Supporting Scotland’s children through play!

24 January 2025

 

Meet Quarry Brae Primary School – champions of Active Play!

Scotland currently has a crisis in physical activity levels amongst our children. We know from the Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card, that children are not meeting physical activity guidelines.

Supporting the wellbeing of children and young people has long been a strategic priority for Inspiring Scotland and our Thrive Outdoors team. Our Active Play programme contributes to improving life chances for children and young people in Scotland.

It is well understood that children should do moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for around 60 minutes per day but we also know that most don’t meet this goal and that almost 30% of children in Scotland are at risk of being overweight or obese.  Glasgow City Council has invested in Active Play for Attainment through Attainment Challenge funds with the current round running until June 2026. Through academic research Active Play has shown that active children learn better and are more likely to have happier healthier lives.

Last Friday Inspiring Scotland’s Chief Executive Celia Tennent and Douglas Hutchison, Director of Education at Glasgow City Council visited Quarry Brae Primary School to see Active Play in action and learn more about the positive impact it has had on the children and teachers alike. Quarry Brae took part in the Active Play Programme in 2023 and were partnered up with charity partner PEEK.

What is Active Play?

Active Play is an evidence-based 15-week programme delivered by an expert play partner and helps children be more physically active and physically literate. Teachers are encouraged to take part in training and to build up confidence to then continue Active Play sessions in their schools once the charity delivery partner has left. The key principles are that each session is active, inclusive and fun!

Each child who participates benefits from the programme as it is an opportunity for them to develop their fundamental movement skills (the basis of all sports) such as throwing, catching, balancing and running.

Children also benefit by working as a team, building up resilience, and developing their social skills and of course by being active.

The first half of the session is structured adult led games, and the second half is creative, free play. In the second half of the session all the visiting adults had a brilliant time taking part- it wasn’t clear who had more fun: the children or the adults! There was skipping, tug of war, hockey, ball and racket, running games- the list is endless. It was a brilliant way for everyone to end a busy week!

Don’t just take it from us, here is what our partners have to say:

Quarry Brae is an excellent example of a school who have embraced the training supplied by Active Play training partner Actify. Their head teacher Mrs Sara Adams recognised the importance of the programme and dedicated P3 class teacher Mrs Alana Rankin’s time on a Friday to Active Play.

Every child in Scotland would benefit from taking part in the Active Play Programme as the programme encourages children to be active by increasing confidence in their abilities and more importantly shows children that physical activity is fun!

“We really notice a difference in the children after an Active Play session and over time they have become more resilient, both in social and emotional terms and physically. For Quarry Brae, Active Play is an important part of our week and we link it directly to our Children’s Rights work” – Alana Rankin, Quarry Brae Primary.

For more information on the Active Play Programme visit the Actify Hub.

Many thanks to Quarry Brae Primary School for hosting us!