Trend Report
on
The following brief reports
have been prepared by participants in a National Round table on Active School
Communities held in
The reports summarize
activities undertaken to date by networks of interested organizations and
individuals after the meeting.
Contact Sue Vail (suevail@YORKU.CA) for
more information or check out their temporary web site at: http://www.yorku.ca/suevail/asc
Provincial/Territorial Reports
From Mike Arthur
Since the October conference
a number of initiatives have contributed to the development of ASC's.
1. A provincial strategy on
physical activity for children and youth has been developed under a Working
Group of government and nongovernment representatives.
It included staff from Depts of Education,
Health, Community Services and Youth Secretariat. The strategy has
recommendations re: funding for ASC pilot projects. A final decision on the
strategy by government is still pending.
2. Nine projects -$75,000.00-
were funded in 2001-02 by the Sport and Recreation Commission to initiate after
school physical activity programs. Most projects were based on joint efforts of
schools and municipal recreation departments.
3. The DOE is developing a
province wide policy on community use of schools in cooperation with the 8
school boards and the Sport and Recreation Commission. The policy is still in
development but one of the intended outcomes is free access to youth groups.
The definition of ' free ' is under discussion!
4. A number of schools in the
province are experimenting with active safe routes to school.
Active
school communities
A
Nova Scotia update
The
active school community initiatives in Nova Scotia will be one component of the
Active Kids/Healthy Kids strategy developed during the Fall 2001. The vision of
the strategy is that
Nova
Scotia is a province where a culture of physical activity for young people
flourishes. It is a culture in which children, youth and their families have re-discovered and renewed the joy
and fun that comes from being physically active every day. Physical activity is
an important part of the daily lives of children and youth of this
province. Communities, schools and
workplaces welcome and support a physically active lifestyle.
During
consultations held with parents, youth, and stakeholders across Nova Scotia, we
received a clear message that children and youth need more opportunities to be
physically active throughout their day.
It
was felt that an active school community approach would be effective to help
achieve this objective. Department of Education, Health and the Sport and
Recreation Commission came together to plan this project. It was decided that
the province would support pilot projects for school communities.
Each
school board in the province was asked to participate in the Pilot. School
board officials were asked to invite one school from their board to participate
The school board was provided recommendations of schools who have already shown some interest and
commitment to physical activity initiatives and who have supportive, involved
municipalities. Currently, eight schools
have been asked to participate. A meeting has been planned for the end of
September to bring together school and municipal partners who have been asked
to participate in the Pilot projects.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide an overview of the strategy and pilot
projects; identify and discuss expectations for pilot sites; and to identify and
discuss provincial roles and supports. It is hoped that by the end of the
meeting, schools and municipalities will have enough information to be able to
make a decision to participate in the Pilots.
Once
a school community agrees to participate in the project, they will be asked to
form an action team who will lead the pilot project in their area. This team will develop an action plan for the
next three years to outline how they will become an active school community. It
is hoped that these plans will be completed by the end of 2002, so that
implementation can start early in 2003. Depending on the readiness of the
project site, the scope may increase to several (family) schools by years two
and three. The plans will act to articulate how their project will contribute
to more children and youth becoming physically active. These plans will be
based on principles to ensure they contribute to the strategy=s vision.
For
more information on the Active Kids/Healthy Kids strategy and the Active school
community pilot projects, please refer to the Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation
web site at www.gov.ns.ca/src/
From Roger.Duval@GNB.CA and Francine.Harris@GNB.CA
Following the National
Roundtable on Active School Communities held in Charlottetown, PEI in October
of 2001, the New Brunswick delegates established a Provincial Steering
Committee chaired by Vicki Poirier of the NB Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Members of the Committee include; Linda Collins-Lebans
and Virgil Guitart who are both Healthy Learners from
the Dept. of Health and Wellness and specialize in school community networking
and wellness promotion, Monique Allain from the Dept.
of Education, Garth Wade from the NB Physical Education Society, and Suzanne
Coffey from the Culture and Sport Secretariat. The Committee has met
three (3) times and recently adopted its own definition of an Active School
Community as well as a Vision and Mission Statement (see attached). For more
information contact Vicki Poirier at health.promotion@hsf.nb.ca
Outcomes on some of the work
of New Brunswick's Action Plan include:
- Hiring of 13 anglophone school district Physical Education Mentors to
provide skill development opportunities for teachers who are expected to teach
elementary physical education. A large number of workshops from supper meetings
to full days of in-service have been provided. Frequency will vary from
district to district.
