In the latest #TigersFamily Matters feature – shining the light on the work of Leicester Tigers community team and the Leicester Tigers Foundation – we take a look at how we’re educating people across the community on the benefits of healthy living.
Tigers health education officer Ashleigh Theobald heads up the Global Payments Healthy Schools programme, which was introduced in schools around Leicestershire in early 2018.
We caught up with her to find out more!
How has the programme been received so far this 2018?
"It’s been a huge success – I joined the team at Welford Road in January and have been working to promote and deliver Healthy Schools across Leicestershire. Last year we visited 11 schools and we are already booked up until the start of 2019, so it’s growing in popularity.
"I’ve really enjoyed teaching in the schools and we even featured on the ITV News."
What activities do the pupils and schools get involved with?
We takeover schools for a week delivering a number of assemblies, classroom and practical sessions to encourage youngsters to learn more about the foods they eat and the benefits of being physically active.
"There’s a booklet for kids to work through and we get them involved with rugby activities and PE lessons throughout the week. At the end of the week, we also crown our Healthy Eating Champions to the pupils who have really impressed us. Our champions are also invited down to Welford Road to watch a Tigers match."
And it’s not just the kids getting active?
"That’s right, I also run our FitFans programme as part of the Leicester Tigers Foundation, which focuses on getting adults more physically active and enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
"The programme is open to members of the public who can join in training sessions here at Welford Road. We run two groups on Monday evenings and also run a FitStaff programme for Tigers staff to get involved also."
If you’re a local primary school and would like to get involved in the free Global Payments Healthy Schools programme or you want to find out more information about FitFans, please contact [email protected] or call 0797 061 9444.
