Active Essex and Micro Scooters have partnered up to support and encourage physical activity by distributing equipment to local schools. Many children in Essex are still yet to become more active and creative ways have been introduced to change that.
What did schools receive as part of the pilot?
Five schools were given a set of 10 Micro Scooters and helmets each so they could be involved in our “test and learn” phase. Alongside the equipment, each school also received lesson plan cards to help integrate and make use of them within their curriculum, a designed scooter route and a ½ day Rubicon training session. The energy, enthusiasm, and impact this has created so far has been tremendous. Having Micro Scooter’s accessible to local schools has encouraged children to spend more time being physically active, while building confidence around exercise. This has also supported schools in meeting their targets and being sustainable whilst doing so.
What did the schools have to say?
The locations of the schools that have taken part include Harlow, Castle Point, Clacton, Basildon and Epping. We have since heard back from a few of the schools that were involved in this test and learn phase. One being Upshire Primary School, they had some great feedback to share. They explained that Katie Hart, their PE Lead has been running a four- week scooter club after school. Lots of children have been taking part in it and explained that the “Children come in excited, saying, ‘Yes, it’s scooter club today!’” and that Katie “feels our children have a positive attitude to PE and support each other.”
This feedback from participating schools, confirms that implementing these strategies has had a positive impact on pupils. Not only that but will hopefully create more of an encouraging outlook towards physical activity.
Not only that but Upshire also explained that “With the support of Active Essex, we’ve invested in more scooters and Scooterpods. This helped us achieve a ‘Good’ accreditation for our first travel plan.” The long-term impact this is already making is great to see. Not just on the level of children’s physical activity but on their experience at school also.
What about younger children?
In partnership with Micro Scooters, there is now an exciting opportunity to explore the use of balance bikes for younger children. These bikes are perfect for helping toddlers build early cycling skills, improve their balance, and grow their confidence.
More and more parents are being seen to ditch stabilisers for the use of balance bikes. According to ‘The Bike Club’ kids who start on a balance bike more often transition to pedal bikes in as little as 30 minutes. That’s without ever needing stabilisers!
These balance bikes would be perfect to start introducing to local nurseries and Child & Family Wellbeing Hubs.
The partnership between Active Essex and Micro Scooters continues to be extremely valuable, encouraging children to be more active and involved in physical activity. Whether you may be running a school, working with younger children, or supporting families in the community, there’s a chance here to make a real difference. So, lets encourage children to be healthier, happier and more active in Essex.
Micro scooters are passionate about helping schools raise all-important funds and we know you are too. We regularly give away scooter donations, bike and scooter safety sets and trial sets of scooters. We do all we can to help as many schools as we can. Get in touch if you’re interested in how we can help your school with free Micro products [email protected]