- In November of 2001, a
provincial institute entitled "Remember when" was held which included
a specific elementary physical education training component for teachers. The
event was a joint effort between NB Physical Education Society, NB Teachers'
Association Councils, the Recreation and Parks Association of NB, and the Dept.
of Education. Six (6) provincial institutes are planned for the Summer of 2002.
The sessions help teachers and recreation professionals with ideas related to
physical activity and physical education.
- Middle school physical
education piloting currently in place. Full implementation expected in
September of 2003.
- An Active School Community
recognition program currently under development. A call for pilots is planned
for May-June, 2002. In the meantime focus group testing is underway.
In terms of support from the
national working group, it is believed the regional representative's role needs
to be discussed at their April 17 and 18 meeting. For instance, taking the lead
in establishing a strong regional network and facilitating two-way communication
with provincial steering committees or contacts.
Progress report: August
15,2002
The notion of the School Communities
In ACTION program evolved during a National Round Table conference focusing
on Active School Communities, which was held in PEI last Fall. Active School Communities include teachers,
parents, students and community leaders who are all committed to providing an
opportunity to increase the health behaviors of their
students. These schools understand that New Brunswick children are becoming
progressively overweight and obese. They recognize that children and youth are
not active enough to lay a solid foundation for future health and well being.
The School Communities In
ACTION project is a joint venture between the Department of Education and
the Culture and Sport Secretariat. The
team consists of Roger Duval (Culture and Sport Secretariat), Francine Harris
and Keith McAlpine (Department of Education) and
Monique Allain (project coordinator who was seconded
from School District 18 in early December, 2001). This team would meet on a weekly basis to
discuss the program development. During the months of December, January and
February, the ideas for the program were developed.
School Communities In
ACTION is designed to: 1) Recognize
physical activities that are offered in the schools; 2) Encourage schools to
adopt, implement and maintain physical activity programs through school and
community networks; and 3) Support the Physical Education and Health Curricula. Schools implementing School Communities In
ACTION programs are eligible to achieve levels of recognition by completing
various activities under each A-C-T-I-O-N category:
A- Activities: Non-structured initiatives that encourage students to
actively participate in a “play-like” environment, above and beyond the
Physical Education class.
C- Curricular,
Co-curricular and Extra-Curricular Programs: Structured activities that provide
opportunities for students to participate in physical activity and learn basic
movement skills that are required in order to participate in sport and life
long physical activity.
T- Teamwork:
Involves a group focused on physical activity within the school setting. These
activities are usually referred to as “mass participation” physical activities.
Through teamwork, the value of physical activity is promoted and organized
throughout the school.
I- Integration:
Regular physical activity and health benefits are promoted throughout different
subject areas.
O- Opportunities:
Students participate in physical activity outside the school setting, in
programs sponsored by the community.
Students would have access to the community facilities such as rinks,
pools, gymnastics club etc.
N- Networking:
Ongoing activity–based interactions between the school and the community. Inviting community members into the school to
assist in the delivery of the program.
During the months of March
and April, the drafting of the material continued along with “field testing” of
the material. To informally test the material, approximately 20 schools from
all levels, throughout the province, from both the urban and rural areas were
visited. Presentations of the program were also made to all the New Brunswick
superintendents and to many principals from both the anglophone
and francophone school districts.
The drafting of the handbook
was finalized in early April. In order
to ensure proper translation, Linguists reviewed the French document.
Additionally, Communications New Brunswick produced samples of program posters
and brochures.
A call for pilot schools was
launched in early May. Well over 50 schools applied to pilot the program. A
total of 30 schools were selected for the piloting of the program: 18 English
and 12 French schools were selected based on the levels of the schools and on
the urban and rural settings. Nine
schools that were not selected expressed an interest to participate in the
program on a non-formal basis.
An in-service was held for
the pilot schools in May. On Tuesday,
May 28th the English pilot school leaders assembled for an
information session in Fredericton, while the French pilot school leaders
participated in their session on Thursday, May 30th. During these information sessions, the
participants discussed the concept of School Communities In ACTION. The participants also reviewed the Handbook
and worked on their action plans. Each
leader was asked to summarize the physical activity programs that were offered
in their schools during this past year.
