Insight, DCU and the GAA have launched a new video series to help primary school children remain physically active during Covid-19 and beyond.

The “Movement Break” videos are part of the Moving Well-Being Well project (MWBW)*, one of the largest physical literacy research projects in the world. Previous research findings from this has shown that over a quarter of children on the island of Ireland lack the skills to adequately run. Results have also shown that the development of fundamental movement skills plateau at age 10.

In an attempt to help with the challenges of home-schooling and the absence of GAA club activity, the video learning resources will provide assistance to both primary school teachers and parents to incorporate regular physical activity into the daily routine of children.

The series focuses on fundamental movement skills (FMS) (hopping, skipping, jumping), regarded as the “building blocks” of more advanced sport-specific skills and key to children being active in later life.

In light of restrictions imposed on daily life due to Covid-19, the GAA and researchers at DCU have collaborated to create the evidence-based videos which will help children to continue to develop and progress their movement abilities and remain active. All of the videos will be available to view on the GAA’s Learning platform available at learning.gaa.ie/movingwellbeingwell and the GAA Learning YouTube channel.

In total, there are forty-five videos, varying from three to four minutes in length, with a focus on (FMS). Each concentrate on a specific skill and then progresses to a slightly more challenging version of the same skill.

The research team collaborated with the Professional Development Services for Teachers (PDST) in the production of the video resources.