The “Scuola Attiva Kids for inclusive Emilia-Romagna” project was presented this Friday in Bologna during a press conference, born with the aim of promoting balanced physical activity and correct styles right from school. of life, combat social inequalities, promoting integration and inclusion.
The Emilia-Romagna Region thus relaunches its commitment to offering lessons held by graduates in motor sciences: a proposal that from this school year will concern not only girls and boys in state and private primary schools, but also those in 100 sections of the last year of state nursery school.
The result of the collaboration with Sport and Health and with the Regional School Office, the “Active kids school for inclusive Emilia-Romagna” project, after the launch last year, is therefore confirmed and strengthened for the 2023 school year. 2024.
A decision taken also after the positive results recorded last year: in 2022-2023 almost 53 thousand pupils involved from the 1st to the 5th class of primary school, 314 school complexes, 2,640 classes with an increase of 33% compared to the school year previous year, 203 tutors and 25 sports federations.
A commitment which, on the part of the Region, translates into a financing of 728 thousand euros, thanks to resources from the European Social Fund PLUS, to support educational autonomy in the enrichment of the offer, and which will allow the costs relating to the teaching of motor education for the 1st classes of primary school and for the 100 classes of the last year of nursery school.
Sport and Health, on the other hand, will bear the costs for the sports tutors who will follow the 2nd and 3rd classes, while for the 4th and 5th classes the presence of the physical education teacher is foreseen by the Ministry of Education and Merit.
“We at Sport e Salute are called to make a strong commitment to schools – explained the President of Sport and Health, Marco Mezzaroma – Here in Emilia-Romagna, thanks to the intervention of the Region, we will bring physical activity not only to all primary school classes, but also to nursery school. It is an epochal turning point that will also represent a reference model for the whole of Italy, where we aim to exceed the quota of 2 million students involved last school year. Initiatives like these fill the words introduced in article 33 of the Constitution regarding the educational value of sport with content. This is our task and we are proud to carry out it every day, knowing that we can count on the synergy with institutional entities such as the Emilia-Romagna Region”.
“Everyone must have the opportunity to practice sport or physical activity – said the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini –. Starting from the little ones, for whom correct physical activity can really make the difference in some cases. Also on the level of interpersonal relationships, the acquisition of positive values and as a tool for reducing inequalities. And school, the place par excellence where the citizens of tomorrow are trained, can play a fundamental role from this point of view. Furthermore, the strengthening of this project translates into practice the right to sport which has finally been introduced into the Constitution – concluded Bonaccini –. After starting last year, the first region in Italy, we are proud to be able to continue and strengthen our commitment, in collaboration with Sport and Health and with the regional school office”.
“Scientific literature attests that in nursery school and even more so in primary school, motor practice constitutes an important tool for relational and bodily maturation – declared the General Director of the Regional School Office for Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Versari –. The action, in the second year, of the “Active Kids School for Inclusive Emilia-Romagna” project integrates the actions carried out at a national level in primary schools. With the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region, 1st grade classes and 5 year olds will be involved on an experimental basis in nursery school. Movement, play, body and mind synergy are the prerequisite for balanced development and for a firm anchoring in the concreteness of corporeity, an aspect that is increasingly absent in our digital world but essential for physical and mental health“.
The presentation of the measure was attended by Giammaria Manghi, head of the political secretariat of the Presidency of the Region and coordinator of the project and Teresa Zompetti, Director of Sustainability and School of Sport and Health.
Promoted by the Ministry of Education and Merit and by Sport and Health, the national “Scuola Attiva Kids” project makes use of collaboration with the National Sports Federations and the Italian Paralympic Committee.
Also in this school year, therefore, schools will have the opportunity to join the project which provides school sports tutors with a degree in Sports Science, who will work alongside the teacher in charge of the classes. The tutor will have to guarantee one hour per week of motor-sports orientation, working alongside the class teacher. The second weekly hour of physical education teaching will be taught by the regular teacher.
Individual schools will choose whether to make use of this opportunity, via an online platform, managed by the Sport and Health company, which will connect supply and demand.
On the one hand, the requests from schools to join the initiative, on the other, the applications of aspiring school sports tutors.
The tutors will be specifically trained for the age group of the children concerned, without prejudice to the possession of a degree in Physical Education under the old or new system. With the possibility of additional scores, during the definition of the ranking through public notice, for those who hold master’s degrees, doctorates, masters or specialization courses. Each tutor will also have access to educational kits created in collaboration with the national sports federations that are partners in the project.