The pilot schools were asked to submit their school’s action plan along
with the summary of their current physical activity programs by the end of the
school year.
In September (2002) the pilot
schools will implement their action plans.
Additionally participation posters along with brochures will be
delivered to the pilot schools. The
implementation of the School Communities In ACTION program is based on a
three-year plan.
Our team would like to thank
Michelle Brownrigg from OPHEA for her guidance in the
development of New Brunswick’s School Communities In ACTION program.
From:
frcaron@gov.pe.ca
Since the National Roundtable
in October a number of initiatives are ongoing.
1. Following the National
Roundtable, the participants who attended the conference were invited to a
meeting to confirm our commitment to the provincial action plan created during
the conference.
2. Following the National
Roundtable, members from the Departments of Education, Health & Social
Services, and Community of Cultural Affairs (responsible for sport &
recreation) arranged a joint presentation on the Active School Community
concept to Deputy Ministers and senior officials. These three departments
are currently working on a chronic disease prevention of which the active
school community concept is a component of.
3. An active healthy schools
initiative is being developed under the leadership of the Department of
Education with assistance from the Department of Community & Cultural Affairs
that looks at many of the issues discussed at the National Roundtable.
The initiative is followed by a comprehensive seven step program that
encourages schools to adopt certain practices that will allow their school to
be known as an "active healthy school". These practices include
looking a what students require to lead active healthy lives, what wellness
programs the staff of the school could benefit from, what the school requires
to foster a positive learning environment, and what positive impacts the school
can have on the community and likewise the community on the school.
4. We are in the process of
working with a couple of schools in developing active, safe routes to school
for the next school year. It is our intent to use the schools as pilots
and then expand the project to other schools in the future.
5. A research project is
underway that will create a blueprint of what the current relationship is
between all the schools within the province and the communities that feed into
them. We will be visiting every school in the province and creating an
inventory of what type of community activities take place within the school and
what type school activities take place in the communities. This will
allow us to determine what barriers or perceived barriers exist between schools
and communities and then allow us to create a plan to break down these
barriers.
6. A comprehensive
presentation has been developed highlighting the current concerns around
inactivity among Island children. This presentation has been tailored to
parents in decision making roles and will be shown to a number of groups but
primarily geared towards Home & School Associations. Staff from the
sport & recreation division have included this presentations in their
annual work plans. Furthermore, we have been successful in entrenching
the active school community concept as part of the Provincial Healthy Child
Development Strategy.
Ontario
From: Elio Antunes elio@ophea.org
In October of 2001,
a National Roundtable on Active School Communities was conducted in Prince
Edward Island. Representatives from governments and non-governmental agencies
from eight provinces and territories attended Roundtable and worked together to
develop a national vision for Active School Communities.
Active School
Communities were defined as communities in which all leaders and public
institutions that influence the lives of children (educators, parents,
care-givers, public health professionals, municipal recreation and sport
leaders and others) work in partnership to create social and physical
environments that increase access and opportunities for physical
activity. This involves physical activity in and outside of the school
curriculum, at home and in the community-at-large.
The Ontario
Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA) has a long history working
with other partners to support physical activity promotion in the school
setting, and was the lead organization behind the Ontario Active Schools
initiative in association with the Active Ontario strategy. OPHEA also
now manages a Curriculum and School-Based Health Resource Centre in association
with the Ontario Health Promotion Resource System.
Through these key
initiatives, a number of activities targeted at supporting physical activity
for children and youth in the school community have been conducted over the
course of the past five years, and continue to be conducted in the province of
Ontario today. The activities involve both curricular and co-curricular
initiatives, facilitate school-community partnerships and provincial-level
coordination and have used communication vehicles to spread the message of
active healthy schools across the province.
Based on its
experience and collaborative work in the area, OPHEA was asked to present the learnings of this work at the National Roundtable.
While the
Roundtable worked to develop a national vision for Active School Communities,
it was recognized that the different provinces and territories were at different
stages and capacity levels for the implementation of activities to support
Active School Communities within their own regions. Representatives from
individual provinces and territories worked together to develop provincial
action plans that would engage provincial partners in a collective effort to
increase physical activity participation in school communities.
