Managing Director, Youth Sport Trust International
Possibilities in school physical activity quality mark programs
16 November, 11:40 – 12:05
Declining levels of physical activity by children and young people of school age is a worrying trend across Europe and indeed globally. This is having a negative impact on their health and well-being and, in the longer term, is affecting their life chances.
This session introduces the European Physical Activity Label for Schools (EUPALS) project funded by the EU Erasmus + Sport Programme. EUPALS is an ambitious project which aims to overcome the challenges presented by the fact that there are different education systems in each country in Europe and to develop a physical activity label for schools to recognise and share good practice, promote increased physical activity and to move in the same direction towards eradicating inequalities of access to adequate physical activity. The label will provide schools with the opportunity to compare and evaluate their sport and physical activity related programs and practices with other schools in other EU countries in order to be able to use fully their potential to provide space, time, professional guidance and other opportunities for students to be physically active. With the help of an objective comparison and evaluation tool, the map of physical activity in European schools could be drawn up.
Why develop a physical activity label?
- To improve quality and quantity sport and physical activity programs
- To enable schools to reflect on their provision for young people
- To increase participation of pupils in physical activity programs in European Union member states
- To benchmark their provision and progress against other schools across their country and Europe
- To identify areas for development and improvement
- To celebrate and label success.