FFL

FIT FOR LEARNING (FFL):

All of our key stage 3 students partake in Fitness for Learning during lesson one every morning. The rationale behind this approach is directly linked to the growing body of research that links physical activity to improvements in academic achievement and improved behaviour outcomes.

“Studies from the universities of Strathclyde and Dundee, for example, found that intensive exercise boosted the performance of teenagers in English, Maths and Science"

FFL is ideal for our students who struggle to sleep at night, who need to run off energy and, in some cases, who have an ADHD diagnosis. We have found that FFL contributes positively to counteract all of these barriers and helps energize tired students. The impact this specialist approach has had includes;
· improved engagement in other areas of the curriculum
· improved focus and concentration in other academic lessons
· Improved social interactions within the school community.

Research also states;
“This is partly because physical activity improves brain function. Games that are unpredictable and require problem-solving may also boost executive functioning (the skills that help the brain to organise and act on information), which can transfer to academic tasks"

Alongside the physical and mental benefits of engaging in FFL, students also engage in well structured sports lessons which are linked to the National Curriculum. This provides each individual the opportunity to deeply engage in chosen sports such as Basketball. Within this scheme of work, students are not only taught how to improve their technical skills, they are also challenged to learn about complex strategies and tactics such as zonal defending in Basketball and formational set-ups in Handball and Football. This will instil a level of discipline, help improve a student’s communication and teamwork skills which enhances our focus of developing the social skills of our young people. These skills can then be transferred into other aspects of lives within society.

In addition to this students are becoming more tolerant of one another and are slowly starting to work better in groups.

Evidence of Impact of FFL Summer 2020

Staff 1
I’ve been doing PE with Joe every morning with the students and its really benefitting everyone. Not only are they energised, but it really helps to put them in a good mood and better mind-set for the day. 

The best impact I’ve seen is with a year 8 student. He’s usually pretty sleep and grumpy when he arrives and stayed with his head on the table for a while. I challenged him to a race outside to wake him up and then we did PE with Joe. Perhaps it was the endorphins or watching me struggle to do a push up but he was laughing a lot after that! This definitely benefitted him as he stayed very alert for most of the day. 

Staff 2
A student came into school quite lively and said himself he was full of energy. He was struggling to sit still and his behaviours were erratic, jumping around, making noises etc. After completing PE he is now settled and working really well and with a lot of focus on his tasks.

Staff 3
I have found doing the morning live work out with Joe Wicks encourages the children. It wakes them up!

On a morning- I have been greeted with a grunt or a moan, something along the lines of  ' I can’t be bothered miss ... I'm tired miss… but once the work out is on the screens I have found that our young people are willing and excited to do the morning work outs. 

It is evident to see that working out in the morning does encourage and motivate the students to do better in their work throughout the rest of the day. I feel it is important for them as you can clearly see the benefits it is having on the children. When asked to do something after the work out, for example, English- I found the children are a lot more 'switched on' and prepared to work.

As someone who struggled with my weight and mental health throughout my school life- I feel it is MASSIVELY important that our children are encouraged to take part in any physical activity as it doesn't just help with academically achieving but also plays a HUGE part on improving mental health. 

Staff 4
Doing a morning workout had a positive impact on a student who was feeling quite low on arrival to school. We did the session of Joe Wicks together in the classroom at a distance and had a great time and felt refreshed.