Bluearth exists to set Aussie kids up for a life of moving well, as well as helping them develop strong socio-cultural skills that they can carry with them into the future. Research shows us that there’s no more pertinent time than childhood to build foundational skills that increase confidence and improve learning outcomes, which is why learning is at the heart of our approach.
The socio-cultural skills we work on, as part of our program, include:
- Social skills
- Sense of belonging and inclusion
- Social attitudes and norms (values, morals, ethics)
- Productivity and societal contributions
- Community involvement
In this blog we’ll discuss each of these elements, highlighting how we promote it and why it’s important.
Social Skills
By definition, social skills are the skills we use daily to interact and communicate with others. They include verbal communication (i.e. speech) and non-verbal communication such as facial expressions, gestures, and body language.
Social skills are important as they enable you to create and maintain positive interactions and relationships with others, whether that be your family, friends, colleagues or even strangers. Social interactions don’t always run smoothly, which is why teaching kids appropriate strategies to resolve situations like conflict or misunderstanding is important. It’s also important to teach kids empathy as it allows them to respond to others in an understanding and caring manner.
Some of the ways we promote socials skills at Bluearth include:
- Giving students the opportunity to reflect openly in a group
- Challenging students to connect with peers they haven’t connected with before
- Running activities where teamwork is the key to success
- Teaching students how our actions affect those around us
Sense of Belonging and Inclusion
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong and to have access to opportunities regardless of their ability or circumstance. That’s why at Bluearth we focus on strengthening social bonds and provide an equitable and participatory environment and experience for all children.
We promote a sense of belonging and inclusion by:
- Focusing on participation rather than competition
- Creating an open, non-judgemental space for discussion
- Supporting, encouraging, enabling, and challenging students to participate at their own level
- Having ‘For All’ as one of our organisational values; we define this as supporting all forms of healthy and adaptive physical activity, for everyone. Plus, valuing and nurturing the uniqueness of each person.
Social Attitudes and Norms (Values, Morals, Ethics)
When you’re young, you begin understanding how the world works and developing your own feelings and opinions towards elements of society. Thus, creating your own set of values, morals, and ethics to abide by because it’s what you believe is right.
At Bluearth, we teach kids the importance of moving well and looking after your physical and mental health, so they are motivated to build healthy habits now and maintain them in the future. We also teach them the art of mindfulness (aka acknowledging your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations) so they are equipped with the skills to connect with themselves and have a clear outlook, and experience increased mental health and resilience.
Through the positive learning environment we create in our sessions, children are able to harness strong values, morals, and ethics.
Productivity and Societal Contributions
Movement has been proven to increase productivity when working and learning; incorporating even just a little bit of it into your day can improve motor function, attention, and cognitive speed—as well as concentration, cooperation, and focus which all play a part in working more efficiently.
Students therefore get more out of their learning when they step back into the classroom after a Bluearth session, and are more likely to contribute to discussions with their teachers and peers thanks to their elevated mood and drive.
Community Involvement
Bringing students together in the one communal place, with the one common goal of moving well, intrinsically brings them together and gets them more involved in their school community. By connecting with each other in new ways, they are inspired to strengthen their existing relationships and create new ones; and by sharing a love of movement amongst each other, they are inspired to share it with others.
Thanks to the leadership element of the Active Schools Program, upper primary and middle secondary students get the incredible chance to bring positive, measurable change to their school community. Using physical activity as the vehicle, they are guided through a structured syllabus that creates active, empowered leaders. Then, they are given the opportunity to put what they’ve learnt into practice by becoming project managers and leading a physical activity program for both the school and wider community during the year. Our leadership element, therefore, builds confident and capable young leaders who become advocates for living an active, healthy lifestyle.
Want to learn more about the Bluearth Approach? Get reading here.