Guest: Jon Smedley, Managing Director of Teach Active, which offers active maths and English lesson plans for primary schools (Teach Active, checked 13 October 2026); he presents its approach. Published 17 December 2025 (a Twitter Spaces recording).

What this covers

  • Research on recommended daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, by researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Southampton before the pandemic.
  • Children becoming more sedentary, and the effect on physical and mental health.
  • Movement integration, which the record attributes to Loughborough University, to get children active during the day.
  • How Teach Active sees active learning affecting attitudes, retention, recall and concentration.
  • Teach Active's view that the PE and sport premium can fund it.

Before you act on it

Check spending against the DfE's current PE and sport premium guidance. The UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines set out recommended activity for children.

About the session

Lucy and Jonathan are joined by Jon Smedley from Teach Active.

Jon Smedley is an Educational Consultant and Managing Director of Teach Active.

Jon has over 20 years’ experience within education, as a senior leader, a Primary

Advisor and PE consultant. He now works with schools across the UK and Internationally, promoting the rationale and benefits of an active school day and focusing on how this can be achieved through active lessons and active teaching and learning strategies.

They will discuss:

  • The research around the recommended daily guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity carried out pre-pandemic by researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Southampton.
  • The fact that more children are becoming sedentary, and this is having an impact on their physical and mental health.
  • Jon discusses movement integration, a concept developed by the University of Loughborough, which aims to get children up and active during the day.
  • The impact of Active learning on attitudes to learning, retention, recall, and concentration.
  • The benefits of active learning.
  • Teach Active says schools can use the PE and sport premium to fund it; this is Teach Active's claim, not a DfE endorsement, so check the DfE's current PE and sport premium guidance.

For more information, visit the @TeachActive website: https://www.teachactive.org

Quote of the day:

"Physical activity not only helps children grow healthy, but also assists in their learning and development, and contributes to their overall happiness." - World Health Organisation