NORTHWICH primary schools are taking part in a new family fitness initiative designed to tackle the rise in childhood obesity.

‘A mile a day keeps the doctor away’ is delivered by Active Cheshire and supported by Northwich Care Communities, bringing bespoke support to schools’ leadership and 12 weeks’ worth of fun challenges to help young people and their families get out, get active and have fun this summer.

The four Northwich primary schools and wider communities selected for this initial pilot include Barnton Primary School, Charles Darwin Primary School, Leftwich Community Primary School and Witton Church Walk CE Primary School.

The stakeholders group includes Northwich Primary Care network, Active Cheshire, four work experience sixth form students from Sir John Deane’s college, Teach Active and Tag Tap AR.

The goal is to tackle the rise of childhood obesity in targeted areas of Northwich through ‘early intervention with fun, engaging and effective movement’.

All children in the school taking part in the pilot will receive a booklet to be used outside of school time over 12 weeks starting on July 4.

All children who return the booklet (or complete the activity log online using the link or QR code on the back cover of the booklet) will receive a certificate and will be entered into a draw to win some fun and active prizes.

Sarah Oldham, Leftwich Community Primary School, said: “At Leftwich, we have seen clear links in attainment and progress when teaching children through an active curriculum.

“We know that children learn best when their social, emotional and physical needs are met and that sometimes meeting those needs can be challenging.

“The Active Cheshire project is here to support schools, parents and children to be the best they can be.

“The benefits of this project are immense. We can’t wait to get started.”

Alison Lawson, head teacher at Barnton Primary School, added: “After we’ve came back from lockdown, we found that many of our children just aren’t able to function as they used to be able to and we felt that getting them active and getting them outside will improve their wellbeing.”