Concept

Schools on the Move has been a success story in Finland. More than 90 per cent of Finnish schools participate in the programme. In the 2000s, positive developments have been seen in the amount of physical activity among Finnish children of comprehensive school age. According to the staff in these schools, the Schools on the Move activities are beneficial for learning and contribute to a peaceful atmosphere at school.

By adding physical activity to the school day, it is possible to improve not only the health and wellbeing of pupils but also the learning outcomes and school enjoyment and create a peaceful working atmosphere.

The Finnish Schools on the Move concept consists of different services related to making the school day more active. These services have been divided into three areas: creating an active culture, developing the pedagogy and increasing movement.

We and our partners have years of experience and expertise in the holistic development of the school culture and the skills of teachers, monitoring the progress of the change, measuring the amount of physical activity and adding movement to the school day with the help of digital solutions, training contents, development of learning environments and sports equipment.

We are ready to share the best practices, experiences and solutions gained through the development work we have conducted in Finland.

The Finnish Schools on the Move concept is composed of three areas:

Creating an active culture

Adding movement to the school day requires changes in the school premises, official and unofficial rules, values and attitudes. What kind of school encourages children to be physically active? How should the activities be organised? How can the change in the school culture be monitored, supported and managed?

Developing the pedagogy

The pedagogical competence of teachers is the strength of the Finnish education system. How can physical activity be integrated into lessons? How can the school yard and the neighbourhood be used in teaching? How can technology be made use of to add movement to lessons? What kind of support or knowledge do teachers need?

Increasing movement

We have a wide array of measures that immediately add movement to the school day. For example, movement can be created by modifying the structure of the school day and by organising club activities, campaigns or physically active events. The increasing movement can be seen as improved learning and concentration. What is an activating school yard like? How should break-time physical activity be organised in the school?