Find the right one for you
This is where the fun really begins. It is important that adequate time is given to helping students identify the right challenge for them.
We now have a tool which helps young people choose the right challenge based on their personal aspirations. This will involve an 'about me' interactive session that helps young people identify their aspirations and a 'challenge finder', which will help them hone their challenge based on their responses. For the moment, until these are available we've provided examples of the types of challenges young people, and yes even grown ups, can undertake based on activities that schools have tried and tested. Here we've tried to provide guidance on relevance based on age and also whether they make good individual, class or whole school challenges.
Top tips
We suggest that students do their SmallSteps4Life challenges for at least 4 weeks so it's important that students choose challenges that they can achieve. This will help build their confidence in sticking to their goals and encourage them to take on new challenges that will improve their health and well-being.
Useful questions for staff and students to consider when planning your SmallSteps4Life challenge include:
- What are you going to do?
- How are you going to do it?
- Where are you going to do it?
- When are you going to do it?
- Who are you going to do it with?
Challenge Materials
The challenge picker, diary downloads and other interactive and educational content you need to get your pupils involved can be found in the age group areas.
Choose the relevant age group for your class to access them.
In addition you might want to help students consider the advantages and disadvantages of doing a particular SmallSteps4LIfe challenge.
- Individual, class and whole school challenges - there are different ways students can do their challenges.
- Individual challenges - they can do them on their own, with the support of a challenge buddy (someone they trust and feel comfortable giving and receiving help).
- Class challenges - everyone in the class tries to do the same challenge. This worked particularly well in primary schools and fits well with the class tutor model.
- Whole school challenges - these types of challenges usually complement individual and class challenges and help to maintain awareness and momentum throughout the duration of the challenge.
Schools can make it easier for young people to initiate and maintain lifestyle challenges by:
- giving them to access to safe healthy food and drinks
- helping them to be active and identify and manage their feelings
-
giving them support when they need it.
Schools across the UK are working to improve the food offer for young people.
Your SmallSteps4Life planning group can help students succeed in their challenge by working. with the school cafe and/or restaurant to promote healthy options i.e. fruit and salad boxes, healthy meal deals and healthier packed lunches.
Step 1: Getting started > Step 3: Let's go >