Case Study 9 - Active Tots, a Coventry Be Active Be Healthy Team Project
Be Active Be Healthy (BABH) (part of Coventry’s Family Health and Lifestyle 0-19 service) delivers its service and resources proportionate to need, with support being offered across the city but focused on communities shown to be most in need of support, to support the health and well- being of young children. The ‘Active Tots’ programme contributes to ‘giving every child the best start in life’ reducing inequalities in the early development of physical and emotional health, and cognitive, linguistic, and social skills.
Coventry Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) 2023 highlights that for some Coventry children, inequalities in reaching a good level of development can have established themselves by the age of five. When children experience the factors associated with family poverty, they are more likely to display delays in their development. Physical activity is well evidenced to help contribute to the development of skills such as: paying attention, understanding different points of view, regulating emotions, and language development, all key in ensuring a child’s ‘school readiness’.
What our organisation did
Active Tots is a group physical activity and learning programme, that gives parents and carers with a child aged under 5 the opportunity to help develop their physical health and development through coordinated exercise and is focussed on communities most in need.
Active Tots:
- is an eight-to-twelve-week group programme incorporating fun, games, and exercise that focuses on healthy eating knowledge both for the children and parents /carers
- provides an environment of peer support and learning that supports parents/ carers on the importance of physical activity for themselves and their child and information on reaching the government guidance on daily exercise levels.
- is delivered in early years settings
The BABH team worked closely with the Health Visiting team to increase referrals to the scheme and shared ideas and session plans with workers from Early Years settings and childminders across Coventry.
Successes
Active Tots has proven to be very successful in early years settings, with the scheme now expanding to be delivered in parks and green spaces in the heart of those more deprived areas and communities for families. The scheme has evaluated the postcodes of those who attended to ensure it is reaching those it needs to.
Our parents and early years services' feedback
‘Thank you very much for the active tot’s sessions that you have provided our children this term. They have thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of our children do not have access to a garden and so this has been an important part of building their confidence with their physical development.
Staff and your team have been amazing with the children and our staff have picked up some good ideas to use with the children in the future.'
“NHS Active tots have completed a 10-week programme with our Pre School children. They have thoroughly enjoyed the sessions which has seen our children gain lots of confidence in trying new skills and challenging their own physical capabilities. The sessions have encouraged and promoted teamwork, getting involved, being active, and most importantly having fun while doing so.
The benefits of physical activity for children are endless and can include better physical control of their movements, muscle development, better sleep, and healthier lifestyles. These elements can also boost their energy and mood which further supports their motivation to accept more challenges throughout their day”.
“My daughter loves the sessions, they are great for learning how to work together with others, work independently, and be active and enjoy being active!”
“He loves the sessions. He’s learning to listen to simple instructions along with all the physical development from the exercise”.
“Great enjoyment with physical activities and bonding with my son. Helped practice following instructions and helped with language.”
For more information on Be Active Be Healthy visit the Family Health and Lifestyle Service website.