Sharon Hodgson, Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West, recently visited St Mary’s RC Primary School in Jarrow to see children getting involved in a range of fun activities at one of Sainsbury’s Active Kids Holiday Clubs.
(Picture Credit: Richard Booth, NCJ Media)
On the day (Wednesday 25th July 2018), Sharon met with representatives from UKActive, Sainsbury’s and Premier Sport, who are running the clubs, to discuss their work to get more children active in a fun and engaging way.
St Mary’s is one of 25 Sainsbury’s Active Kids holiday clubs that will be delivered in schools and academic institutions across the UK over the course of the six-week summer holiday in 2018.
The holiday clubs offer children a range of activities tailored by age group, including sports, games and performing arts classes, and also provide children with a nutritious lunch and healthy snacks.
Research undertaken by ukactive and Premier Sport has found that children’s cardiovascular fitness levels drop considerably over the summer months. This study found that the lack of structured support over the summer months played a significant role in the health and well-being of children. It also found that the hardest hit were children from deprived communities, who saw their fitness levels drop by as much as 80%.
Based on these findings Sainsbury’s decided to shift their focus from providing kit and equipment to schools and into providing experiences to help kids between the ages of 5-15 years old stay active during the summer months.
During the visit, Sharon said:
“It is a pleasure to be here to see the children taking part in a wide variety of activities, and join them in the fun and games!
“Our children today are the most inactive generation ever, so I welcome any initiative that can help us get more kids moving – this is a great example of one doing just that.
“The school holidays can be a very difficult time for some families, so I’m pleased that this initiative is offering families a service that will help them, as well as encouraging their children to be fit and healthy over the school holiday.”
ENDS