Active Discovery

About 

Active Discovery has been created by GHLL, Active Gloucestershire and School Games Organiser network.  It is a challenge that can be used in school, home or both to encourage physical activity whilst exploring the outdoor school environment and/or the local area.  A collection of activities is provided for pupils to choose from and through completion of these, pupils can work towards badges and certificates.  It fits in well with all of the areas of the Five Ways to Wellbeing and promotes the benefits of physical activity as a means of boosting mental health and wellbeing. 

Schools can use ‘Active Discovery’ in their own way and it can be incorporated into existing outdoor provision and learning.  It is ideal for schools as part of their Recovery/Reconnecting curriculum. 

Introductory letter to use in school

Getting Started 

As schools open to all pupils from the 8th of March, it will be vitally important to help them reconnect with their classmates, the school environment as well as the local community.
This is why GHLL, Active Gloucestershire and the School Games Organiser network have come together to develop ‘Active Discovery’ – a fun and inclusive resource that we hope you will find easy to adapt to the needs of your pupils.
Active Discovery is a challenge that can be used in school, home or both to encourage physical activity (walking, running, cycling, etc) whilst exploring the outdoor school environment and/or the local area. During lockdown, weather and other factors have meant that families may not have got themselves outside as much, so as daylight hours lengthen and the weather (hopefully) gets warmer, Active Discovery focusses on getting back out and exploring the school grounds and/or local community with a purpose. It fits in well with all of the areas of the Five Ways to Wellbeing and promotes the benefits of physical activity as a means of boosting mental health and wellbeing.
A collection of activities is provided for pupils to choose from and through completion of these, they can work towards badges and certificates. The activities can be completed in both rural and urban environments.
You will be able to use Active Discovery in your own way and introduce it to your school community in a way that suits you best as well as deciding the length of time it runs for. It can be incorporated into existing outdoor provision and learning such as the Daily Mile/Fit 15 or Forest Schools.
We have made administration of Active Discovery as easy as possible so all the resources you need to get up and running are attached. The activities can be completed in any order and can be repeated.

Top Tips for delivering Active Discovery:

• Send out an introductory letter to parents/carers explaining how Active Discovery works. You can use the information above to help structure your letter.
• Print out the activity sheets for parents/carers and encourage them to stick it on the fridge at home, or they can download the challenge on their phone.
• Create a ‘buzz’ about the challenge and encourage engagement by promoting Active Discovery on school newsletters, social media, website etc.
• Promote the benefits of completing Active Discovery and the links between physical and mental wellbeing.
• You can decide how many activities need to be completed to earn the badges and certificates.
• How long you wish to run Active Discovery is your own decision and what fits in best with the needs of your school. You might want it as a 30-day challenge or want to extend it for a longer time.
• Through school communications celebrate on-going progress with Active Discovery and class/individual successes.
• You can use Active Discovery alongside other outdoor activities in school such as Daily Mile or Forest Schools.
• Make it fun and reward effort and creativity. PE and Sports Premium funds can be used to buy prizes to encourage motivation.
• Emphasise to parents/carers that the activities can easily be completed on the walk to and from school.
• Share your stories at @glosschoolgames or www.facebook.com/glosschoolgames/

Please contact your School Games Organiser Cheryl Stennett cs@gssn.co.uk  or the GHLL team  ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk if you need any further support.

We hope you will enjoy ‘Active Discovery’ and it can help your pupils reconnect on their return to school.
GHLL, Active Gloucestershire, School Games Organisers