Oxford United in the Community are working in partnership with the EFL Trust to help deliver the Joy of Moving Home School Festival.
Oxfordshire schools are taking part in the national initiatives this month that will see hundreds of thousands of children taking part across the country.
The Festival consists of an afternoon timetable of activities for children in Key Stage 2 on the theme of the Joy of Moving. Oxford United in the Community have shared digital packs with teachers and parents to use with children.
The Joy of Moving games and activities are designed to inspire active lifestyles in children, aiming to teach children how to enjoy moving through play, and to help them develop positive habits for adulthood.
Chris Lowes, Head of Oxford United in the Community, said: “This is a great event that is designed to encourage youngsters to get active. This year with the constraints of lock down a light version has been created that is straight forward to follow. Hopefully, the digital packs will enable more youngsters than ever before to take part.”
Over 310,000 children have taken part in UK schools in the last six years. The Joy of Moving programme is funded by Ferrero UK.
Activities will take place every day from Monday 18 May and you will be able to choose which day children take part. As part of the event, families will be encouraged to post social media content during the week.
Mike Evans, Chief Executive at EFL Trust said: “We are delighted to bring the Joy of Moving Home School Festival to thousands of households across the UK. So many children will miss out on their Sports Day and our festival should offer fun whilst also keeping children active during these times.
“Our network of Club Community Organisations have been doing some amazing work in response to Coronavirus, and this is another way in which football is supporting the community and reaching families in all regions of the country.”
Charlie Cayton, Director of Corporate Affairs and communications, Ferrero UK added: “We have had a strategic partnership with the EFL Trust for many years delivering our corporate social responsibility (CSR) project the Joy of Moving Move & Learn and Festivals. We have swiftly worked with EFL Trust to adapt the programme to share our simple and fun unbranded games with parents and teachers, that give ideas on how to get kids moving through play. This includes a freely accessible resource hub for everyone. We are excited to see the Joy of Moving Home School Festival in action.
The games and activities are based on the unique Joy of Moving methodology, developed by Ferrero with key independent parties including Foro Italico (Rome University) and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). This methodology inspires children to move through play across the world, whilst developing key skills in four major areas: physical fitness, motor coordination, cognitive functions and creativity and life skills.
You can get involved in the activities here: https://www.joyofmovingresourcehub.co.uk/