Schools on the Move –project
In Finland we are facing the problem which is common to all European countries: ever-increasing number of children and adolescent is not enough physically active to keep themselves healthy. This causes childhood obesity which is a cause for many health problems. Nowadays the way of life does not include as much exercise as it used to. The sufficient amount of physical activity for children and adolescent is recommended to be more than one hour per day. This can consist of several short sessions and of different kind of motion: organised sports, children's games at habitual residence, physical education at schools, physical activities during the breaks as well as walking and cycling to school.
A sufficient amount of physical activity is an important part of children’s well-being. When children get enough exercise they feel better, concentrate better and learn better. The welfare of children and the youth is an emphasis of the Turku-strategy for the years 2005-2008. In order to promote this goal, Turku is putting an effort on the Schools on the Move -project.
The Schools on the Move –project (2004-2007) is financed mainly by the city council’s special funding which is aimed at health promotion projects. Schools on the Move is a continuation for a well succeeded Motion 2000-project, which objectives have been to activate all the inhabitants of Turku – especially those still physically passive - to increase their physical activities. In these previous projects, schoolchildren and adolescent were noticed to be the most challenging group and in need for closer attention.
Objectives
The main purpose of the Schools on the Move project is to create new operations models, lines of action and operational culture in schools which help children and the youth to be more physically active. In the project, developing methods and conditions to promote more physically active way of life is seen as means to increase the well being of children and adolescent, and to help them feel more happy or at home in schools.
The most vital starting point of the project is that schools (teachers, students together with parents and surrounding community) themselves must have an active role in defining their needs and aspirations. When schools have defined their own areas of interest, the task of the project is to find the common interest areas and to provide materials, products and education to support the processes at individual schools.
Because the children participating this project are of various ages (from 7 to 19), also the interests differ greatly from each another. Some examples of the interest areas are: 1) how to increase possibilities to be more physically active during the breaks (activities and conditions of the school yard, the length of a break), 2) how to activate children and the youth to walk or cycle to school and how to make way to school more safe, 3) how to inform children, the youth and their parents about issues concerning healthy habits and the importance of physical exercise, 4) how to form "informal activity groups"? for the youth to participate by themselves in different activities, 5) how to adapt the idea of "personal training"? to schools etc.
Participants of the project
Participating schools of the project: 18 primary schools (5 400 students aged 7-12 years), 3 secondary schools and higher secondary schools (2 300 students aged 13-18 years) and three units of vocational schools (950 students aged 16-19). In addition to schools there is a wide range of co-operation between different administrational units of the city of Turku (health department, centre for sports and physical activity, facility building and maintenance, planning etc.).
The project will continue to the end of 2007. It goes hand in hand with a wide research project (University of Turku) which aim is to provide information about the health and well being of children and the youth in Turku as well as to provide information about the development process itself (models of action, how to influence on policy and decision making processes, strategies etc.).