Pupils at a school in Leeds have been celebrating the culmination of a five-week project to encourage them to be more physically active.
The ‘Skip into Summer’ initiative involved more than 35,000 children from 155 primary schools across West Yorkshire, and was led by Skipping School thanks to funding from Yorkshire Sport Foundation (YSF) and the West Yorkshire School Games. It was designed to inspire and engage children to get active and have fun, build self-esteem and confidence.
Schools were provided with resources including tutorial videos featuring activities and challenges tailored to early years, key stage one and key stage two children. On Friday (25 June), schools took part in a celebration event in whatever way suited them, with representatives from Skipping School and YSF joining pupils at Shakespeare Primary School in Leeds for a full day of skipping fun, designed to show off what they have learnt.
“Skip into Summer provided our children with an opportunity to practice resilience and show true determination, whilst encouraging a passion for being healthy and active,” said Shauna Pemberton, Leader of Sport, Health and Wellbeing at Shakespeare Primary School.
“They have loved learning the different skipping skills and celebrating their individual progress. The celebration day brought us all together as a school to showcase our skills, with the incredible Chris and Jodi, and the joy of watching some of our more reluctant children participate and feel part of something was wonderful.”
Emma Binnersley, Events and Programmes Manager at YSF commented: “Research from Sport England tells us that fewer children are active than before the pandemic, and with so many challenges facing schools we wanted to make it as straightforward as possible to provide more opportunities, in a way that was sustainable beyond the five week programme.
“I’d like to thank all the schools who have taken part over the last five weeks, as well as Skipping School for providing such a wonderful resource. The support of the School Games network has also been invaluable in getting so many children involved.”
“At Skipping School we are so passionate about the positive impact that skipping has on children’s health, fitness and overall wellbeing,” said Jodi Corcoran from Skipping School.
“It was a joy to be part of the Skip into Summer Celebration Day at Shakespeare Primary School in Leeds, and see lots of happy smiling faces and hear lots of laughter, as they shared the experience with each other celebrating their achievements.
“This school, like many others we have a long-term working relationship with, has told us of the all-round progress most of their children have made, but more than anything that it has created a very positive atmosphere in school.”