TG Escapes Blog

National School Sports Week is a Good Reason to Get Outdoors

by Mark Brown | Jun 25, 2015 | Blog, Education

WARNING: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ MAY BE BAD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

FACT: The average British child watches more than 17 hours of TV a week: they also spend over 20 hours per week online.

FACT: Around 3 in 10 children aged between 2 and 15 are overweight or obese: if current trends continue, more than a half of all adults and a quarter of children will be obese by 2050.

FACT: 1 in 10 children aged between 5 and 15 have a clinically diagnosed mental health disorder: there are many more who are overlooked by the medical profession.

AND NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS

FACT: There is a solution: get our school children active and outdoors.

National School Sports Week is an annual awareness campaign organised by the Youth Sport Trust to encourage young people to be more active and to become more energetically engaged in PE and extra-curricular school sports opportunities. The Learning Escape wholeheartedly supports the event and would add that getting sporty outside will further enhance the benefits for all children, from Early Years to KS5.

Being outside, whether it be for a PE lesson or any other subject, has been shown to be hugely beneficial for a child’s physical and mental health. It enhances concentration and self-discipline; heightens reasoning and observational skills and boosts academic performance. It also improves self-perception and social and inter-personal skills, leading to greater peer bonding and a lower incidence of bullying.

We believe so passionately in the panacean effects of learning in the great outdoors, we have written two white papers about the subject and invite you to take a look. And with the forecast set fair for most of the UK for the rest of the week, we further extend the invitation to take learning outside the classroom and get those children both active and actively engaged.

About the author

Mark Brown
Consultant at TG Escapes - Mark has spent time growing up with the army, studying computing before the internet existed, and founding The London Classic Theatre Company, self sustaining for over 25 years. He trained in marketing with Unilever before moving into advertising as a strategist with Leo Burnett, Creative Director at Starcom and founder of award winning creative agency Weapon7. He has a passion for eco buildings and helps run the social enterprise Street Wisdom, providing free creative walkshops around the world.

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