Across Greater Manchester, increasing physical activity during the school day has been central to the whole school approach championed by GM Moving over the last four years.
The evidence is clear: if we want to have the biggest impact, reduce inequalities and tackle the most sedentary parts of children’s days, movement cannot be confined to PE lessons alone. It must be woven into the fabric of the school day, including subjects like Maths and English.
In Bury, this ambition aligned powerfully with the borough’s Let’s Get Moving Strategy: a commitment to ignite a passion for physical activity and wellbeing locally.: a commitment to ignite a passion for physical activity and wellbeing locally.
Why Change Was Needed
Whilst the latest Active Lives data for Bury showed that children and young people’s activity levels were on the rise with 60.6% meeting 60 minutes a day (active lives survey data 24.25) , Bury Public Health team along with the Council, recognised that this is only one part of the jigsaw in ensuring children and young people can grow up to be healthy, happy, and have a more vibrant future.
While many initiatives were already in place, the data suggested that doing more of the same would not be enough and there was an opportunity to address some of the other challenges facing the children, young people and their families in Bury including;
- Reducing the number of less active and inactive children
- Tackling Health inequalities
- Supporting the increasing numbers of children with SEND
- Addressing the Educational attainment gaps
This wasn’t just a sport issue, an education issue or a health issue. It was all of them.
What became clear was that the solution needed to be collaborative bringing together partners in health, education, sport and physical activity to create preventative change that would benefit both current and future generations of children and young people in Bury.
Rethinking the Classroom
GM Moving have previously worked closely with Teach Active to help schools rethink how core subjects are delivered. The premise is simple but powerful: when children move more, they learn better.
Rather than adding extra programmes into an already stretched school day, Teach Active helps teachers embed movement directly into Maths and English lessons. It supports a genuine whole school approach, not an add-on, but a shift in culture which absolutely aligns with the Creating Active schools approach many schools in GM have been taking for the last 4 years.
Early indicators from schools using the approach show:
- Pupils are 33% more active
- Teachers are upskilled through high-quality CPD
- Children develop a greater love of learning
This isn’t just about burning energy. It’s about unlocking engagement, confidence and improved outcomes.
Let’s Get Bury Moving: A Borough-Wide Commitment
Launched on the 19th January through Let’s Get Bury Moving, every primary school in the borough is being offered training and resources by Teach Active to integrate movement into everyday teaching.
The programme is:
- Led by: Bury Public Health, Bury Council, Bury School Sports Partnership and GM Moving
- Delivered by: Teach Active
- Focused on: Tackling inactivity, reducing health inequalities, responding to rising SEND need, and raising educational standards together.
What Makes This Approach Different?
Instead of asking schools to “add more”, this approach asks: What if the way we teach could be part of the health solution?
It recognises that:
- The school day is a powerful preventive space.
- Teachers are key agents of change.
- Movement supports not just physical health, but cognition, wellbeing and inclusion.
- Addressing inequalities requires system-wide collaboration.
This isn’t a short-term intervention. It’s a long-term shift in how we think about learning, health and partnership working.
Jess Simons, Active Children Lead at GM Moving said;
“We’re proud to see Greater Manchester leading the way in active learning and Bury at the heart of this movement. This borough-wide project is an example of how collaboration between education and health partners can transform education and wellbeing for children.”
Bury’s experience demonstrates this isn’t just about schools. It’s about recognising that they play a crucial part in the whole system way of working to tackle inactivity and health inequalities amongst children and young people. This project presents an opportunity to embed positive attitudes to a more active lifestyle earlier on as well as demonstrate the holistic outcomes of being more active.
Movement in Maths lessons may seem simple. But it represents something much bigger: a shift from isolated initiatives to shared responsibility, from reaction to prevention, and from siloed thinking to collective impact.
Read more on the Teach Active Bury project here including what happened on the launch day on the 19th January, which 42 schools attended .
Learn more about GM’s approach to embedding a whole school approach on the GM Moving website.
