Story added: 12th February 2021

The EFL initiative is suitable for all abilities and helps to encourage children to get moving through play

Following a successful virtual Joy of Moving Home School Festival in the summer of 2020 where over 250,000 children got involved, the Community Sports Foundation is partnering with the EFL Trust and Ferrero to launch a new virtual ‘Winter Games’ pack which will help inspire children to get moving in the toughest months for activity levels.

Research shows that children’s activity levels drop significantly in the winter months compared to the summer months (68 mins in summer vs 48 mins per day in winter). To help inspire families to get active at home during the winter months, the Joy of Moving ‘Winter Games’ will take families on a Winter Adventure, with an exciting selection of games and activities that they can play at home.

The games, which have been developed in line with the Joy of Moving methodology, are suitable for all abilities and help to encourage children to get moving through play.

Throughout February, the Joy of Moving virtual ‘Winter Games’ will be shared with families and teachers across the country with the help of over 70 EFL Trust Club Community Organisations.

As schools remain closed for many children, the ‘Winter Games’ supports families at a crucial time when it is even more important for children to stay active and to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of activity each day.

The Foundation’s Schools Engagement Manager, Paul Hunter said: “Norwich City Community Sports Foundation are delighted to be working in partnership with the English Football League to bring the Joy of Movement Winter Games to schools and their communities across Norfolk. The campaign will see The Foundation unite to engage and inspire schools, pupils and parents, to participate throughout February highlighting once again the importance of being physically active and taking time to reflect on our mental health and wellbeing.”

The Joy of Moving programme is an unbranded CSR project by Ferrero. Together with the EFL Trust, the Joy of Moving programme has been supporting children to get active across EFL Communities for over seven years. The Joy of Moving programme is based on methodology which is designed to inspire children to move through play, and in doing so, build up their physical fitness, motor coordination, cognitive functions and creativity and life skills – helping to develop positive habits for adulthood.

In the UK, the programme consists of two in-school elements – the Move & Learn programme and the Joy of Moving Festivals, which have been developed in conjunction with EFL Trust. While these are on pause in line with temporary school closures, we are supporting the communities with access to free, online digital materials via our resource hub.

Keep an eye out for the hashtag #JOMWinterGames on social media for further updates and ways to get involved, and for more fun games to play, visit the online Resource Hub.