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HPB INTRODUCES SINGAPORE’S FIRST WALKING SCHOOL BUS AND FUN DANCE ROUTINES FOR PRE-SCHOOLERS

The two new initiatives aim to encourage physical activity amongst young children in childcare centres and kindergartens

Singapore, 6 February 2013: In order to help young children below the age of seven achieve the recommended 180 minutes of physical activity, HPB is introducing fun dance routines at childcare centres and kindergartens as well as Singapore’s first Walking School Bus as a pilot. HPB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PCF today to encourage young children to achieve the 180 minutes of physical activity in childcare centres that operate on a full-day basis and 90 minutes in kindergartens that operate on a half-day basis. HPB will also be signing a similar MOU with Kinderland as well as others and plans to reach 500 pre-schools by 2015.

2. This follows on from the new physical activity guidelines for young children announced by HPB in December 2012 as increased participation in physical activity during one’s childhood and youth is directly linked to a lower prevalence of various chronic diseases later in one’s life. Physical activity has also been reported to improve academic performance including improved grades, time-management skills, concentration and attentiveness in class. The new guidelines for young children aged below seven are:
   
   • For infants, physical activity should be encouraged particularly through floor-based play in safe environments;
   • Children capable of walking unaided should be physically active for at least 180 minutes, spread throughout each day in safe environments;
   • Limit total sedentary entertainment screen time to less than two hours per day.

Walking School Bus

3. HPB is introducing Singapore’s first Walking School Bus as a pilot in PCF Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru situated at Block 6 Kim Tian Road. A Walking School Bus is a group of children who walk to and from school along a safe and enjoyable route, accompanied by adults namely parents/caregivers, volunteers or pre-school educators. It can be as informal as gathering parents/caregivers together to walk their children to school to being as structured as a route with meeting points, a timetable and a regularly rotated schedule of adults.
4. The Walking School Bus is a free service that provides opportunities for children and adults to engage in physical activity while developing friendships and a sense of place and community in their neighbourhood. Walking School Buses are also practised in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
5. Walking is an activity which young children together with their parents/caregivers can easily participate in everyday. It also contributes to the daily recommended physical activity that they should have for healthy growth and development. Walking helps to build strong bones, muscles and joints, improve motor skills and brain development and gets them connected socially to their community and surroundings. Walking can also help to save money for parents/caregivers, especially for those who may take public transport when the pre-school is one or two bus stops away.
6. Pre-schools can participate actively during the International Walk to School Month (IWALK) which occurs in October every year. They can also apply to HPB for funding through the CHERISH Junior framework to organise their own customised Walking School Bus and other health promoting activities that can occur at any time of the year. HPB will provide pre-schools with a checklist to help plan and organise the initiative in their community.
   

   Fun Dance Routine

7. A series of fun dance routines will also be jointly developed with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and HPB over the next two years. The moves and steps in the dance routines are based on building fundamental movement skills among pre-schoolers. As the activity pattern among young children is sporadic and intermittent, using fun dance which includes music and movement reinforces the interest and appeal that being physically active is fun for pre-schoolers. The routines also provide opportunities for pre-schoolers to practise movement skills. When children have a higher competency in movement skills, they are more likely to participate in sports and stay physically active when they grow up.
8. A series of fun dance routines with different themes will be developed. The first fun dance routine has been developed and this dance routine DVD with a pre-school theme will be distributed to all childcare centres and kindergartens in 2013. These fun dance routines can be integrated into curriculum time at different parts of the day to improve music and movement skills or serve as energy boosts for children in between lessons.
9. Integrating physical activity into academic subjects such as mathematics or numeracy is one of the ways that schools can help promote an active lifestyle among children. The key intent is for pre-school educators to develop an understanding that they can leverage on physical activity to impart a learning concept such as counting to pre-schoolers. At the same time it provides an opportunity for children to be physically active and helps meet their daily recommended level of physical activity.
10. Parents and caregivers are important role models who help to nurture healthy habits in young children. Children view physical activity as part of their daily lifestyle when parents stay physically active with their children. The fun dance routine DVDs will also be made available to parents so that they can engage their children below age of seven in some form of physical activity at home.
11. Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Education, Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC said, “A child’s early years in pre-school is when they experience the joy and thrill of inquiring, exploring, and discovering the world around them. Pre-school educators and parents play a significant role in cultivating a healthy environment for our young children. The influence these parties have over a child’s life is immeasurable. HPB has developed novel methods of integrating physical activity into academic subjects such as mathematics. In addition, HPB will also be working with parents and caregivers to introduce fun and exciting physical activity initiatives for young children in the home environment so that our young children are a leap in the right direction when it comes to purposeful play.”
12. Mr Ang Hak Seng, Chief Executive Officer, HPB, said, “Inculcating the habit of physical activity daily from a young age is very important to improve development and academic performance especially since the pre-school environment provides one of the most conducive environments for influencing long-term lifestyle habits. It is with this insight that we have introduced two new physical activity initiatives for young children. The Walking School Bus concept is simple, adults namely parents, volunteers or pre-school educators act as a school bus driver and bring children to and from school, but minus the physical bus. This concept has added benefits of not just physical activity but also bonding between young children and parents. Besides this, integrating fun dance routines with learning concepts helps young children achieve more by doing less.”
13. The Walking School Bus and fun dance routines will be offered at all childcare centres and kindergartens by 2015.

Annex 1 Walking School Bus
Annex 2 List of childcare centres and kindergartens that will fulfil the recommended 180 minutes of physical activity

Issued by Health Promotion Board