Thread by @Telegraph

🔴 Exclusive: The “horrific” impact of the third national lockdown has been laid bare in a major new study.

⛹️ 84% of schools have identified a decline in children’s physical fitness
📈 2/3 thought that pupils had gained excessive weight

🧵👇
telegraph.co.uk/sport/2021/05/…

The survey, commissioned by the School’s Active Movement, is the largest analysis of how the winter lockdown impacted young people.

It also recorded an alarming drop in:
📚Pupil resilience
⚽️Activity levels
💬Social interaction
💪Fundamental movement skills

🏫2,647 schools were surveyed in the research.

✏️ Teachers were asked to score how children had returned from 9 weeks of lockdown according to key physical and emotional measurements
telegraph.co.uk/sport/2021/05/…

📌 The Government has created a new Office for Health Promotion.

❌ The Youth Sports Trust has said that tackling “poor health, wellbeing and low levels of physical activity among young people” should be its top priority

📊“The stark picture painted by this research reinforces the huge toll the pandemic has taken on young people’s wellbeing,” said Ali Oliver, the chief executive of the Youth Sports Trust
telegraph.co.uk/sport/2021/05/…

🌳The survey found children in urban areas were more likely to be impacted than those in rural areas.

School leaders are actively prioritising physical activity during summer term.

The findings will amplify calls for a long-term national strategy and including future funding

👟“In the longer term, we really want to see a joined-up national strategy for our young people to be the happiest and most active in the world,” said Oliver.

Read more: telegraph.co.uk/sport/2021/05/…