WHY HEPA?
It is evident that school can promote leisure-time physical activity but specific actions should be arranged in to order to achieve this. These actions involve both the physical education lesson and the other school disciplines as well the overall school structure. Therefore, a whole-school approach is needed in order to effectively promote children and adolescents’ physical activity. However, so far there is limited evidence on how this whole school approach should be organized, transferred to school authorities and teachers and, in the end, students, to promote physical activity effectively.
SPECIFIC ACTIONS:
- Adopt a school-based holistic approach to promote leisure-time physical activity by including a wide and diverse group of teachers and relevant stakeholders (i.e., physical education teachers, head teachers, school psychologists, school sociologists, other school support staff as well as educational authorities)
- Identify the most effective educational materials available, related to health-enhancing physical activity
- Develop, through co-production, an educational resource to be used by teachers, academics, and educational authorities
- Translate the courses in 7 languages (Greek/Cypriot, German, English, Welsh, Finnish, French, Italian) to be used across Europe and internationally
- Provide evidence and practical examples for teachers and relevant stakeholders to incorporate courses regarding health-enhancing physical activity into their educational curricula
- Provide public education with a resource that will provide adequate education on health-enhancing physical activity and can be cultivated across all school subjects