Finnish law pushes schools to add movement and cut sitting

Schools in Finland must now promote a more active lifestyle by reducing sitting and adding movement during the school day, Yle reports. The change took effect at the beginning of August and includes active breaks, short movement pauses during lessons and outdoor teaching.

At Haapaniemi School in Kuopio, the change has been gradual because movement has already been increased for years through the Finnish Schools on the Move programme.

During breaks, pupils play basketball and a game called king ball, perform tricks on horizontal bars and use the swings. The school has 30 sixth graders who lead younger pupils in active games during longer breaks.

Sixth grader Nea Kauppinen is one of the break leaders. She said younger pupils have responded positively, especially when they are alone and can join a game.

Movement is also being added to lessons. During mathematics classes, pupils may collect worksheets from the corridor or go there to check the answers. Swedish and English teacher Minna Siitari said pupils can walk around the classroom while introducing themselves in the target language, go to the board during word games or fetch words from the corridor.

Principal Hanna Nurmela said the new obligation would not be difficult to implement at Haapaniemi School. The biggest change, she said, would be making lessons more active so pupils do not sit at their desks for 45 minutes. She also said every school could probably increase outdoor learning.

The reform is intended to improve the wellbeing of children and young people. Only one in three children and young people get enough exercise, while national Move measurements show that almost 40 percent of fifth and eighth graders have poor physical fitness.

According to the Finnish National Agency for Education, research shows that exercise has positive effects on learning, concentration and enjoyment of school. Classroom discipline also improves when pupils have been active during breaks.

The pupils have suggested further changes, including a one minute walk during lessons, having pupils collect worksheets themselves and adding more climbing frames to the schoolyard.