South Hillingdon School Sports Network
South Hillingdon School Sports Network launch online fitness challenge
An online fitness initiative was launched recently on social media to improve the mental and physical health of Hillingdon school children during lockdown.
South Hillingdon School Sports Network (SHSSN) introduced the campaign #TeamHillingdon on Twitter yesterday, with the aim of helping school children across the borough stay active during their time at home.
The organisation is working with schools across Hillingdon to promote the initiative, with teachers sending out details of #TeamHillingdon to parents and children at home via their online portals while those children still attending in-person learning – such as those with parents who are key workers – can complete the exercises whilst at school.
School Games Organiser Becci Cooke said: “We’ve found that kids really benefit from these types of challenges. “There’s been a good reaction so far. Of course, there are lots of these kinds of initiatives out there, but I think the fact that this is local means that the community in Hillingdon has really responded to it. “We just hopefully want to make a difference, however big or small, to the wellbeing of children. The more families we get involved, the better.”
SHSSN has put together challenges that ‘Leaders’ at schools across Hillingdon can do, with the schools then posting videos of the children completing the exercises to social media. The children can then receive a bronze, silver, or gold award depending on how many repetitions of each exercise they do. Cooke said: “We find that there’s more engagement with the challenges when kids at home see other kids participating.”
SHSSN has also found that the virtual sports challenges have encouraged new demographics to join in with fitness, with Becci Cooke explaining that the #TeamHillingdon initiative has engaged kids who aren’t typically sporty. She added: “Any increase in activity amongst kids – if it will help with their physical and mental wellbeing – is a positive thing. It will always be a win.” You can find out more about #TeamHillingdon and SHSSN here.
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