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Product of the month…
Help children find joy in movement
Set the foundations for children to continue a lifetime of physical activity
Gerry Sutcliffe and Mencap gain School Games concession
Ex-Olympian Dame Kelly calls for ‘cool’ PE kits
Meet the latest answer to child obesity: the Wii
Government may ban fast food near schools
Food, glorious food – and now learning how to cook it is compulsory
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Product of the month…
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| Coaching young people is an exciting way to be involved in sport, but preparing young athletes both physically and mentally to compete effectively, fairly and safely in their sport, and providing them with a positive role model can be challenging.
Coaching Youth Track and Field will assist you in meeting these challenges, and enable you to reap the rewards of coaching young athletes.
Coaching Youth Track and Field is a fantastic new book which will help you to acquire all of the fundamental skills necessary to be a successful coach.
As well as many activities specifically aimed at coaching children in the sport of track and field, there is an entire section dedicated to the principles of coaching – including coaching philosophy, communication, team management, training and sport first aid. The book also includes 73 activities and 32 age-specific coaching tips.
Coaching Youth Track & Field is the only resource available today aimed at coaches of athletes aged fourteen and under.
This book is a superb introduction to youth coaching and a reliable resource, not only for coaching the fundamentals of track and field events, but also for creating an environment to promote learning and help children enjoy their sporting experience year after year.
PRICE: £9.99
(14.99 Euros)
Read more! |
| Help children find joy in movement |
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All Active: 35 Inclusive Physical Activities, gives teachers and recreation leaders everything they need to help children practice motor skills with purpose, motivation and efficiency.
This book will help to:
- Develop balance, improve fitness and build locomotor, manipulative and other skills
- Facilitate low-cost or no-cost activities that use common equipment
- Use step-by-step instructions and teaching tips to easily implement the activities
All Active contains a collection of activities which focus on movement through searching for hidden things, collecting objects and completing tasks that change the appearance of something. Three elements which the author believes are associated with motivating students of all abilities.
Packed with new and creative ideas for facilitating games, All Active offers not just lesson plans but a framework that shows how to use equipment in fun game situations. The games in this book are developmentally appropriate for children age 5 to 12, with and without disabilities.
All Active: 35 Inclusive Physical Activities will provide teachers with practical and effective ideas to teach and practice basic motor skills, while at the same time helping children to find purpose and joy in movement!
PRICE: £11.50 (17.25 Euros)
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| Set the foundations for children to continue a lifetime of physical activity |
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Teaching the Nuts and Bolts of Physical Education, Second Edition is back and better then ever! This book and CD-ROM package presents teachers with the instructions to teach 25 basic locomotor and manipulative skills and includes 111 illustrations to demonstrate skill techniques.
Early movement success is crucial to later skill acquisition. Teaching the Nuts and Bolts of Physical Education, will show primary school teachers what to teach, how to teach it and how to have a fun and successful experience with pupils.
This new edition is a trimmed-down, spiral-bound book that has thicker pages for durability, making it perfect for using in the gym or on the field to show students how to perform skills correctly. The text also contains individual, partner and group activities to reinforce each skill, and the CD-ROM component has 335 printable pages covering the 25 skills and includes:
- The entire first edition of the original text with updates;
- Expanded skills, including volleying and two-handed overhead-passing skills; and
- Lesson plans, activities, troubleshooting charts and a wealth of additional materials.
Teaching the Nuts and Bolts of Physical Education, Second Edition will enable teachers to build a sturdy foundation for children, so they can continue a lifetime of physical activity.
PRICE: £17.00 (25.50 Euros)
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| Gerry Sutcliffe and Mencap gain School Games concession |
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More than 300,000 children with a learning disability will have the chance to compete in the UK School Games, following action by Mencap and support from Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe.
The Games, designed to replicate the feel of the Olympics and Paralympics, already include events for children with a physical disability, but those with a learning disability have been excluded until now. Mencap hopes that the changes will be in time for the 2008 Games, to be hosted by Bristol and Bath.
Mencap, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Youth Sport Trust and the Equality and Human Rights Commission were all involved in the initiative.
A campaign is now under way to allow athletes with a learning disability to compete in the Paralympics. The hope is that the current ban will be lifted in time for London 2012.
The charity’s chief executive, Jo Williams, said: “This decision has opened up sport for children of all abilities and is an important step towards promoting inclusion and equality.”
Communitycare.co.uk, 31st January 2008
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| Ex-Olympian Dame Kelly calls for ‘cool’ PE kits |
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The traditional PE kit should be replaced by “hoodies” and tracksuit bottoms, Dame Kelly Holmes, the Olympic double gold medallist, has claimed.
