Chiefs offer healthy outlook to children

By Mark Stevens
19/12/19

For a second successive year, the Exeter Chiefs Community department will be heading out to local schools to help deliver the hugely successful, Tackling Heath programme.

Aimed at children aged between seven and eight, the five-week programme help teaches youngsters about their own health, well-bring and about leading a general healthy lifestyle with a rugby focus.

Delivered nationally by Premiership Rugby clubs across England, and in partnership with the Greggs Foundation, the main goals of the project are to improve young people’s understanding of a healthy diet, as well as the importance of being active on a day-to-day basis.

“Learning how to choose, cook and eat healthy food from a young age is an invaluable skill. By ensuring youngsters develop these important life skills and good habits early; we hope this will have a positive and lasting impact throughout their lives” said Wayne Morris, Community and Corporate Responsibility Director of Premiership Rugby.

Each school session run by the coaches see them deliver work within a classroom-based environment, followed by a practical tag rugby session.

The classroom session allows the children to learn about a balanced diet, as well as knowing why we eat certain foods and what they do for us. This is followed by the outdoor part of the session, which allows children to be active in a series of fun-filled game, which help them practice their rugby specific skills.

Heading up the programme for the Chiefs is Assistant Community Development Manager, Richard Bright, who said: “Since the programme started, we have had great feedback from children, parents, and teachers alike.

“The outdoor sessions, alongside the work in the classroom, allows the children to link the importance of being active to eating a good, balanced diet. We have had children who since being with us, have made little changes in their diet, and now eat a wider range of healthy foods. Going forwards these little changes can make a massive difference, and that is why we feel a programme like this is really important and informative.”

Schools signed up already to engage in Tackling Health in the New Year are Ashburton, Ide, Decoy, Ernesettle, Withycombe Raleigh and Exeter Road Primary School.

If you are interested in the Community team delivering this to your school, then please email: richardbright@exeterchiefs.co.uk