Albion in the Community is using the power of sport to combat childhood obesity in the Brighton & Hove area.

The Albion's award winning community department has set up a three-year health project that will work in schools across the area to help children develop, and maintain, a healthy lifestyle.

Working alongside funding partners; the Football Foundation, the Football League Trust and Brighton & Hove Primary Care Trust the 'Make a Change Project' will deliver five key objectives:

1. Improve the health and development of young people in Brighton & Hove
2. Build regular physical activity into young people's lives in Brighton & Hove
3. Create new incentives to promote healthy living for young people in Brighton & Hove
4. Promote healthier food choices for young people in Brighton & Hove
5. Work to tackle health inequalities in Brighton & Hove

The project combines physical activity with information and education required to build a healthy lifestyle. Its primary focus is on people aged between 5-16 years old with whom they have created new healthy activity breakfast clubs, weekly evening activity sessions and school's healthy living days.

In conjunction with the Brighton & Hove PCT, the Football Foundation and the Football League Trust the AITC programme fulfils both the local and national agendas for making a sustainable impact in helping to tackle childhood obesity in the city.

AITC believes it has the skills and expertise to deliver a successful programme to a range of targeted schools every year. AITC's specially trained Health coaches offer Breakfast Clubs, Study Support, After School Clubs, Parent Education and Information Sessions alongside their close links with local sports clubs to deliver the 'Make a Change Project'.

The 'Make a Change Project' can be run for a minimum of six weeks aimed at the whole school, a single year group or even an individual class. All of the games can be adapted to suit your needs and can be channelled into individual or multi-sports events. Alongside the physical activity, AITC provides specially designed 'Make a Change' log books which meet National Curriculum outcomes in Literacy, Numeracy and PHSE.

The project's key activities include:

'Make a Change' Breakfast clubs
Breakfast clubs have been set up in mainstream and specialist schools across Brighton & Hove in areas that suffer from health inequalities. Pupils are invited to participate in a 12 week programme that follows a specifically designed physical activity and healthy eating course which encourages young people to incorporate exercise in their daily routine as well as promoting the importance of starting the day with a healthy breakfast.

'Make a Change' early evening sessions
These fun based sessions are aimed at children aged 5-11 and they allow young people from mainstream and specialist schools to participate in football and a range of different sporting activities.

The sessions are delivered throughout the school year from four suitable leisure and sports facilities in areas that suffer from health inequalities in Brighton and Hove. They help to build physical activity into the lives of the children while also working to a specially designed physical literacy programme which aids young people's physical development.

'Make a Change' Schools Programme
The schools programme aims to promote the benefits of regular physical activity and healthier food choices to primary, junior and specialist schools across Brighton and Hove. Specially trained AITC healthy living coaches go to 25 targeted schools where they deliver one hour healthy living workshops to a mixture of different classes and year groups throughout the day.

These workshops combine physical activity drills, games and challenges along with professionally delivered healthy living messages.

The Get Out And Live (GOAL) Programme
The GOAL programme is designed to provide young people aged between 12-16 the basic knowledge and skills to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The ten-week course aims to familiarise the young people with a range of nutritional, physical and mental skills that provide them with long-term improvements to their lifestyle. Each week, participants benefit from the AITC's qualified NHS health trainers advice in a number of group and individual sessions that utilise the sports facilities on offer to give them a structured programme for sustained health enhancements.

The activities on offer include; team building, fitness testing, and sports events such as; athletics, football, volleyball, tennis and more.

Our expert 'Make a Change' team can help your school's Healthy schools Initiative by offering health days, health weeks, assemblies, lunchbox workshops for parents, nutrition talks and classroom activities.

If you would like to see our team in action they can offer a free taster session for your school which can be either an hour long curriculum lesson or extended school session with time built in afterwards to discuss your requirements.

www.makeachangetoday.co.uk.

Click here for more information.

Please feel Free to downlod the Health Overview Document by clicking here