Many children aren’t exercising as much as they could be. Ferrero is on a mission to inspire them to fall in love with moving
We all know that getting enough exercise is good for us, and the earlier we start, the better. The benefits of physical activity for children are irrefutable.
It’s not just about improving fitness – there are myriad gains. Research has shown that physical activity boosts children’s concentration, increases self-esteem and helps develop posture and balance.
On the other hand, inactive children are likely to become inactive adults – and in the UK right now, a worrying number of children are not getting the recommended levels of exercise. Only 44.6 per cent of children and young people met the chief medical officer guidelines of taking part in sport and physical activity for an average of 60 minutes or more a day in the 2020-21 academic year, according to Sport England.
Against this backdrop, the Ferrero Corporate Social Responsibility project Joy of moving is stepping in to help make a difference to children’s lives. Inspired by play and underpinned by expert-led methodology, the Joy of moving is a unique unbranded programme that’s designed to encourage active lifestyles in children. It offers a fresh perspective on what it means to be active, using games and fun activities to spark enjoyment and engagement.
Diego Latora, a Joy of moving global trainer, says: “At Ferrero we believe that, in line with our nutritional principles, inspiring an active approach to life at an early age helps children to develop lifelong habits into adulthood.
“The Joy of moving programme encourages children to explore and discover alternative ways to play, ultimately inspiring them to get active using a fun approach. Not only do they learn about the importance of physical activity but they also develop key skills through playing the unique Joy of moving games, which may require them to set new goals for themselves – skills that are transferable to other daily contexts. The basic requirement, though, is fun and play in a joyful way.”
Grounded in scientific research, the programme’s unique play-based methodology aims to enhance four key pillars: children’s physical fitness, cognitive functions, motor co-ordination, and life skills, which cover emotional and social growth. It was first created by Dr Caterina Pesce and her team at the University of Rome “Foro Italico”.
For Pesce, bringing her scientific research under the corporate umbrella of Ferrero gave it “strong legs” with which to move forward. She says, “Everyone working on Joy of moving is truly passionate about what the programme represents, whether it is feeling empowered to share their expertise in the methodology by training coaches in the wider network, or the satisfaction of seeing the benefits the programme brings out in children.”
A former PE teacher, Pesce worked with Ferrero on the launch of the Joy of moving ten years ago in Italy. “The methodology can be represented by a gyroscope,” she explains. “The core is physical activity, and the gyroscope expands outwards to cover the four key pillars.” This model represents the interrelated nature of the pillars, and the holistic development that a child benefits from as a result.
“The physical fitness pillar is closest to the core, because when you move, you strengthen the muscles,” Pesce says. “But the way you move is important – if we carry out repetitive actions, we don’t challenge the brain to co-ordinate movement as much, whereas if we incorporate variations, we are actually challenging the brain to co-ordinate movement in different ways.”
Getting active is the miracle ingredient at all stages of life,
and the earlier you start the better
By challenging children to move in ways that require co-ordination and by inspiring them to play games that offer variations, the Joy of moving programme targets key skills in an interconnected manner. The children are also empowered to freely explore game variations, adapted on the go by trainers, so that no two sessions look the same. The Joy of moving’s methodology is central to the programme’s simplicity in practice.
In the UK, Ferrero works with long-term charity partner the English Football League Trust and its network of Club Community Organisations (CCOs) to develop and deliver the programme.
“Getting active is the miracle ingredient at all stages of life,” says Adrian Bradley, above, head of health and wellbeing at the EFL Trust. “And the earlier you start the better.”
So what is stopping kids getting active? PE is often getting squeezed on primary school timetables – due in part to it not being a “core” curriculum subject – and physical activity is competing for attention against rival leisure pursuits.
Adding to these pressures, though, is that school sport is just not that enjoyable for a lot of children. Bradley explains, “By year 5, habits have formed in a lot of instances, and unfortunately an awful lot of children have already passed their verdict on sport and, more broadly, physical activity: ‘I don’t think sport is for me, I don’t get picked for the team, I don’t like the ultra-competitiveness of some people I come across.’ The data tells us that many children have already ‘retired’ from sport by this age.”
Ferrero’s Joy of moving programme aims to counter this with its unbranded in-school Joy of moving Move & Learn project, which sees coaches from the EFL Trust and the Scottish Professional Football League Trust networks teach year 5 children physical activities through the medium of play, alongside sessions around nutrition and hydration over a six-week period.
“It’s not a PE lesson to be done out on the field, it is a series of very adaptable ideas, which can be used in different settings in a school,” says Bradley. “The games don’t require huge amounts of planning and space – those things are barriers to being active.”
In addition to the Joy of moving Move & Learn project, Ferrero, working with the EFL Trust and SPFL Trust’s network of CCOs, delivers one-day or half-day events called Joy of moving Festivals, which are similar to sports days, in the summer term for all primary school age groups.
The long-term charity partnership with the EFL Trust and the SPFL Trust has enabled Ferrero to supercharge the accessibility of the programme to many schools around the country. The EFL Trust operates in England and Wales – and helps the Irish FA to deliver Joy of moving in Northern Ireland. The SPFL Trust delivers the programme in Scotland.
Since Ferrero launched Joy of moving in the UK, the results have been astonishing. The programme has reached more than 450,000 children across the country, and delivered over two million hours of additional learning in schools.
“The programme quickly spread in size and this year we will be face to face with children in at least 750 primary schools,” says Bradley. “We have been working with Ferrero for nine years now and the partnership is built on shared values. I believe that is what makes it so successful and so long lasting.”
Ferrero also recognised the need to support families outside of school time and launched the Joy of moving Resource Hub, which hosts a wealth of free digital games that can be accessed from home.
There are few things more delightful than witnessing a child’s joy – to achieve that magic while also bringing out their potential and encouraging the development of their fitness is a winning formula that will keep the Joy of moving active for a long time to come.
Positive moves: the programme is about discovering the joy
of getting active
Photography: Brunel Johnson
Skills
for life
Being active doesn’t have to be about competition, says Katie Johnson, school sport manager at Burton Albion Community Trust and a Joy of moving super trainer
Children respond really well to the Joy of moving coaches from the EFL Trust network. We work across loads of schools in Staffordshire and the children really relate to the football club name.
I find it rewarding to train the coaches in the Joy of moving methodology. And I notice when the methodology clicks with them – yes, the games are fun, but actually the extra things around life skills and creativity require the coaches to steer and facilitate those games so that children work
co-operatively with their peers.
The six-week programme is delivered in one-and-a-half-hour sessions. Each week includes theory and practical elements based around physical activity, diet, hydration and living an active life. In the last week, the children summarise their learning by writing a letter to their future self, asking: how are you? Are you still following the Joy of moving approach? It is always great to see the passion the children have to keep active in the future after being inspired by the programme.
As a club, we deliver this to more than 1,600 children a year, and we reach more again via the online Joy of moving Resource Hub. I particularly enjoy reaching those children who quite like sport but who aren’t that competitive. They find they can pick up the games and play them anywhere – during playtime or with their families. And that is what really makes the difference. The Joy of moving is not just about lessons, it is about their whole lives – being active but having fun.
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For more information visit ferrero.co.uk
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