Physical wellbeing through a blend of activity and functional fitness

Active Canaries, sponsored by Norse Catering, is a programme passionate about educating young people about leading healthy lifestyles and the benefit this can have to their physical and mental health.

This year we will be conducting a 6-week PSHE intervention programme to target the health and well-being of young people in Norfolk. These sessions will focus on the importance of physical activity, nutrition, hydration, sleep and mental health.

This year also presents an exciting opportunity for you to take part in our 2023 Health Month in March. Norwich City Football Club have teamed with Norse Catering to launch a four-week, healthy eating programme for children in Norfolk and Suffolk schools.

Active Canaries Health Month sees the club’s chef and nutritionist work with the catering company to serve school dinners inspired by some of the top footballers in the country. The programme will also include four live virtual assemblies, delivered by key people from within the football club focusing on four key areas of well-being.

Useful resources

Week 1 – Angus Gunn

Week 2 – Kenny McLean

Week 3 – Onel Hernandez

Week 4 – Kathryn Stanley

Other resources

Class Challenge Poster

Our Impact

In 2022:

Over 72 schools engaged
Over 150 lunchtime activities delivered
10,037 attendances over the virtual assemblies
15,057 Norwich City-themed school lunches served
89% of pupils felt proud of themselves after Active Canaries sessions
90% of pupils enjoy being active after the Active Canaries sessions

Nine-year-old Mason, from Norwich particularly benefited from the programme, enjoying healthy pizzas, vegetarian pasta and chicken flat breads which he would make at The Nest.

Joel Hann, Assistant Headteacher Queen’s Hill Primary School said:

“The Active Canaries Health Month has already had a great impact on our children. We know from the data that obesity has become a bigger problem in Norfolk since Covid struck and this initiative has helped our children understand the importance of healthy eating.

“The assemblies have taught the pupils about nutrition and given them a new perspective on the importance of being active and healthy. The footballers’ cards are something the children can take home so they can cook healthy meals, like Dimitris Giannoulis’s popular chicken flatbread, together as a family.”

Partners

Andrew Lipscomb, Operations Director for Norse Catering, said:

“For us it is a really exciting project. Anything that we can do to encourage children to look at food and nutrition, we can’t go wrong.”

“It’s proven that if children eat a lunch that is nutritionally balanced, they learn better.

“Our emphasis is always on serving nutritious meals, but this highlights the importance of healthy eating to the children in a way they can really relate to.

“These footballers are their heroes; if the children have more of an understanding of the kinds of dishes they eat in order to retain their peak fitness levels, then it will help them to realise that food can be fun, as well as healthy.”