Carnforth kids get on the move

Pupils from Our Lady of Lourdes Primary take part in a one mile run for a keep fit health project organised by health professionals

Various possibilities were looked at, and a plan was formed to help everyone in the community become fitter.

Let’s Get Moving launched this week, which for some schools – staff and pupils – will mean running a mile a day in school while for others it will be skipping, jumping or walking.

A similar initiative was carried out in Stirling, Scotland, on a much smaller scale with only one school taking part.

The Stirling project, however, still managed to report that there are no children struggling to maintain a healthy weight and higher attainment for boys, in particular, when it comes to work.

Other studies have shown how important it is for girls and young women to be healthy, especially when it comes to thinking of having a family of their own some day.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Carnforth and Archbishop Hutton Primary School in Warton launched the project for their pupils, with other local schools following suit after the Easter break.

This will then become a part of the daily routine in the school day, no matter what the weather.

Elizabeth Kendall, head at Our Lady of Lourdes, said: “We also want to encourage the children to find out more about how their own bodies work and the affect exercise can have on it by getting them to measure their own height and weight at intervals during this initiative.

“This is so that they can chart their own progress and challenge themselves to find out more about what it means to be healthy.

“We will use this information along with a simple well-being questionnaire which we will ask them all to complete together with the teachers records of each child’s predicted level of attainment (this is already done routinely), to enable us to see how much they have achieved.”

Michelle Gaydon, head at Archbishop Hutton Primary School, said: “We hope that this initiative continues to make a difference for every child, young person and teacher, long into the future.”

Dr Andy Knox, lead GP for Health and Wellbeing at Better Care Together, Morecambe Bay, added: “Let’s all be determined to run together and make Carnforth one of the healthiest places in the country!”