Children need at least 60 minutes of moderate exercise each day to stay healthy and maintain a desirable weight. Based on the current recommendations, a large proportion of Irish children are not meeting these guidelines. The 60 minutes of activity doesn’t all have to be done at once – it can be built up over the day, through for example, four 15 minute periods of activity.

Regular physical activity helps children to:

• Increase stamina and strength
• Lower the risk of developing diseases such as heart disease
• Build stronger bones
• Improve confidence
• Develop a  positive body image
• Sleep well
• Improve concentration and attention span in the classroom

Positive experiences of physical activity in childhood will also lay valuable foundations for lifelong involvement with activity.
The physical activity lesson plans in the Teacher’s Toolkit help children to learn about the importance of being physically active. The Lidl Fit Factor resource complements the SPHE and PE curricula.