The Irish Heart Foundation’s Let’s Get Active programme challenges children to be active for at least 60 minutes every day.

Let’s Get Active is the Irish Heart Foundation’s new and improved four-week programme for primary school children. The free initiative, which was co-designed with pupils across Ireland, challenges children to be active for at least 60 minutes every day.

These 60 minutes of physical activity do not need to be all in one go, and can be spread throughout the day in school and at home. Let’s Get Active is best-suited to children in 2^nd to 6^th class. Classes who participate in the challenge are provided with a free challenge pack for each pupil which contains a booklet, certificate, and stickers, to guide and motivate them. The booklet provides lots of ideas and inspiration for ways to get active, a tracker to record and reflect on activity each week, stories, and drawing activities.

“The Irish Heart Foundation are excited to launch the new Let’s Get Active Challenge, a programme with children’s voices at its heart. Through co-design, children were involved in every aspect, from content and activity ideas to the design itself,” said Katherine Scott, Acting Children and Young People Programme Manager.

The Let’s Get Active Challenge is a great opportunity for children to have fun getting active and learn about motivation, goal setting, and health. For schools doing the Active School Flag, it is also ideal for the Active Break Every Day Challenge or Active School Week.

Although it is recommended that all children and young people get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, research in Ireland shows that 83% of primary school children do not meet this target. The Let’s Get Active Challenge can help children to reach the daily goal of 60 minutes in a fun and creative way. Katherine Scott said, “Let’s Get Active aims to help children to find ways to be active that they enjoy and build healthy habits for life.”

To order the Let’s Get Active Challenge packs, email schools@irishheart.ie with the following details:

• You name
• School name
• School address (with Eircode)
• Phone number
• School roll number
• Number of challenge packs required (one per pupil)