Primary School in Motion Award for 3 Brabant Primary Schools

The Primary School in Motion Award is a new provincial prize that supports schools in taking a feasible next step. Not achievements, but ambition and feasibility are central. The winning schools receive a monetary prize and professional guidance from Fontys Sport and Exercise to sustainably realize their plans.

Movement as a Basis for Learning

The award aligns with the provincial goal to have 75 percent of Brabanders meet the physical activity guidelines by 2030. Currently, only 55 percent of children in Brabant move sufficiently each day. For young people, this means at least one hour of moderate-intensity physical activity per day.

As a province, we consciously focus on schools because they reach all children and can make a structural difference.

Bas Maes, Sports Deputy

Physical activity is important for childrens physical and mental development. It contributes to concentration, processing of lessons, and a positive group dynamic in the classroom.

Bas Maes, Sports Deputy of the Province of North Brabant: “Research and practice show that sufficient physical activity at a young age is crucial for healthy development and learning performance. As a province, we therefore consciously focus on schools because they reach all children and can make a structural difference. With this award, we support schools to contribute to the 2030 goal within their own possibilities.”

Each School Its Own Path

Primary schools differ in their starting position regarding physical activity. Some schools focus on a more movement-friendly schoolyard, others on more movement during lessons in the classroom. The jury therefore does not look at how far a school already is, but at the quality and feasibility of the plans.

Impact at Home and in the Neighborhood

Movement behavior that children learn at school also extends outside school. What becomes natural at school, children take home and to the neighborhood. Thus, physical activity at school contributes to a more active and healthier living environment.

Dave van Kann, lecturer at Fontys University of Sport and Exercise and jury chairman: “Physical activity supports not only physical health but also cognitive processes such as concentration and memory. When schools integrate movement into their education, we see that children learn more actively and that the social dynamic in the classroom improves. This effect does not stop at the school door: behavior that children practice daily, they take home and to the neighborhood. This spillover effect makes investing in physical activity at school so powerful.”

Part of Vibrant Brabant

The Primary School in Motion Award is part of the provincial approach Vibrant Brabant and aligns with the motion ‘Most Sporty School of Brabant Prize’. The prize encourages schools to give physical activity a fixed place in and around the school, fitting their own situation.