Thirty young children aged 5 and 6 from schools including Peel Hill Primary School, Ringway Primary School, Seymour Park Community Primary School and Benchill Primary School took part the festival to celebrate their success on the programme.
‘Move With’ is a programme that encourages primary school children to exercise and uses the power of Manchester United to make physical activity fun and engaging. The programme is delivered free of charge in Foundation partner schools with support from the Premier League
During the festival pupils took part in a thirty minute physical activity session focusing on the skills learnt whilst taking part in the Move With programme. They then moved on to the Manchester United Museum for an exciting educational lesson that included studying the kits of past and present players. Finally, pupils were treated to a tour of the iconic Old Trafford Stadium before ending their visit.
Suzanne Marston, reception teacher at Seymour Park Community Primary School, said “The children have really enjoyed taking part in the ‘Move With’ programme at school and they have been using it outside of school as well with their outdoor play. We’ve noticed that their skills have improved during the six weeks that they have been involved in the programme.”
She added “They couldn’t wait to come to Old Trafford today, they’ve really enjoyed it and you could see the excitement in all of their faces. It’s just been amazing.”
The main aim of ‘Move With’ is to increase children’s physical literacy. It is designed to develop pupils’ agility, balance, coordination and general body control, setting up youngsters for a lifetime of physical activity. Over the past year the programme has seen some fantastic results. After ten weeks pupils displayed a 43% decrease in the time it took to complete agility assessments and a 145% increase in participant’s co-ordination assessments.
‘Move With’ Delivery Officer, Jordanna Roberts commented, “I think Move With is a fantastic project, it’s needed desperately as nobody seems to work with that age. We were finding pupils in Year 5 and 6, they couldn’t do the basic balancing, jumping, hopping and skipping so we find that now we are teaching them at a younger age they’re getting those basic skills that they need.”
She continued, “Today is about celebrating the success and impact the Move With programme has had on these children. For some of them to come here is a fantastic experience and great day out.”