Home schooling and online learning mean more time sat at a screen, so teachers at West Jesmond Primary School are encouraging their pupils to take a break and get moving with a series of daily activity challenges they send out on Twitter.

The competitive challenges involve timed games and activities, where pupils are encouraged to send back photos and videos of them completing the tasks.

Set each day on the school’s Twitter page, website and learning platform, the daily challenges began when this latest, third national lockdown forced schools to close to most children. Reception class teacher Euan Stenhouse came up with the idea, posting challenges on his personal teaching Twitter account, before it became a whole-school initiative.

“We’ve had lots of positive feedback from parents,” Stenhouse told JesmondLocal. “We know the children are really missing their friends and missing being at school, so we’re encouraging them to stay happy and do something they enjoy.”

A survey by Sport England in summer 2020 found that the number of children who met the government’s guidance for an hour of activity a day fell 2.3% compared to the same period in 2019, as a result of lockdown measures. Research by the Youth Sport Trust also found that almost three quarters of children and young people say they have missed going to school or college, with the same proportion saying that they have found it hard to maintain friendships during lockdown.

The challenges have also been taken up by some of the teachers. “Pupils are more likely to get involved if they see their own teachers taking part and it’s nice to have some engagement with the children after so long,” said Stenhouse.

The school says it plans to carry on the daily challenges until the end of lockdown but is also considering making it a weekly challenge when schools return, because pupils have enjoyed it so much.

You can catch up on West Jesmond Primary School’s Physical Activity Daily Challenges here.