Representatives from thirteen Meridian Trust schools attended the launch of an exciting venture at the start of this half term, which included a Functional Fitness training session hosted at one of our leisure centres, Academy Leisure Sawtry.
The initiative, which has been in progress over the past few years, was developed by Jack Clarke, Health and Fitness Manager at Academy Leisure Sawtry, and Natasha Seabrook, Director of PE for Meridian Trust, who wanted to incorporate their backgrounds in the education sector and operating public fitness facilities to make a positive impact on young people.
Jack and Natasha are hoping to change the current PE curriculum to make sure it places an emphasis on functional fitness training across mobility, movement standards, strength training and conditioning. They aim to bring the curriculum in line with the current fitness industry and ensuring students are prioritising their mobility.
Jack said: “Through observation and research undertaken by Active Lives Sport England, it is clear to see that young people’s interest in fitness has been growing.
However, recent surveys have shown that participation in these fitness activities tends to drop once young people finish their studies and transition into adulthood – which is something I wanted to change by pushing the education sector forward, giving schools the knowledge and experience to know what to include within their curriculum to support this.”
This research alongside the benefits of functional fitness training and wanting to develop young people’s knowledge around mobility, strength, and conditioning, has inspired Jack and Natasha to look at options for how this can be embedded into the PE curriculum.
After some great conversations around the topic, both Jack and Natasha felt it would be a perfect opportunity to launch this programme as part of the Trust-wide CPD day which was held on the 31st October.
The representatives in attendance for the training session included colleagues from schools across the Trust who showed an interest and understanding around the need for further development in fitness training for the PE curriculum.
This training session was just the beginning of this initiative, with the hope that the implementation and follow-up will be a huge factor in ensuring our schools continue to raise awareness of the importance of providing functional fitness within the curriculum.