Press release
Ministers Foley, Byrne and Burke launch national Active School Week 2024
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Published on
Last updated on
This year’s national Active School Week (#ASW24) takes place from 29 April – 3 May. The initiative, open to primary, post-primary and special schools, seeks to incentivise and support schools to find ways to energise the school day, for everyone. All #ASW24 activities prioritise participation, inclusion and fun.
One of the aims the 2024 Active School Week is to support schools to find ways to integrate physical activity with learning, bringing movement into classrooms and bringing learning outdoors. Schools that register for #ASW24 are provided with graphics to allow them to create an Active School Walkway route on their premises and ready-made learning challenges that support ‘learning on the move’ across several different subjects.
An integral part of Active School Week 2024 is the #DanceTakeOver challenge which will take place on Friday, 3 May. Schools are encouraged to find ways to get their whole school community up and moving through dance.
There is a strong focus on supporting teachers this year, with the provision of resources and ideas to support staff members to find new ways of being active that they enjoy.
Minister of Education Norma Foley TD, said:
“Our schools do tremendous work every day promoting physical activity among their students and I am really looking forward to seeing what they come up with for Active School week 2024. I think students will really enjoy taking part in dance activities, sports and learning lessons through activities. As the Latin saying goes -mens sana in corpore sano - “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”
Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD said:
“Staying active throughout your life is incredibly important for physical and mental health. There are so many different ways to be active and ‘one size doesn’t fit all’. Decreasing youth physical activity levels is a worldwide problem – particularly for girls. Changing habits and getting people more active is a challenge and schools are a great place to start to address this. Huge credit needs to go to our teachers who have embraced this message and are making huge strides. We are seeing in our schools some really creative ways to bring movement into classes and Active School Week provides schools with an exciting opportunity to really engage with this challenge in a fun and inclusive way.”.”
Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke TD said:
“One of my priorities in my new role as Minister is the promotion of physical activity for children and young people because of its benefits for physical and mental health and wellbeing, and its role in supporting healthy growth and development.
“It is so important that the school environment supports children in learning and developing healthy behaviours that will benefit them throughout their lives. The Active School initiative is vital in promoting physical activity and I’m delighted that Healthy Ireland is continuing its support of Active School Week in partnership with our colleagues in Education.”
Active School Week is part of the Active School Flag initiative which aims to get more schools, more active, more often.
Find out more about Active School Week here:
Active School Flag (ASF) is an initiative of the Department of Education, supported by Healthy Ireland and administered through Mayo Education Centre. The aim of the programme is to get ‘more schools, more active, more often. ASF is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community.
Once awarded, ASF remains valid for a period of three years. Currently 809 primary schools, attended by 144,829 pupils, hold ASF status, with many more working towards the flag at present. A new ASF process for post primary process is in-development.
Website https://activeschoolflag.ie/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ActiveFlag
Healthy Ireland is a major Government-led initiative which aims to create an Irish society where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health, and where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society. Under Healthy Ireland, the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) is led by the Departments of Health and of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, in partnership with a range of other key stakeholders including the Department of Education. Encouraging more schools to participate in the Active School Flag is a key objective of the plan.
Visit the Active School Week website page here: https://activeschoolflag.ie/asw24-active-school-week-2024/
The Active School Walkway is a joint Active School Flag and Get Ireland Walking initiative.