Almost 75% of children want to be more active

Change4Life and Disney inspire pupils to get active ahead of the summer holidays

Posted by Hannah Oakman | July 18, 2016 | Health & wellbeing

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Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up with Disney is back for a third summer to encourage children to get moving ahead of the summer holidays with fun 10 minute bursts of physical activity.

The initiative from Public Health England launches as new research reveals that three quarters of children aged 5 to 11 (73%) want to do more physical activity, and 56% of children miss taking part in school PE lessons over the summer.[i]

This year there are even more interactive Shake Ups than before, including those inspired by the new Disney·Pixar film, Finding Dory, which set a box office record for an animated film when it opened in the United States in June.

Primary schools across England will receive Change4Life and Disney 10 Minute Shake Up teaching packs.

Change4Life has developed new PE lesson plans and 10 Minute Shake Up activities to help primary teachers deliver the PE curriculum for Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The activities are fun, easy and flexible enough to use in lessons and throughout the day in the classroom, hall or playground.

In school-aged children, physical activity can lead to better academic achievement, increased attention span, improved behaviour and self-confidence, as well as increased physical health. However, just 21% of boys and 16% of girls currently meet the national recommended level of activity of 60 minutes each day.[iii]  

Public Health England is an executive agency of the Department of Health and exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. For more information visit www.gov.uk/phe.