Four key areas were
identified for the province of Ontario:
OPHEA will work
with other key partners in each of these four areas. As the Curriculum
and School-based Health Resource Centre was identified to be the key
coordinating mechanism to drive the action plan for Active School Communities
in Ontario, several of these partners have already been in contact with OPHEA
to express their readiness and intent to provide continued support for the
promotion of Active School Communities in Ontario.
It is important
that the momentum and collaborative efforts begun at the Roundtable are not
lost, and in an effort to sustain that momentum OPHEA has received some base
funding support from Health Canada-Ontario Region to ensure that the identified
activities for Active School Communities can begin to take shape.
Specifically, OPHEA
will work with partners on the following key activities:
Effective physical
activity promotion in the school setting holds dramatic implications in the
areas of chronic disease prevention as well as the overall healthy child
development. The first steps outlined above are crucial and will serve as
a catalyst for coordinated provincial action in this area.
From: Sue.Meikle@gov.yk.ca
1.
Following the National Roundtable, participants formed an "Active
Yukon Schools" working group. This group consists of representation from
our Sport & Recreation Unit (Dept. of Community Services), Dept. of Health
and Education, Recreation & Parks Association of Yukon (non-government),
Physical Educators Association, and Association for School Councils.
2.
Two presentations were developed to increase awareness &
support. A longer power point
presentation was developed for decision-makers and politicians; and a shorter
presentation for schools. Awareness presentations were made to:
ü Association for Yukon School
Councils (annual conference)
ü School administrators (at all 3
District Area meetings)
ü Individual Schools throughout
the Yukon
3.
A designated “Active School Communities” Coordinator was assigned. This Coordinator is the Yukon’s
representative for the National Working Group – the potential mechanism for
moving Active Schools initiatives forward across the Country.
4.
Active Schools workshops along with active living physical education
curriculum were, and continue to be presented by a team to teachers/principals
of several Yukon Schools. Designation
criteria has been established to define “Active Yukon Schools” and is being
implemented.
5.
The “Active Yukon Schools” initiative under the Yukon Active Living
Strategy (approved by YTG in March 2001) and the Yukon Action plan for Active
School Communities were reviewed & linked to develop an action plan for the
next year – to March 31/03.
6.
Social Marketing – we have and will continue promoting Active School
Communities at various venues in the Yukon – trade shows; World Health Day
celebrations; upcoming Yukon Community Recreation Forum, etc.. Currently developing a Mascot to take to
Elementary School activities.
7.
Currently compiling a listing of “Best Practices” from Yukon Schools –
examples of Active Living initiatives by schools to be used as a forum for
celebrating & sharing ideas within Active School Communities.
Next
Steps:
1.
Review outcome of National Working Group meeting with Coordinator &
Working Group.
2.
Continue presentations to schools until school year ends; followed by
evaluation of pilot project.
3.
Develop all-schools mail out that
will consist of:
ü update on Active School
Communities program
ü International Walk to School Day
ü Active & Safe Routes to
School Program & funding opportunities
ü new Physical Activity Guide for
Children and Youth
4.
Fall 2002: Implement full launch (pending
arrival of interactive tools) of Physical Activity Guide for Children and Youth
at all Yukon Schools.
Northwest
Territories
From: Chris Szabo
I should emphasize
from the outset that we are taking not only an interdepartmental approach to
the whole area of active living and active school communities but we are also
working closely with the non-government organizations involved in the NWT with
sport and recreation to ensure that we have a coordinated approach at the
community level where the action is.
At the national
level the national working group needs to continue to bring focus to this area
in the political arena with Provincial/Territorial Ministers on Education,
Health and Recreation and Sport. It has to get on the agendas of Education and
Health Ministers when they meet because we know education is primarily a P/T
jurisdiction. It is going to take a collaborative approach for it to be
successful and to ensure the resources are put towards it.
National promotion
efforts should take regional differences into account.
Ongoing research is
critical related to physical activity (I.e CFLRI) and
the resources required and the coordination necessary to ensure all
jurisdictions are involved has to come from the national level.
The connection
between schools and communities needs to continue to be emphasized. For too
long in may communities education and education facilities have been seen as
separate from the community. We can make better use of limited resources if we
coordinate our approaches from the outset.
