Character Bulletin May 2021
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Vol.8 May 2021 PiXL May 2021 Character www.pixl.org.uk Bulletin BETTER FUTURE BRIGHTER HOPE PiXL Character Bulletin May 2021 WELCOME NATIONAL WALKING MONTH 1st – 31st May As we move towards the final steps of the Covid-19 lockdown roadmap, many schools will be looking towards the summer term as an opportunity to re-engage in sport and other opportunities that we know benefit the health of our students. In a recent study by the Youth Sport Trust, they found that there had been a significant increase in anxiety, trauma and related symptoms during lockdown. • 41% of children felt lonelier • 38% of children worried more Walking is a simple, free way of getting more physically active • 37% of children felt sadder and is ideal for people of all ages and fitness levels. It is easy to You can increase your steps in simple ways such as: build into your daily routine and does not require any special • 34% of children felt more stressed equipment. Many people do not think of walking as being • Taking the stairs instead of the lift. exercise and as a trained PE teacher, I never fully understood Engagement in physical activity (recommended 60 minutes a day) dropped dramatically from 47% pre-lockdown the benefits of this until the pandemic struck and I was • Walking on your lunch break with family and friends. to just 19% during lockdown. The benefits of exercise and activity, however, are evident in these statistics: suddenly working from home and walking with my dog a lot • 37% of children see it as more important to their lives than before more, finding footpaths I never knew existed. • Parking further away from your destination and having • 27% said it made them feel better a short walk. • 51% plan to do more in the future Walking is great as we do not need to go to the gym, go • Walking for short commutes instead of taking the car. swimming or play sports to get the benefits of exercise. Many occasions it is even free. Walking is a great way of reaching In this bulletin, we look at how we can use some of the key dates in May to promote healthy lifestyles and to • You can start walking by breaking the time into smaller the recommended level of physical activity we need to stay encourage our students back outside to engage in purposeful activities. We have a spotlight on Mental Health chunks i.e. walk for ten minutes three times per day healthy. Making small changes to increase your number of Awareness Week and this links in really well with National Walking Month and Walk to School Week. We also or fifteen minutes twice a day. Build this up to walking daily steps can lead to big health benefits. We should aim to highlight Time for a Cuppa Week which provides opportunities for our young people to offer support to others greater distances and picking up a faster pace.. that might be lonely and in need of some social interaction. National Vegetarian Week is an opportunity to look at establish a baseline of how many steps we currently do and aim to increase this gradually until we are walking for at least our diets and to consider trying vegetarian food for a week, or even longer. It could also be used to promote the • Convert sitting time to standing time. benefits of a vegetarian diet to those that have never considered it before. Finally, the month of May encourages 2.5 hours per week, preferably in an outdoor space. students to get out and about and learn more about their local community with Local Community History Month. • Sound an alert at random times, which is a signal for For walking to count towards a recommended level of physical everyone to stand up and sit down. Impose a fine or Hopefully the month of May remains dry and our students will be able to engage in some of these events outdoors activity, you should walk at a pace that increases your breathing forfeit for anyone caught napping. safely. As always, we would love to see and hear what you are up to so please do share your stories with us on speed and heart rate (as if you are late for an appointment) for Twitter via @PiXLEdge. just 30 minutes a day on at least five days of the week. Like • Take regular breaks from a computer, stand up, other forms of moderate activity, regular walking is proven stretch and walk around. If you have any success stories you would like to share with us to be included in the PiXL Character bulletin, to reduce your risk of some chronic illnesses, including heart please email [email protected]. disease, stroke, asthma, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some • Make – and take - phone calls standing up. types of cancer. It can also help improve your mood, reduce your risk of depression, burn calories that can help you • Hold standing or walking meetings. maintain or lose weight, strengthen the heart, reduce your risk for coronary heart disease, can help lower your blood sugar, • Agree that any speaker must stand during meetings. Contents ease joint pain, boosts immune function and energy, tone your legs, and help with your creative thinking. • Do simple stretches led by the speaker, every time you move to a new agenda item during a meeting. 03-04 National Walking Month 13 Spotlight on PiXL Edge 05 Time for a Cuppa 14-15 Events in May • Organise a lunchtime walk. Walk to work, walk before 06-09 National Vegetarian Week 16-17 Next month... work, or get off public transport a few stops earlier 10 Walk to School Week 18 Twitter @pixledge and walk the rest of the way. 11-12 Mental Health Awareness Week 02 partners in excellence 03 partners in excellence PiXL Character Bulletin May 2021 NATIONAL WALKING MONTH TIME FOR A CUPPA 1st – 31st May 1st May ➤ Continued from page 3 Activity trackers like pedometers or those available on a smart comes back, but I personally aim to complete the 874 miles There has never been a more important time to support those Our students are amazing at coming up with their own ideas phone are useful, motivational tools to help you track your quicker than in a year that has been set me as a target. people impacted by dementia. This year has been incredibly tough to raise money and awareness of charities that are working walking progress. You can use them to set yourself goals and Geocaching is also another great way to get children out with families and charities supporting those with dementia and tirelessly to support those affected by dementia, so please do measure your success. I am addicted to walking outside in the walking, and finding treasure can be fun for the adults too. many centres have had to close at a time when they were needed share anything that your students do. fresh air daily and will always find the time to do this every day the most. Time for a Cuppa started in 2009 and has raised over So, who is with me for walking more in May for the national as it makes me feel better and less stressed. £760,966.73 to support those affected by dementia. walking month and what targets can you set yourself to walk I am signed up to walking from Lands’ End to John O’Groats more in a week to improve our fitness? There are around 850,000 people in the UK with dementia. People virtually, tracking where I am on the map. I think my dog will with dementia gradually lose their memory. This can mean forgetting Lisa Goodship – PiXL 6 South Regional Leader complete it quicker than I will with the amount she runs and all sorts of things, such as who people are, and how to complete Further resources: activities like washing or cooking. • http://www.national-awareness-days.com/ Even the smallest amounts of money could make a huge difference! • https://www.dementiauk.org/ • £55 could pay for the telephone costs of 20 families calling our LORIC opportunities: free Dementia Helpline, whenever they need support. • https://www.brighterkind.com/news/blog/7- ideas-for-dementia-uk-time-for-a-cuppa- • £230 could pay for a brand-new nurse for a whole day, offering day-2020 life-changing support to families facing dementia. • Leadership: Run a lunchtime walking session. • £515 could pay for two Admiral Nurses to answer calls on our Dementia Helpline, all day on a Sunday, when families have nowhere else to turn to. • Organise: Get a group of friends together to find some Geocaches. LORIC opportunities: • Leadership: Take responsibility for an event to raise money for Dementia UK • Resilience: Aim to walk up to 2.5 hours a week outside. • Organisation: Organise a cake sale to raise money for Dementia UK • Initiative: Text neighbours and friends to arrange for a weekly walk together. • Initiative: Create your own cake and deliver it to your local residential home • Communication: Spend some time talking to • Communication: Plan a list of walks around where you live and share with someone that has dementia friends. Remember to try and walk with another person and not on your own. 04 05 partners in excellence PiXL Character Bulletin May 2021 NATIONAL VEGETARIAN WEEK 10th – 16th May National Vegetarian Week was founded by the Vegetarian Health Society in 1992, when it first ran as a single day. Since then, and • Encourages individuals to consume a more balanced diet, as the number of those who subscribe to vegetarianism has through a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables.