News release from Harbour Sport

For immediate release

Harbour Sport To Harness Active Movement in Exciting New Under 5s Initiative

Auckland, New Zealand – Friday 10 February 2006 – Following intensive research and resource development, Harbour Sport will launch SPARC’s (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) innovative ‘Active Movement Under 5s’ initiative in the Harbour and Rodney region.

An open invitation is extended to press and everyone involved in childhood education to the launch and demonstration at the North Shore Events Centre, Kings Lounge, Glenfield, Auckland from 12:15pm – 1:30pm on 21 February 2006.

Demonstrating their support for the Active Movement Under 5s initiative, launch speakers will include Helen Dunlop, Deputy Principal of Murrays Bay School in Auckland, Diana North, Public Health Physician, Waitemata District Health Board and Ian Jones, former All Black and Sky TV reporter.

Countering the increasingly sedentary environment which impacts even those in early childhood has been the stimulus for SPARC’s development of their Active Movement campaign currently being rolled out throughout New Zealand.

Active Movement is a new initiative delivering benefits in under 5s brain development and subsequent learning, intelligence, communication, memory and coordination. Active Movement allows children to achieve their genetic potential.

Published research (Carnegie Corporation “Starting Points” 1994 and Carla Hannaford “Smart Moves” 1995) by neuroscientists, psychologists and movement specialists show that movement, positive stimulation and nurturing are essential for growing the brain and developing higher brain functions.

Opportunities for Active Movement from birth for all children are essential for brain development. Active Movement also increases the supply of ‘fuel’ (oxygen and glucose) to the brain.

Every movement made makes connections in the mind/body system. Active Movement strengthens brain and body connections. The development of these connections is vital for communication between the two sides of the brain, processing information, participation in the arts and the later formal learning of reading, writing and mathematics.

Helen Dunlop has a particular passion for literacy learning and has spent the last 6 years working with children needing learning support. Dunlop is also a Special Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and the Learning Leader of the Year One Learning team.

“For a number of years I’ve been comparing the capacity for learning in children who have had a relatively active first five years of life, with those who have had a more sedentary start. The difference is astounding – kids who have been active tend to learn faster, engage better with teachers and are better at numeracy and literacy,” says Dunlop.

“I have such confidence in the educational benefits from Active Movement for under 5s that we have recently appointed a specialist teacher for our new entrant children, so they can ensure that all children starting school for the first time have the required physical skills needed for formal learning.

“We’re keen to track the success of this new class and it will be assessed by the Performance Indicator Primary Schools programme through Canterbury University,” Dunlop explains.

“Integrating Active Movement into daily life may initially sound daunting or time-consuming but the whole purpose of our SPARC/Harbour Sport campaign is to show parents and earl childhood educators just how simple and highly effective activity can be,” explains Sarah Ashmole, Harbour Sport Active Movement Advisor.

“Active Movement is not about doing more activity; instead it’s about creating movement experiences in every day life. Just a few ideas include walking to pre-school, involving under 5s in cooking, getting the children to act out the actions of their bedtime story or encouraging them to participate in hanging out the washing – things that everyone can do easily with very little disruption. It’s all about having fun and getting as much out of life as possible,” adds Ashmole.

Enabling infants, toddlers and young children to learn to move and acquire movement skills is key to Active Movement. Experts confirm that children receive multi-sensory stimulation from Active Movement which enables them to learn about relationships with themselves and their bodies, their peers, objects, time, their families, whanau and places.

The Active Movement initiative through Harbour Sport is the first of its kind in the region and its launch marks the start of an integrated campaign roll-out, which aims to deliver the simple Active Movement message to early childhood educators and parents.

As part of a national initiative, SPARC have given contracts to Regional Sports Trusts to employ Active Movement Advisors to encourage movement in under 5s.

A series of 14 Active Movement activity guides, developed by SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand), in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, the Heart Foundation, the Cancer Society, Plunket and New Zealand Gymnastics are available FREE OF CHARGE to parents and educators. Call 0800 228 483 to receive a copy.

ENDS

Visit www.harboursport.co.nz and enter ‘Active Movement’ for further details on the speakers and the regional launch.

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