* Staff from the
Department of Municipal and Community Affairs have been meeting on a regular
basis with representatives of the Departments of Health and Social Services and
Education Culture and Employment to develop and Active Living Strategy for the
NWT that has an active schools component as part of it. We have another meeting
coming up at the end of April. Non government organizations like the Sport
North Federation and the NWT Recreation and Parks Association have also been
included in the discussions. We are currently reviewing the initiatives that
have been undertaken in
other jurisdictions
and we hope to learn form what has been done in other areas of the country.
* The Department of
Education Culture and Employment is currently adopting new curriculum for
physical education for the Elementary Schools in the NWT. Sport North had a
representative on the curriculum review committee when they met in the fall of
last year. They will be adopting the Alberta Curriculum. A NWT Elementary Physical
Education In-service based on the new curriculum is being hosted in Yellowknife
April 16 to 18, 2002.
Representatives
from Sport North, the NWT Recreation and Parks Association and the Department
of Municipal and Community Affairs have been invited to join the educators who
will be taking part in the in-service.
* Information and
posters promoting World Health Day April 7, 2002 have been distributed to all
communities, schools and community health centers in the NWT.
* Summer active
information will be promoted and distributed to all schools, communities,
health centers and non government organizations.
* The NWT
Recreation and Parks Association produces a Recreation and Sport Directory
annually that goes to all communities, schools and community health centers.
The Directory has contact information for all the organizations concerned with
physical activity and active living in the NWT and includes copies of the Food
Guide and Physical Activity Guides. Eight hundred of the directories are
produced and distributed each year to improve our communication links.
* The Department of
Municipal and Community Affairs in conjunction with the Department of Education
Culture and Employment and the NWT Recreation and Parks Association will be
hosting two Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA) Student
Leadership training events in May, 2002. One workshop will be hosted in Norman
Wells May 13 and 14th in conjunction with the NWT Recreation and Parks
Association Annual General meeting and Conference. The second workshop will be
hosted in Yellowknife May 16 and 17th.
* Plans for
Education Week in March 2003 include a focus based on active living and
physical activity. We have already had one planning meeting related to this.
Education Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Municipal and
Community Affairs, Sport North and the NWT Recreation and Parks Association
will all be involved.
* The NWT
Recreation and Parks Association (NWTRPA) in conjunction with the National
Diabetes Strategy has developed a Diabetes Health Curriculum Tool Kit for
Grades 5 to 6 in the NWT. The material was piloted in four NWT schools in
Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Rae Edzo and Inuvik as it was being developed. In February and March
2002 training workshops were held in three regional centers, Inuvik, Hay River and Yellowknife to train teachers, health
workers and recreation staff in the material. Components included Physical
activity, nutrition and anti smoking. In the next phase the plans are to do
some evaluation of the Tool Kit and look at more community based delivery to
get the material being used by even more front line workers. Funding and
support has been provided by Health Canada, Municipal and Community Affairs,
Health and Social Services, the NWTRPA, and the Inuvialuit Regional
Corporation.
* The Department of
Municipal and Community Affairs has added a youth mandate to it's
responsibilities and the Government of the NWT has invested new money into the
youth area as part of the 2002/2003 Business Plan.
* Youth conferences
are hosted on an annual basis in the NWT and one of the focuses is on healthy
lifestyles which includes physical activity.
Saskatchewan
From:
Norm Campbell ncampbell@spra.sk.ca
On
June 12 and 13, 2002, the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association
(S.P.R.A.) in partnership with Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation
hosted "A Physically Active Saskatchewan" Roundtable. The hosting of this roundtable is a direct of
the Active School Community Roundtable held in Charlottetown Prince Edward
Island in October 2001. Delegates at
that roundtable established a set of action plans to help move the Active
School Initiative forward and hosting discussions in Saskatchewan were included
as a priority.
The “Physically Active
Saskatchewan Roundtable” provided an opportunity for leaders from health,
education, recreation, and sport sectors to discuss possible solutions in
addressing the physical inactivity crisis in our province. Over 80 delegates from around the province
gathered for a day and a half to collaborate on these discussions.
Dr. Mark Tremblay, Dean of
The College of Kinesiology from the University of Saskatchewan provided an
in-depth overview of the trends, temptations, troubles and truths of physical
inactivity. Dr Temblay's
presentation provided a solid foundation and excellent information for the
delegates to begin their discussions on the following day.
Angie Gelinas,
Deputy Minister of Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation brought the
Government of Saskatchewan's perspective and commitment to addressing this very
important issue.
