Jeroen Hoyng and Dayenne L'abée, advisors at the Knowledge Centre for Sport, wrote an engaging article about this. They note that 56 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 11 meet the physical activity guidelines, compared with only 23 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 17. Since young people spend a large part of the day at school, that is the place to bring about change.

Hoyng and L'abée also refer to the research by SMART MOVES! from 2018. This involved four years of in-depth research into the causal relationship between physical activity, cognitive performance and academic achievement in the short and long term. The research showed that more exercise improves children’s performance in arithmetic and mathematics and helps them concentrate better. In addition, according to teachers, it has a positive influence on the atmosphere, behaviour and attention of children in the classroom.

The authors also point to the advice of the Netherlands Sports Council, the Education Council and the Council for Public Health and Society (RVS): have pupils in primary, secondary and vocational education participate in moderately intensive sports and physical activity for half an hour at least twice a day. If pupils do this, they will meet the physical activity guidelines. Replacing regular lesson time with physical activity also has no adverse effects on cognitive performance.

According to the authors, in order to challenge children to exercise more at school, we must also design the school environment accordingly. This could include wide corridors where children can run, a green schoolyard, as well as activities organised by the school: physical activities during breaks, after-school sports activities, and encouraging children to walk or cycle to school. It is always about a combination of physical infrastructure (hardware), activities and guidance (software), and organisation and communication (orgware).

The authors then discuss various sub-aspects.

Learning through movement in lessons

This is important because a pupil spends most of the school day in the classroom. The author points to interventions such as ‘De klas beweegt’ and ‘Fit & Vaardig’, which make lessons more active. In addition to an active teaching method, it is also beneficial to pay attention to sport, physical activity and health in terms of the content of the lessons.

A movement-friendly school building

The municipality of Amsterdam has published a booklet, ‘Beweeglogica in gebouwen’, containing tips on how to design buildings in a way that encourages movement. Consider strategically locating different destinations within the building, such as the assembly hall, gymnasium, classrooms and toilet facilities. These places are used more intensively when they offer a pleasant environment. Variation in colour, materials, daylight, furniture, markings and movement incentives (climbing wall, movement games) helps encourage physical activity. In addition, the timetable could be used to increase the number of movements throughout the day and/or encourage stair use.

A healthy schoolyard

A healthy schoolyard gives children space to move, play and take part in sports in a challenging, green and smoke-free environment. It is important that the design and furnishing of the schoolyard include sufficient incentives to move, suited to the pupils’ ages. Think of equipment, markings, playing fields, sufficient storage space for play and sports equipment, and safe bicycle parking. There are also good opportunities for dual use of the schoolyard, for example as a play street during the day and a car park in the evening. In any case, involve the pupils themselves in thinking about the design of the schoolyard.

In addition to the design of the schoolyard (hardware), also pay attention to the software, for example by training play supervisors who are present in the schoolyard (‘Beweeg Wijs’), organising ‘The Daily Mile’ or special lessons to improve motor skills (‘Natuurlijk Bewegen’). And do not close the schoolyard gates when lessons have ended. You could even consider organising activities with pupils for residents in the immediate area.

A movement-friendly school zone

A school zone is not merely the area with ‘SCHOOL’ markings on the road, but the entire infrastructure connecting the neighbourhood with the school. To encourage active transport in the school environment, you can apply the S.T.O.P. principle: prioritise pedestrians (Stappers) over cyclists (Trappers), and cyclists over Public Transport and Private Cars. Ensure a social and safe environment and create child-friendly routes to school, such as separate footpaths, wide pavements, safe crossing points, within sight of homes, shielded from the bustle of the city, with lighting and shade.

The aim of these routes is to enable children to move independently and safely through the neighbourhood and to encourage them to walk or cycle more often, and to play or take part in sports outdoors more often. To increase the use of such a route, a campaign such as International Walk to School Day, or interventions such as ‘Walking schoolbus’ or ‘Speelsafari’, can help persuade more children and parents to walk or cycle to school.

Read the full article by Jeroen Hoyng and Dayenne L'abée here.

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Opening photo: Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo, where the children move an average of 4 kilometres per day throughout the entire building. Design: Tezuka Architects. Photo: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA.