Children's Movement - South Africa

The Schools in Motion Programme was started in 2005, it is based on the strong belief that all children have the right to play. The right to play is laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. But the fact that this right to play is written down doesn’t mean that all children automatically have access to spaces and opportunities for play. However as part of the broad movement of children, the SIM-programme should enable children, as active participants, to advocate for their right to have access to the facilities to play for the general wellbeing of all children.

The SIM aims to help create these spaces and opportunities to play!

Children can only be the future if they are allowed to be children now!

Schools in Motion aims to help in the development of:

- strong and confident children; children who are aware of their own potential and who develop resources to cope with the challenges in their personal environment.

- competent learners; children who are motivated to learn and take active responsibility by empowering themselves and others.

- socially competent children; children who respect themselves and others and who can contribute in active and creative ways to make their schools and communities places of positive social interaction.

Current programme implementation:

1) School playground in Motion:

During interval we make use of play equipment we have built ourselves, like trampolines and stilts. We also painted some games onto the tarmac of our school playground so that learners are kept busy and don’t get bored and start looking for trouble.

2) Classes in Motion:

Each class comes to the SIM room for half an hour per week. Here we play games that teach us how to work together in teams and how to listen to each other when planning an activity. By playing co-operation games we also learn how to find new solutions to problems which might, at first, seem impossible to solve. We also do role-plays where we have to come up with ways to solve conflicts in class or where we discuss our likes and dislikes, our wishes and fears.

3) Training of SIM Trainers:

Four learners from each class are chosen to be the SIM trainers. They attend weekly training sessions where they learn new games. When re- turn to the class they play the new game with the whole class. They are also responsible for handing out, collecting and even repairing the play equipment during intervals.