Children
& Families
June 2011 newsletter
from Change4Life
Contents
Dear Change4Life local
supporter,
The really
big summer adventure
The bell is about to ring for the end of term which can mean just one
thing… the SUMMER HOLIDAYS are here!
How you can take part...
At Change4Life we want to help children have lots of fun this
summer and make sure that even though they are not getting their
usual timetable of sport and games, they still get their 60 active
minutes every day – and we think we’ve come up with the perfect
solution - really big summer adventure. From July, families
will be hearing lots about our new campaign the really big summer
adventure on TV, in national newspapers and at the supermarket.
We hope you find this
special edition helpful.
Thank you for supporting
Change4Life – and enjoy
your summer adventure.
Your work with children and families is
vital in encouraging them to take action
to prevent childhood obesity. We hope
you will take part in the really big summer
adventure wherever and however you can
and in this special edition newsletter you
will find lots of suggestions and tips for
ways you can get involved.
Supporter of the Month
Healthy bites
At Change4Life we are always on the
lookout for new and innovative ways
to get children and families active and
eating more healthily, especially over
the holidays when it can be difficult
for them to get their daily 60 active
minutes without their usual timetable
of school sport and games.
To kick-start the adventure, we’re encouraging all primary
schools in England to run a really big summer adventure
session as part of their end of term activities. To help teachers
do this we have developed a teacher resource booklet with
suggestions for how schools can take part. We also hope that
teachers will give out the really big summer adventure maps to
all children in years 3,4 and 5, which will be arriving in schools
in a Change4Life box from the 4 July.
the really big summer adventure will take children and their families
on a six week journey, using the really big summer adventure map to
guide them. Jam-packed with enough activities for the WHOLE of
the summer holidays, children can use the map to pick and choose
activities each day, complete a challenge each week and along the
way create their own personal really big summer adventure.
the really big summer adventure also marks
Change4Life’s return to television screens and
you’ll be hearing about this exciting campaign in
newspapers and at the supermarket.
And don’t forget to check out the Change4Life website,
where you will find toolkits and downloadable resources
Making the most of the
really big summer adventure
We hope that the high profile activity generated by the really big summer
adventure will have everyone thinking about how their children get their 60
active minutes everyday and will help to support the healthy eating and physical
activity promotion work you already do. Here are some ideas for ways you could
get involved and launch really big summer adventures where you are.
If you...
...work with children of all ages
...work with early years
• Create your own really big summer
adventure with our really big summer
adventure wallchart. A two-in-one resource,
this wallchart gives you an activity list to
pick and choose the most suitable games
for your kids and then, once the game is
played, it gives the kids a place to draw
themselves having fun – creating a mural
that evolves as the holidays progresses.
These resources are being sent to all Sure
Start Centres and are available to order free
from the DH Orderline.
• Chock-a-block with advice, resources and
ideas our Early Years toolkit is an all-round
excellent place to start for anyone who
works with young children. Download it
here.
• Struggling for activity ideas for little ones?
Our fun wheel has loads of suggestions for
indoor, outdoor and group games, as well
as afternoon outings – and it’s FREE to
order from the DH orderline.
• Need a quick reference guide for activity
suggestions? Download and display our
Let’s Play poster which is brimming with
fantastic ideas for fun games.
Making the most of the
really big summer adventure
Continued...
...work with families and
children aged 5-11
...work with local charity or
community groups
• Looking for unusual ideas for indoor and
outdoor fun? From bottle bowling and
shark infested carpet to blob tag and
sponge toss, the Play4Life toolkit has the
perfect solution.
• Promote the really big summer adventure
to local community groups using our free
resources – from posters to fun wheels,
recipe cards and snack swappers we’ve
got lots of goodies to get people excited
about Change4Life, all free to order from
the DH Orderline.
• Need some more structured ideas for activity
sessions? Why not take a look at our really
big summer adventure teacher resource
booklet, where you’ll find ideas for three
themed activity sessions – complete with
warm ups and suggested timings.
• The Change4Life toolkits are full of great
ideas for active pastimes – from dancing
to cycling and walking to swimming –
we’ve lots of adventurous suggestions to
encourage people who’d like to build more
activity into their lives.
We hope you really
enjoy making the really
big summer adventure a
really big success.