She said that teenage girls, who are put off sport by “uncool kit”, would be encouraged to remain more active by fashionable black and pink outfits.
The new clothes would also prevent girls from being embarrassed about their bodies, claimed the former runner, who has been speaking to children across the country in her role as a national school sports champion.
Unveiling a prototype for the ideal modern PE kit, Dame Kelly said that clothing “is the main area that needs to be tackled”.
She has been visiting schools as part of the Norwich Union GirlsActive programme, a Government initiative which aims to reverse a trend that sees 40 per cent of girls drop out of sport in their teenage years.
The Telegraph, 28th January 2008
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| Meet the latest answer to child obesity: the Wii |
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Computer games, the prime suspects when health experts try to explain why the UK’s children are the most obese in the nation’s history, have now emerged as a potential cure for overweight youngsters.
With the Government desperately trying ever more imaginative ways to improve rates of exercise and participation in sport, officials are considering encouraging schools across the country to put the new generation of “active computer games” on the curriculum, to help the most at-risk youngsters out of their sedentary lifestyles.
Child obesity rates have trebled over the past 20 years; 10 per cent of six-year-olds and 17 per cent of 15-year-olds are now considered obese. Last year, a Government report predicted that this would rise to 26 per cent of children by 2050. The report also warned of the life-threatening problems of childhood obesity and predicted a 70 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes, a 30 per cent increase in strokes and a 20 per cent increase in heart disease.
The latest attempt to tackle the problem stems from an acclaimed initiative in which Nintendo Wii consoles were used to tempt inactive pupils into “virtual PE” after years of dodging games lessons. The project, at five schools in Worcestershire, found that children queued up at lunchtimes for their chance on the Wii, which requires users to stand up and move their arms and legs to play games including tennis, baseball, bowling and golf. Heart monitoring revealed that the pupils became fitter with regular use of the consoles.
The Independent, 27th January 2008
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| Government may ban fast food near schools |
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Fast food restaurants could be banned from opening near schools as part of a more interventionist approach by the Government to tackling childhood obesity.
Ministers are concerned that many older children shun healthy school lunches for junk food, while younger pupils use “pester power” to force their parents to buy them unhealthy snacks on the way home.
Under proposals to be unveiled as part of the Government’s obesity strategy, councils have been reminded of their powers under planning rules to bar new fast food restaurants from the streets immediately around schools, parks and nurseries.
While the Government will not give a specific radius inside which takeaway outlets will be outlawed, all local authorities will be reminded of their obligation to consider the impact on the community of a new fast food restaurant.
A spokesman for the Department for the Communities and Local Government said high streets were already clogged up by takeaway outlets and burger bars. He added: “It can cause big problems for parents, teachers and local neighbourhoods when fast food joints open right outside schools to serve pupils at lunch time. We will work with Department for Health and public health directors to make sure that councils know what powers there are and are able to use them.”
The Telegraph, 21st January 2008
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| Food, glorious food – and now learning how to cook it is compulsory |
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Cooking lessons will be compulsory at secondary schools as part of the Government’s strategy to fight obesity. All 11 to 14-year-old pupils must learn how to make at least one healthy meal, ministers announced. Schools will have to introduce packed lunch guidelines, cracking down on parents who provide crisps, fizzy drinks and chocolate.
The Government wants the public to recommend dishes that should be taught in schools, although suggestions have to be healthy, easy to prepare and palatable to teenagers.
But teachers’ leaders said that the move has come too late, as many schools built or refurbished in the past 15 years have no cookery rooms. There is also a shortage of teachers qualified to take classes.
Domestic science was an integral part of the timetable until the 1980s. Children were taught how to make such staples as Victoria sponge, and proudly took home the results. Since then classes in some schools have been phased out or replaced by design-led lessons about food production.
Many cookery teachers have left the profession. The Government wants 1,000 more food technology teachers by 2011, but recruitment is difficult as they must also be able to teach other technology subjects.
Times Online, January 23rd 2008
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Product of the month…
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The alarming rise in child obesity may be levelling off according to a new report ‘Obesity trends for children aged 2-11 years and 12-19 years’ published by The National Heart Forum.
Posted by humankinetics 
Most children do not exercise enough to keep themselves healthy and prevent obesity, a government survey shows.
Posted by humankinetics 
More children enjoy sports lessons than ever before now that schools teach cheerleading, skateboarding and country dancing alongside traditional games, school inspectors have found.
Posted by humankinetics 
Ballroom dancing is set to become the latest craze in classrooms across Britain, as part of an effort to harness the success of the television show Strictly Come Dancing to combat childhood obesity.
