental health and wellbeing at the forefront in schools. Lockdown, grief, uncertainty, and changes to our way of life have all taken a toll on young people’s…
This guest blog is written by Patrick Melville, a director at TAP (Thank and Praise) – a social thanking platform enabling parents and guardians to easily and regularly show their appreciation to school staff. Patrick is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider. We all know that school…
In November 2020, we expanded our governor placement service into Wales to match skilled and committed people with vacancies on governing boards. Less than 6 months later, we’re already seeing the scope for the impact that service can have. We placed our first volunteer on a school board in Wales…
This guest blog is written by Samira Sadeghi, Head of Academies Governance at Academies Enterprise Trust. Over the past year, we have started to rethink what ‘normal’ means, particularly in education. Reflecting back on many years advising schools on exclusions, I am struck by how ‘normal’ it was for exclusions…
Over the term, we’ll be releasing more materials outlining ways in which governors can help schools intervene and improve physical activity levels for all pupils. There are, however, baseline areas of knowledge and action that they can begin to look at and get to grips with. It’s a good idea…
If there are big, and largely well-known, benefits to be gained by young people being more physically active, both in and outside of school – and there are multiple ways to achieve this – then why is it so difficult to make improvements? Governors must have a firm grasp…
What makes physical activity practice and culture in schools may appear obvious – but actually there are a variety of ways in which a school can improve, or fail to provide, when it comes to ensuring pupils and staff are encouraged to be physically active. All schools have different circumstances,…
There are a variety of reasons why physical activity levels are critical to wellbeing and why that is particularly the case in schools. Failure to adequately address the issue and proactively engage with pupils not only leads to diminished attainment whilst they are in school but results in their entering…
In this guest blog, Tim Small from Integrity Coaching outlines some questions and prompts to guide governors’ thinking and action when it comes to headteacher wellbeing. As a school governor, responsible for the strategic direction and educational and financial health of your school, how much value do you place…