The delegates worked
diligently throughout the next day using the Governement
of Saskatchewan’s strategy developed in August of 2001 to determine key
objectives and possible solutions.
Throughout the next few months, S.P.R.A. will be meeting with
Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation to further discuss the strategy, the
solutions and the next steps.
Active School Communities and
school curriculum issues were a major source of discussion.
Issues discussed included:
Objective: To help support and provide access
to programs for people who want to become more physically active
Points to consider
·
All schools to follow the active school community philosophy
·
School doors need to be open to the community after hours, weekends,
holidays
Objective: Implement the active school
community concept for the First Nations youth in Saskatchewan’s southern
communities
Points to consider
·
Every school
should be an active community school
·
Recognize all
children are potentially “at risk”
·
There is a
concern about the segregation that needs to be addressed
Points to consider:
·
Schools need to
better recognize and support all athletes no just those who make the team
·
All youth need to
develop the basic high school sports skills
·
Change culture of
coaching attitudes to better reflect the trends of the times
·
Tiered system –
youth are okay with this as long as they can play
·
Activity time
(Quality Daily Physical Education) needs to be supplemented with
recess,
after school activity, etc.
·
consider a lobby
that parents hold schools responsible for curriculum standards of Quality Daily
Physical Education (QDPE)
·
Physical Activity
verses Fitness Activity needs to be addressed at the local and school board
levels
Objective: Ensure the education curriculum
includes mandatory information on physical activity along with adequate
classroom time
Points to consider:
·
Provincial study
regarding quantity and quality of time in Physical Education in Saskatchewan
schools
·
Development and
dissemination of health benefits of physical activity, targeting school
administrators (directors, superintendents, principals, etc.)
·
Demand the hiring
of health and physical education consultants and that they work collaboratively
with municipal recreation and health staff (to be funded jointly by Health,
Education, Recreation, Justice, Social Services
·
Rule of the
school à Government paper School “Plus” needs to be a
part of this dialogue.
·
Physical
Education should be compulsory from kindergarten to grade 12.
Objective: Promote the implementation of
Quality Daily Physical Education at the local, regional and provincial levels
·
Partner at the
local level with Saskatchewan Physical Education Association (SPEA)
·
“Demand” action
as opposed to “Promote”
·
Identify the
“police-person” who is accountable to ensure Quality Daily Physical Education?
·
Inform schools
and student/parent/ teacher organizations of innovative concepts such as GO
FOR GREEN’S Walking School Bus or the Biking School Bus.
·
Involve seniors
in the Walking School Bus program
·
Collaborate with
City / Town “planners” to betrter design communities
to be more active
·
Parent / Teacher
Associations help coordinate and participate in Walking / Bicycling School Bus
·
Business /
Employment support (link with workplace wellness)
Suggested
means of achieving Action Plans/Objectives suggested by Roundtable
Participants:
·
Work with Public Health
nurses and nutritionists in school system, disseminate resources on physical
activity and links to health benefits
·
Visit the website
for GO FOR GREEN
·
Provide
resources, materials, activities on relationship between health and physical
activity
·
Physical activity
specialist in Health District to work collaboratively with health specialist,
nutritionist, etc. to embody a cross fertilization of understanding.
·
Promote policies
that allow for more after-hours use of schools
·
Work in
partnership with education administration.
·
Educators must
know there is public demand and must over come things like staffing, facility
wear and tear, liability, etc.
·
Forum to define
role of Sport, Culture and Recreation in Schools ”Plus” paper
·
Look at
increasing after school usage (latch key programs, etc.)
·
Consider
volunteer supervision for non-school hour programs
·
Promote community
action involving all sectors (e.g. Health, Police, Social Services, etc.)
Alberta
From: Barbara Hill barbara.hill@gov.calgary.ab.ca
As a result of attendance at
the Active School Communities National Round Table in Charlottetown in 2001
October, Alberta needs to consider some strategies and actions that might serve
to mobilize us in taking positive initiatives towards improving current
circumstances involving active school communities.
In
Canada today there is a significant problem of inactivity among children, to
the point where it is a health risk now and in the future. There are and will
continue to be negative social and economic impacts if initiatives are not
undertaken to reverse this trend.
In
the future, if this trend continues, there will be more people with less
capacity to fully participate in the community.
