Pillow passes and makeshift skipping ropes help over 43,100 kids keep active at home

Free resources help children keep moving, access PE and develop physical literacy during COVID-19 lockdown.

Using makeshift skipping ropes and teddy bears as balls, children across the UK are not letting being stuck at home without equipment stop them from achieving their 60 active minutes a day.

In the last 14 days, more than 43,100 downloads of free resources from children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust and partner Complete PE have been made, inspiring the nation’s young people to use whatever they have in their living rooms, kitchen and bedrooms to keep moving, access PE and develop physical literacy.

It is all part of the charity’s #StayHomeStayActive campaign running throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. To date, the hashtag has been used by more than 2,800 people getting involved to share ideas and positive experiences.

Engagements have ranged from general support, to parents sharing with other parents, to videos of kids having a go at the different activities using pillows, teddy bears and whatever else they can find.

Ali Oliver, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said:

We know not everyone has access to a garden, sports equipment or ample space to move around inside their homes whilst being under lockdown. That is why we have created these free daily resources for children to use while schools are closed.

We are mission led at the Youth Sport Trust and helping those children most in need to access physical activity and activities which support physical, social and emotional development during this pandemic is top on our agenda. We are so pleased to see what this support has meant to so many who are downloading and using the resources for some quick activity boosts throughout their day.

The charity has also been working with Sport England to redeploy a workforce of more than 450 trusted and experienced leaders of school sport and physical activity programmes to provide further online activities and digital content to help children in achieving 60 active minutes a day in line with the Chief Medical Officer’s guidance.

The weekly programme led by School Games Organisers across the country includes a variety of activities such as fitness, personal challenges, online contests, problem solving games and those which support physical competence, and mindfulness.

The emphasis of the programme is on fun and wellbeing, making it easier for schools and families to navigate the brilliant range of content being made available daily by people like Joe Wicks and organisations like the Premier League and the National Governing Bodies of Sport.

For more information and to access the free resources visit www.yourschoolgames.com or www.youthsporttrust.org/free-home-learning-resources-0

You can also find the free ideas and get involved in the conversation online by following @YouthSportTrust and @YourSchoolGames.

The Youth Sport Trust wants to share expertise and help children during these testing times, but in order to do so, it needs your help too. If you are in a position to do so, please donate and support the charity at www.youthsporttrust.org/make-donation

Published on 3 April 2020