ukactive has announced that it will spearhead the UK arm of a Europe-wide initiative to help young children lead healthier lifestyles.

ukactive will team up with Fit for Sport to bring the Action Learning for Children in Schools (ALCIS) project to 17 schools in the UK, with the initiative starting during the inaugural European Week of Sport, which runs from 7-13 September 2015.

ALCIS is a project across five EU Member States, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and centrally co-ordinated by EuropeActive.

The ALCIS project encourages children to reflect on different lifestyle choices in relation to physical activity, stress management and overall wellbeing to deliver long-term positive impacts. The project combines fun-orientated exercise classes with educational material on lifestyle issues, supported by a methodology that not only provides information, but also teaches key life skills such as critical thought, goal-setting and self-analysis.

ALCIS is expected to directly reach approximately 5,000 children, with the aim of empowering the youngsters to make and implement their own lifestyle choices.

Dovetailing with the recommendations of the Generation Inactive report launched by ukactive in June, the UK leg of ALCIS will see schools adopt a whole day approach to physical activity. Pupils and parents will be welcomed by trained Fit for Sport exercise professionals with a short shake up being run in the playground before school, while there will also be active assemblies and playtime combined with a structured PE class.

“As ukactive’s Generation Inactive report outlined, we are facing an inactivity crisis amongst young people with only half of seven-year-olds meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of 60 minutes of physical activity a day,” said ukactive executive director Steven Ward.

“This will have a multiplier effect with inactive kids becoming inactive adults and having their own inactive children. We therefore welcome the European Commission’s focus on children and young people as part of the European Week of Sport and hope it can be used to deliver positive impacts to young people’s health across the continent.”