Physical activity among pupils fell dramatically during the pandemic, with more than 31% of children undertaking less than 30 minutes of exercise a day¹. This is a worrying contrast to Ofsted’s recommendations that children should engage in exercise for an average of at least 60 minutes per day across the week².
In her speech at the Youth Sport Trust Conference, OFSTED chief inspector, Amanda Spielman said: “Schools and colleges have a vital role to play in inspiring the next generation to lead healthy, active lives and to build resilience. A good PE education can take each child down different pathways to find what they’re really good at. And on a bigger scale, it can take the whole of humanity forward.”
As a result, new technologies are emerging that will allow teachers to engage children in a more active curriculum and research has found that school closures in 2020, led to an explosive 71.5 per cent growth in the UK education technology sector³.
One of these new technologies is myphizz, a platform that has been designed and built by four qualified teachers and educational experts, turned entrepreneurs to help schools raise the quality and frequency of physical activity in a sustainable way.
The app encourages children to engage in a more active, healthier and happier lifestyle, providing them with the opportunity to set exciting challenges for one another and take part in physical activities that they enjoy. Challenges, or 'phizzes' as they're called, can range from a 100m sprint time to completing as many star jumps as possible in 15 seconds. The possibilities are endless!
Launching in schools nationwide from September 2021, the app utilises a live leaderboard that provides children with the ability to set 'phizzes' in the classroom and compare results across the school, as well as nationally. Teachers also have access to a functional control dashboard which measures individual pupils’ activity levels.
myphizz has recently been endorsed by The World Championship gold medallist and former World Junior Champion, Adam Gemili who felt compelled to get behind the app as he’s passionate about combating sedentary behaviour and improving mental wellbeing in young children, exacerbated by lockdown restrictions.
The immediate and long-term health benefits of physical activity are indisputable and there is a wealth of evidence to demonstrate that high quality physical education lessons reduce the symptoms of anxiety, depression and improve cognitive functioning in young people.
Aerobic exercise promotes cardiovascular fitness, which, in turn, promotes the growth of new blood vessels and improves circulation in the brain. The more physically fit a child is, the larger his or her hippocampus tends to be and this has positive links to a child’s learning and memory⁴.
myphizz, which runs through secure schools networks and is only visible to school communities, has undergone numerous successful trials in schools earlier this year to test its ability to motivate children.
Siobhan Roe, teacher at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, which has been trialling the app said: “myphizz has been a huge hit amongst our year three pupils - there’s been such a buzz in the classroom with every single pupil involved in creating, sharing and accomplishing activities. The children have rushed home to tell their parents all about their ‘phizzes’ and we can’t wait to see the rest of school enjoy it.
“The platform is so easy to use and I’ve found the images to describe the ‘phizzes’ really useful as it helps a lot of the children with their reading and spellings as they compare words and pictures. The mix of activities that can be set is incredible - we’ve used myphizz for practicing our times tables as well as challenging each other to do as many press-ups as possible! myphizz has opened up a world of fun activity and movements for our children.”
The app is available to download from the Apple App Store, Google Play and can be accessed as a web-based application on PCs, mobiles and tablets,
To find out more about myphizz and register for a 14-day free trial visit www.myphizz.com.
Issued on behalf of myphizz by Lucky North, for further details please contact:
Jennifer Ogden
T: 07907181487
Lucy Baird
T: 07970232268
About myphizz
Built by four teachers, turned entrepreneurs, myphizz is an exciting new platform to support schools in improving the mental and physical wellbeing of pupils.
The app encourages children to engage in a more active, healthier and happier lifestyle, providing the opportunity for them to take part in physical activities that they enjoy and set exciting challenges for one another.
The technology, which runs through secure schools networks and is only visible to school communities, can be accessed via PC, tablets or mobile phones. Teachers have access to a dashboard where they can view pupil activity, determine what is becoming popular and monitor the school growing healthier as a community.
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