Bid to save youths from inactivity

Children under the age of five are set to benefit from stimulating physical activity sessions as a result of a new qualification launched by Active IQ.

The UK’s leading awarding organisation in active leisure will be providing youths with a Level 2 certificate focused on delivering behaviour management and physical activities to children under the age of five. With childhood inactivity continually placed at the forefront of the fitness industry, it is no surprise to see yet another initiative upfront and in the eyes of all those who are said to be failing to ‘step up’ and deliver exceptional physical training for our next generation of budding sportsmen and women.

The big survey

The survey results were extracted from a survey conducted for the Big PE Conversation, where 1,800 individuals reflected on their school physical education memories.¹

Speaking about the documented survey was Professor Kathleen Armour from the University of Birmingham, who said, “Given that we are not sufficiently active, we thought it would be fascinating to ask people about their school PE experiences.”

Onto the figures and one quarter of males and one third of females said they ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ enjoyed PE. Adding to these rather worrying statistics, the not-for-profit organisation ukactive commented that 17% of premature deaths in the UK are a result of inactivity. So, can we make a change? The flurry of initiatives has included Places for People, which harnessed the popularity for Peppa Pig in its partnership with tumuv’s Move with Peppa programme. Fit for Sport has also joined forces with Saban’s emPOWER scheme, claiming to teach the values of being a Power Ranger.

Commercial director at Active IQ Jenny Patrickson said, “The issue of physical inactivity in the younger generation is a growing concern and we believe education is key in tackling this. By learning how to engage, deliver and manage activity and behaviours among young children and their families, we can truly impact on the health and well-being of future generations.”

Freedom Leisure is on board with Active IQ. Course manager at Freedom Leisure Sarah Thake offered her stamp of approval for the dynamic new Active IQ qualification. “The Active IQ course is fascinating and will be a great opportunity for staff to develop their knowledge base and add to their continued professional development. Many teenagers will be motivated to exercise with their friends and we anticipate an increased demand for teen classes across the Freedom Leisure group.”

To find out more information concerning the Active IQ qualification, visit activeiq.co.uk

Reference