The project will examine the area of fitness, wellbeing and mental health in education, moreover, it will challenge participants and stakeholders to examine how we approach the ever more challenging area of holistic well being. Research has shown, and many reports have been published, NHS, Guardian Education, Times Education and Primary Times of the increasing crisis in childhood mental health and obesity. This is inaddition to the statistics published by Aladino in Spain and the Tukish Ministry of Health. The 8 schools that are in the project have a range of skills that lead to an excellent, cohesive project. They have a varied background in working with international projects and with some, a range of histories where the lead teachers and schools have worked together successfully on a range of projects previously. These skills have led to a good liaison prior and through the application, meeting regularly to update, share and improve the input and outcomes of the project. Within the project, there are schools from a variety of backgrounds; rural-suburban-urban; socio-economic; religious and cultural- Catholic, Muslim, Non-Denominational, Church of England and Humanist. This would lead to a wide range of skills, knowledge and approaches which would enhance the flavour of the project. The project will, through a range of approaches, and with the support of Worcester University Sports Science department, baseline the fitness and activity levels of pupils in the project. From this, using a range of regular monitoring and activities, it will work toward increasing the physical activity of participants. In addition to this, baseline assessments will be conducted to assess how children's knowledge of mindfulness, yoga and relaxation techniques. They will, along with staff, participate in training and sessions designed to teach individuals methods in which they can control their emotions and manage situations in which they may feel emotionally and mentally. From this, the children will be able to access methods that they can recall and implement or identify opportunities where they could utilise their knowledge. As a result, the children and staff will become more capable of handling stressful situations. Thus, giving pupils the skills to move forward through their teenage and adult years and staff to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life. Through the variety of activities that have been arranged and designed, the maximum number of participants have been catered for, no matter what their economic, academic, social, religious or cultural backgrounds. Across the consortium of schools, the project will aim to meet the needs of almost 4000 pupils. In addition to this over 200 staff will benefit from the instruction and benefits of the project. Through the project, the children will be able to identify where there food comes from and the societal pressures that individuals have upon them when it comes to dietary choices. Through the identification of these, and the sharing of them with parents and stakeholders, they will be able to make a positive impact on the balance within their choices made. They will be able to develop their language skills and apply their knowledge of technology to disseminate their knowledge and ideas on how they have embedded their understanding of the areas covered. By using a variety of approaches, the children will have the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways and therefore encourage the maximum amount of participation no matter of their ability. Also, the inclusion of mobilities for the project allows the opportunities for children and staff to benefit from witnessing first hand how other schools, communities and societies live. They will have the cooperate and work together on projects and communicate first hand on a variety of projects that encompass a range of teaching and learning styles. We aim to de-stigmatise mental issues and provide the opportunities and experiences for all our young people to have happy and healthy lifestyles and provide them with the tools to achive this. The conclusion of the project will result in a range of findings that can be shared on a variety of platforms: through the school, higher education establishments and via the EST portal. Ultimately, the outcomes envisaged will contribute to healthier and more balanced individuals. they will be more able, moving forward, to make choices that are in their own, their families and societies interest, allowing for a longer, healthier happier and more productive life.
The project examined the area of fitness, wellbeing and mental health in education, moreover, it challenged participants and stakeholders to examine how we approach the ever more challenging area of holistic well being. Research showed, and many reports had been published, NHS, Guardian Education, Times Education and Primary Times of the increasing crisis in childhood mental health and obesity. This was in addition to the statistics published by Aladino in Spain and the Tukish Ministry of Health. They had a varied background in working with international projects and with some, a range of histories where the lead teachers and schools had worked together successfully on a range of projects previously. These skills led to a good liaison prior and through the application, meeting regularly to update, share and improve the input and outcomes of the project. Within the project, there were schools from a variety of backgrounds; rural-suburban-urban; socio-economic; religious and cultural- Catholic, Muslim, Non-Denominational, Church of England and Humanist. This led to a wide range of skills, knowledge and approaches which enhanced the flavour of the project.Everyone involved took as many children as possible to the meetings TPM and LTTA to gain as much impact and experience as possible. Liaison between schools endures with schools continuing to keep in contact and host children families maintaining relationships post project. 100% of children enjoyed the experience of visiting a partner school and, although some found it challenging, they were 100% pleased that they had participated.Upon their return, they fed back to school communities. The project used a range of regular monitoring and activities to assess the progress and, it worked toward increasing the physical activity of participants. Outcome surveys were used to assess how children's knowledge of mindfulness, yoga and relaxation techniques was understood. They, along with staff, participated in training and sessions designed to teach individuals methods in which they could control their emotions and manage situations in which they may feel emotionally and mentally stressed.83.5% enjoyed the activity, 83.5% felt better afterwards and 78% of children could recall some of the benefits at a later point. Through the variety of activities that have been arranged and designed, the maximum number of participants were catered for, no matter what their economic, academic, social, religious or cultural backgrounds. Across the consortium of schools, the project aimed to meet the needs of almost 4000 pupils. In addition to this over 200 staff will benefit from the instruction and benefits of the project. The children when surveyed, 84% stated that they were more aware of their sleep and activity levels and 78% stated they enjoyed taking part and could compare their levels to the averages. Through the project, the children were able to identify where their food came from and the societal pressures that individuals have upon them when it comes to dietary choices. Through the identification of these, and the sharing of them with parents and stakeholders, they were, and are, able to make a more positive impact on the balance within their choices made. They were able to develop their language skills and apply their knowledge of technology to disseminate their knowledge and ideas on how they have embedded their understanding of the areas covered. Over the course of the project, we completed many units of work that complemented the overall outcomes as outlined in our original application. The conclusion of the project resulted in a range of findings that were shared on a variety of platforms: through the school, media and via the PRP portal.