The experimentation that sees motor activity arriving in nursery school starts from the Emilia-Romagna Region. There are 2,500 children aged 4 to 5 years old who are protagonists of the “Active School for inclusive Emilia-Romagna” project, the result of collaboration between the Emilia-Romagna Region, Sport and Health, the State society for the development of sport and the Office regional school for Emilia-Romagna.
In recent days, the first training meeting took place in Bologna for the tutors who will have the task of going to the over 100 sections of the state-run nursery schools in Emilia-Romagna and bringing the children and the girls to physical activity during the 20 hours scheduled for each class. The meeting had a laboratory approach, with a moment of discussion between the experts of the educational-scientific commission that follows the project, the tutor trainers and the teachers involved, which was followed by practical activities that will then be proposed to the children. The objective of the tutors, specialized and central figures for the project, is to involve the children in targeted motor activities and to transmit some specific skills to the teachers.
“In 2022 we were the first Region in Italy to commit to bringing sport and physical activities into every primary school class, thanks to the project resulting from the precious collaboration with Sport and Health and the Regional School Office – he comments Giammaria Manghihead of the political secretariat of the Presidency of the Region and coordinator of the project-. By starting the experimentation in the first nursery schools, we are also reaching the little ones, convinced that both they and their families will appreciate this opportunity for growth, based on the valorization of the motor alphabet. We are satisfied that this initiative starts from Emilia-Romagna, a land of sport and sociality.”
“The one started with the Emilia-Romagna Region is an experiment that we want to extend throughout the country – he declares Diego Nepi Molinerismanaging director of Sport and Health –. Bringing children closer to physical activity from an early age is an objective reiterated at multiple levels and which we are able to achieve with “Active Childhood School for inclusive Emilia-Romagna”. Physical activity is a moment of fundamental human and social education, with children learning to move but also to share, collaborate and respect others”.
The innovative initiative was born from the awareness that physical activity plays a fundamental role in the physical, social, cognitive and emotional development of children, starting from childhood.
The experimentation concerning nursery schools also involves the Italian Gymnastics Federation and is integrated into the “Active Kids School for inclusive Emilia-Romagna” project, which includes the figure of a tutor in the gym in all primary school classes, aiming thus to spread and strengthen physical activity, promoting correct lifestyles and promoting social inclusion.
The project develops in parallel with the national initiative “Scuola Attiva 2023-2024” promoted by Sport and Health and the Ministry of Education and Merit in collaboration with the Minister for Sport and Youth through the Department for Sport and created with the participation of the National Sports Federations and the Italian Paralympic Committee.