Student Wellbeing through Innovation To Create Healthy Lifestyles Erasmus Project

Project Title

Student Wellbeing through Innovation To Create Healthy Lifestyles

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

The “S.W.I.T.C.H. – Lifestyles” project was proposed by Furness Academy in partnership with two schools from Italy and Portugal and two expert partners, one tech partner (PONTO PR, from Portugal) and one QA partner (ProMETEUS from Italy). We moved from the data of the National Child Measurement Programme and NHS released in January 2018 which showed that 33% of 10-11 students are obese or overweight: the highest proportion of the country, with Barrow leading the chart. The study identified a strong relationship between poverty and obesity: prevalence for children living in the most deprived areas was more than double that of those living in the least deprived areas. There’s obviously healthy eating and exercise to consider, but also poverty, affordability, emotional health and wellbeing: there were many issues in the area that can all have an impact on the weight of children. Partners have identified Students wellbeing and health as Priority 1: benefits of good health in terms of a child’s life, from mental wellbeing to physical activity, had an overall impact on students’ longer-term life chances.

SWITCH pursued the following general objectives:
– Support vulnerable students in personal development, promoting resilience and self-esteem through active living and healthy nutrition
– improve the education on healthier food choices and physical activities at school, integrating the nutrition education aspects as part of the school curriculum
– foster inclusion and healthy habits thanks to ICT and innovative practices
and the following specific objectives:
– empower educators and develop a tailored training course for P.E., Science/Nutrition teachers available on elearning modules
– foster students leadership through the creation of SWITCH Peer Leaders in partner schools

3 Intellectual Outputs were developed:
IO1 – SWITCH Curriculum on 3 topics: Physical Education, Nutrition and Mental wellbeing.
All the school teachers involved in the proposal researched on those topics, thus increasing their knowledge and exchanging good practices with their international colleagues. 6 Learning Units per branch were developed and equipped with assessment grids, video tutorials, practical exercises, support material. The SWITCH Curriculum included research-based content about the effective methods of changing health behaviours and used web-based methods of knowledge transfer in support of health and physical education programs of study.

IO2 – SWITCH App, with gamification components, for improving awareness, knowledge and skills of students on the need of acquiring a healthy lifestyle. The use of the SWITCH App was widespread by the Peer Leaders: these are students with particular leadership skills who were trained during the blended mobility in Portugal to support their classmates in using the App. Training Student Leader developed a targeted leadership programme for our vulnerable students on nutrition and mental wellness was identified as an effective strategy to reach pupils’ engagement. ICT, gamification and peer education were the right tools to raise students’ interest and motivation.
IO3 – SWITCH e-learning platform and training for secondary school teachers, open to non directly involved teachers and teachers coming from other non-partner schools and countries. The platform was interactive and task-based.

6 transnational project meetings were planned and they took place in UK, Portugal and Italy. They had implementation and coordination purposes, quality assurance, and follow up of activities developed and plan for next steps.
3 LTTAs were organized: one joint staff training event in the UK and 2 blended mobilities for the Peer Leaders, one in Italy and one in Portugal.

Students aged 13/14 with low socio-economic status, P.E. and Science teachers, as well as staff in charge of personal development, were our main targets. Families and the whole teaching staff as secondary targets, too, applied a whole family and whole-school approach. The project involved 300 students who benefited from the local activities. Among them, 24 participated in the physical part of the blended mobilities. 20 professionals in the field of education participating in the Curriculum methodology and definition and 15 have put into practice the SWITCH training content. 180 students participated in the SWITCH App game while 30 teachers non directly involved in the activities attended our training course on the e-learning platform.

Both teachers and organizations acquired several competencies. Apart from the IOs and the tangible outputs, learning outcomes were reached on directly involved teachers, directly involved students who belonged to Year 8 and 9, directly involved students who played the role of Peer Leaders and participants in C2 and C3, partner organizations as a whole, both schools and expert partners, stakeholders and associated partners.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 322906 Eur

Project Coordinator

FURNESS ACADEMIES TRUST & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Aver-o-Mar, Póvoa de Varzim
• PontoPR – Publicidade e Robótica, lda
• Istituto Comprensivo Pietro Vanni
• Associazione Culturale Pro.m.e.t.eu.s