• Get families experimenting with new
activities by holding a family activity
day. Let’s Dance with Change4Life and
Play4Life toolkits are jam-packed with
ideas you can use.
• Get families on their bikes with a community
bike ride adventure - the Bike4Life toolkit is
full of inspiration and helpful advice.
And don’t forget to keep an eye on the
Change4Life website for more news, tips
and resources to help you make the most
of the really big summer adventure.
Supporter of the month
Getting lean and green
Chesham Fold TRA and community centre have
certainly got more than just green fingers, they’ve
turned the countryside and the garden into their very
own keep fit and healthy eating regime.
The Green Gym is a fantastic initiative which
takes place every week to promote physical
activity to the elderly. The Green Gym is
actually Chesham Nature Reserve and the people who
attend get to do some really varied tasks, all of which
promote Change4Life physical activity messaging of
Up and About.
Just some of the tasks that keep these elderly lean and green include:
Dry stone
walling
Tree
cutting
Digging and
planting
flowerbeds
For the young people of Chesham Fold there’s an active Junior Club that meets
every Tuesday and Wednesday. It actively promotes the children to enjoy
physical activity, and then goes a step further by helping them build their
awareness of the importance of getting your 5 a day.
The children aren’t just taught about various vegetables and eating well, they
are in charge of growing their own vegetables in a greenhouse at the back of
the community centre. What they don’t eat, they supply the fresh produce to
families around the area to promote healthy eating and the 5 a day messaging.
Share your stories
Healthy Bites
Here’s a round up of other news and useful info, in bite-size chunks:
Strategy news
The Department of Health has recently published its three-year Public Health
Marketing Strategy. To find out more you can download the strategy here.
Download PDF
Brand news
We’ve updated the Retail Guidelines to allow partners more flexibility on cobranded in-store Point of Sale. For more details download the guidelines here.
Download PDF
Men’s Health Week 2011: Get a Man Online
The Men’s Health Forum would like to invite you to take part in Men’s Health
Week (13-19 June 2011). This year Men’s Health Week is going all techie.
We’ll be talking about the internet. Why? Because men don’t like going to
the doctors much and don’t take a great deal of interest in their own health.
However, men do love using their computers and mobile phones - and if used
properly - these devices can be an excellent source of information on health.
The aim of Men’s Health Week 2011 is to get more men, including the 9
million adults in the UK who have never used the internet, to do this.
For free downloadable information, please register your interest at:
www.menshealthforum.org.uk/content/mens-health-week-2011-registration
Check it out!
Playday celebrations
How are you celebrating Playday on Wednesday 3 August? On Playday
thousands of children and their families will celebrate the national day
for play by getting at hundreds of community play events across the UK.
Getting out to play is a fun and easy way for all of the family to keep
active. To find out what’s happening near you, or for advice to hold your
own Playday celebration visit www.playday.org.uk
Find out more
Healthy Bites Continued...
Be SunSmart this summer
We all need some sunshine in our lives. But make sure you and your
family enjoy the sun safely this summer. It’s important to protect your
skin from sunburn, as while the redness fades, the damage can remain.
This type of damage can increase the risk of skin cancer. Be SunSmart cover up, relax in the shade and don’t forget sunscreen, even in the UK.
For free SunSmart resources and information, visit www.sunsmart.org.uk
Check it out!
Please keep signing up!
Share your stories
Sharing your stories with Change4Life is really
easy! Our new online survey aims to give you the
opportunity to share information and photos of
Change4Life events or activities you’ve run – and help
us to recruit and inspire more campaign supporters in
the process. Why not take a few minutes to tell us what
you’ve been up to and complete the survey here and who
knows, you could feature in this newsletter next month!
If you’ve been forwarded this email or
think any of your colleagues might want
to receive it, you can register on the
Change4Life website and it will be sent
straight to your inbox. As a registered
local supporter you can use all of our
resources free of charge and create your
own materials using the brand assets.
Complete survey
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activities taking place around England by
joining our 50,000 Change4Life Facebook
fans (by clicking ‘like’) or following
Change4Life on Twitter.
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Are your details up-to-date? Please don’t forget to let us know if your contact details have
changed, or are about to change. We’d love to be able to keep you in the loop on everything we’ve
planned in 2011. Send your new details to c4lpartnerships@dh.gsi.gov.uk and put ‘Details change’
in the subject heading.