Getting the kids off the sofa

He’s the man tasked with getting kids off the sofa and out of their bedrooms.

“The main problem we encounter is lack of motivation,” explains James in the sports hall at Firth Park Community Arts College.

“We’re having to think of different ways to engage the kids and that’s why we offer new sports in addition to traditional sports like football, rounders and basketball.”

Kids are trying Futsal (Brazilian football), Street Climb (climbing wall) and Street Wheels (supervised biking in Woolley Woods, Shiregreen).

“We’re trying different approaches and it’s working. We’ve also got a lot of kids coming for the arts and crafts who might have been put off by the sport.”

The activity programme is just one of a number of council initiatives aimed at boosting kids’ activity levels.

Considering half the city’s population is overweight and one in six are overweight, it’s crucial something is done to stop the rot.

The council launched the People’s Movement, a strategy to get Sheffield moving.

The campaign, along with the Active Sheffield partnership of council services, health agencies and Sheffield Hallam University, aims to increase activity levels across the city by one per cent each year.