Bradford’s National Lottery-funded Sport England pilot, JU:MP (Join Us: Move. Play) has launched a new resource to support families with young children.
The pilot will help its audience to move, play and stay active while in lockdown - amid the continuing outbreak of COVID-19.
More than 50,000 activity calendars are to be delivered in April, to houses in the inner North Bradford area where JU:MP operates, with more being distributed to families on low incomes across Bradford through community hubs and local charities.
JU:MP partners have come together to design the calendar that lists 30 short, playful games that will help children move and play every day.
The fun activities have been tested with children and do not require a lot of space or specialist equipment.
Family members with varying ability levels can join in. The games are also available online for everyone to access.
More activities will be added weekly for as long as lockdown continues. JU:MP aims to help address an issue that many families face for a variety of reasons; struggling to keep their children active.
Research shows children need to be active in order to be happy, healthy and sleep better.
However, the reality of daily life often means that it can be hard to achieve, with ‘being active’ ending up at the bottom of the list of priorities.
Research from Born in Bradford states children who go to the park most days and who play out regularly are more likely to be active enough to benefit their health.
Currently, many children have limited access to the outdoors so it is important that families are supported with ideas for being active safely within the home environment so children can remain as active as possible during this period of lockdown.
Jan Burkhardt, programme director at JU:MP, has explained how this resource will help families.
She said: “Keeping active will help children and families stay healthy which is really important in the current situation.
"The resources give ideas for fun ways to move and play and aim to offer something different to PE activities such as the Joe Wickes online sessions.
"Families can adapt the games for children of different ages and abilities too and we hope playing them will create some great memories of this time spent at home together.”
The JU:MP programme, led by Active Bradford, is one of twelve pilots across the country tasked to test and learn how we can build healthier, more active communities across England.
The programme aims to inspire, energise and support children and families to increase physical activity levels through movement and play.
To find out more about JU:MP or be involved in supporting children to be more active, please CLICK HERE.