Leisure buddies to guide more vulnerable children into leisure activities
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark will collaborate with Odense Municipality and two schools to create a stronger relationship between school and leisure life.
The new project is called ‘Active in your leisure time’ and is now starting at Rosengårdsskolen and Ejerslykkeskolen, where it will be investigated whether better collaboration between school, municipality and associations can get more children and young people involved in leisure activities.
Among other things, the aim is for more children to participate in organised leisure activities to improve their well-being and health, and to provide them with better conditions for their future association life.
- We know that children who are a stable part of an active leisure life do better in life, and we at Rosengårdskolen want to help create the best possible framework for this, says Deputy Head Jakob Høj Lundgaard from Rosengårdskolen.
Leisure friends to strengthen collaboration between school and organised leisure activities
As part of the initiative, a leisure buddy will be employed at each of the two schools, focusing on students in 1st - 3rd grade. The leisure buddies will contribute to more vulnerable children participating in organised leisure activities.
- We are involved in this project because we want to ensure that more children have the opportunity to participate in organised leisure activities. By employing a leisure friend at the school, we hope to strengthen the collaboration between the school, the leisure life and the existing leisure guidance in Odense Municipality, says Jan Beck-Larsen, Head of School at Ejerslykkeskolen.
- With this project, we want to develop sustainable solution models in collaboration with schools and leisure organisations that can engage more vulnerable children in leisure activities. We hope that these models can be scaled and implemented at other schools in the future, explains project manager Marlene Rosager Lund Pedersen from the Centre for Research in Sports, Health and Civil Society (CISC) at the University of Southern Denmark's Department of Sports Science and Biomechanics.
The initiative runs until summer 2027 and is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation with DKK 3,010,245.
What is a leisure buddy?
- A leisure buddy is a person who helps children become part of leisure communities.
- The leisure buddy supports the children in finding and staying in a leisure activity.
- The leisure buddy is employed by the school and works with local leisure communities to get vulnerable children into leisure activities.
Illustration: Mikkel Larris
Contact
Marlene Rosager Lund Pedersen, Project Manager
Phone: +45 65 50 44 86
mrlpedersen@health.sdu.dk
Jan Beck-Larsen, Head of Ejerslykkeskolen,
Phone: +45 24 59 77 53
janbe@odense.dk
Jakob Høj Lundgaard, Deputy Head of Rosengårdsskolen
Phone: +45 61 55 39 08
jakhl@odense.dk