In addition, our resource pool for volunteers and community leaders may
become seriously depleted, significantly impacting our ability to offer many
programs that run today - hockey, soccer, basketball to suggest a few.
Economically, already burgeoning health care costs will continue to rise and
combined with the impending bulge of the baby boomers, there will be an even
more serious draw on limited funds as people of this generation continue to
develop preventable chronic illnesses at younger and younger ages.
What are some strategies
that might be effective in Alberta to help to mitigate this growing problem of
inactivity?
It is apparent from attending
the National Round Table in Charlottetown that there is limited understanding
and/or acceptance of the role that can be played by the recreation industry
across Canada in addressing this issue. Although the round table was called
“Active School Communities” there seemed to be a predominant focus on the role
of the school - a school centred approach.
There was acknowledgement of “other players” but, for the most part, the
participants did not seem to understand that the school is only one place in a
community where the citizen can gain and practice healthy lifestyles. Based on, and stemming from this, the
following actions are offered for further discussion and consideration:
Firstly, in Alberta positive
actions to mitigate this trend would be if we could work together to raise
awareness of what all sectors of the community can offer to support a
child and its family in developing healthy and socially responsible habits.
1.
Alberta Community
Development should continue to provide leadership and to increase efforts at
the same time in the following areas:
q advocate interdepartmental/agency initiatives for
recognition of the value of an integrated community approach to healthy living,
which includes the recreation, education, social service, health and justice
sectors.
q develop social
marketing initiatives aimed at supporting the range of activities that
contribute to healthy living.
q Invite key community and recreation industry
representatives to join the table in discussions on community vitality and
wellness issues. A cross section should
include not only the school, but also other community stakeholders.
q Challenge the problem of funding cutbacks particularly
in education from the perspective of how they affect the future health of our
community both physically and socially, and thereby affecting the quality of
life substantially.
q Seek methods to engage the community leadership from
all sectors, not only schools, in policy direction initiatives around
recreation including physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices.
2.
ARPA also has a
role to play in helping to address this problem. As the leading spokesgroup
for the recreation industry there are
efforts in the following areas that could work in synch with those of the
province and other allied stakeholders:
q Development of an advocacy plan identifying the role
of the recreation industry as a leader in helping link the community providers
that offer healthy leisure lifestyle programs.
q Modeling intersectoral
partnerships at the provincial level to identify and develop strategies for
mobilizing initiatives at the local level.
q Ensure that ARPA initiatives like the play leadership
curriculum development include a way of training play leaders about the
necessity for including physical activity and linking with other parts of the
community.
q Both ACD and ARPA would be well served if the
community at the local level were to forge strong links and partnerships with
recreation, education and health in addressing this issue. The advocacy efforts of both organizations
could be focused on this aspect, working with existing programs like Schools
Come Alive to ensure the total integration of recreation including physical
activity and healthy lifestyles across the province.
Secondly, the deterioration
of our physical assets that are used for school and community programming is
starting to have a major impact on the ability of the community to offer the
wide ranging programs that traditionally develop an active person and an active
school community.
1.
ACD – There is a
strong need to continue the partnership we have developed with ACD and the
Province through the community recreation infrastructure study and begin to
link the result to the deteriorating quality of life in our communities. The epidemic of unfit children is clearly one
of the outcomes.
2.
ARPA - Its role is to communicate the impact of
declining community recreation infrastructure and access constraints to
infrastructure as the results of the current study are disseminated. Other sectors are identifying real costs from
declining funding and its long-term effects.
The recreation industry recognizes this impact and needs to ensure the
message is heard both locally, provincially and nationally.
Thirdly, funding cut backs
have resulted in less ability for all sectors of the community to access a full
range of public facilities. As user fees
are forced to increase, many segments of our community are excluded from
participating in activities that contribute to healthy lifestyles. As school programs are reduced, community
facilities deteriorate and the cost of using schools after hours increases, the
option of being physically and mentally active in one’s school and community
will become the privilege of those that can afford to pay.
Both ARPA and the Provincial
Government have a role to play in gathering sectors of the community together
in ways that can increase the effectiveness of current initiatives and perhaps
generate creative alternatives for other communities.
The Active School Communities
National Round Table was a good start.
It will be important to extend the reach of those initiatives to the
broader regional and local communities and engage thoughtful creative minds in
new solutions.