School children learn about physical and mental wellbeing at GOGA club
School children in Northern Ireland are learning about the importance of looking after their physical and mental health thanks to a new wellbeing club set up by Get Out Get Active (GOGA) partners Live Active NI.
Set up in line with Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) Take 5 Initiative, the club supports children and young people to look after their health and social wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The club runs for eight weeks and features a different theme each week. The themes are based on PHA’s Take 5 steps to wellbeing. They are to: connect, be active, take notice, keep learning, and give.
Niall and Rebecca, GOGA Active Recreation Officers at Live Active NI, set up the club. They worked closely with schools across Mid & East Antrim and Mid Ulster to find what the pupils would like to get involved in. They also engaged several local organisations to become club partners. GOGA wellbeing club partners include: Fresh Little Minds, Northern Health Trust, Niamh Louise Foundation, Volunteer Now, Libraries NI, Seed – Kinetic Kook, and Northern Healthy Lifestyles Partnership.
With regular partner support, the club provides weekly online content to support children in primary schools to learn about the importance of physical activity, mental health, and healthy nutrition. The programme offers children the opportunity to discover and create their own healthy sense of wellbeing through videos, worksheets, and challenges. So far, the club has supported approximately 10,000 children aged 5-11 in over 60 schools in Northern Ireland.
The teachers found the wellbeing club's activities and content very useful and easy to access:
My class were actively involved in the activities. The physical activities were helpful to keep children active and focused. We even used one of them as a warm-up before our sponsored walk and the children loved it. The mental health activities were very age appropriate which helped me as a teacher to put across important messages.
The lessons are very grab and go with little prep needed and give a really powerful message to the children at such a young age how to look after their own wellbeing.
We have definitely appreciated the GOGA club, this year particularly, helping to keep wellbeing at the forefront of children's minds during a difficult time.
Teacher
We are thrilled with how involved the partners have been throughout, they have gone above and beyond to engage the children in learning new skills. We have loved working with each partner and hope to continue the Wellbeing Club next year.
Rebecca, GOGA Active Recreation Officer at Live Active NI
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This story is part of our ongoing series showcasing how GOGA locations are finding new ways to reach some of our most inactive audiences across the UK.
About Get Out Get Active
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a programme that supports disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together. Activity Alliance is the creator and lead partner. The programme is funded by Spirit of 2012, Sport England and London Marathon Charitable Trust.