Rugby, Food, and Fun in the Holidays

Dallaglio RugbyWorks' approach to tackling holiday inactivity and hunger

As the Easter holidays approach, many young people across the UK are looking forward to a break from school and a chance to relax and unwind. However, for some young people, the holidays can be a difficult time, particularly if they come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

That's where Dallaglio RugbyWorks comes in. We work with young people who are at risk of exclusion from school, providing them with mentoring, coaching, and other support to help them achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Research has shown that British school children are on average losing 80% of fitness gained during term time through ‘inactive holidays’.

Being inactive as a child sets a dangerous precedent on a number of levels. As well as being linked to impaired physical development, shorter attention span and lower grades, an inactive childhood means that a person faces a much higher risk of illness in later life.

There is also a risk, if young people are not supported to fill their time at school with activities which are beneficial for their physical and mental health, to be swept up into gangs and increases their risk of being victims of or perpetrators of crime.

Additionally, through the current cost of living crisis, the number of young people who have been thrust into poverty has been astronomical. The number of UK children in food poverty has nearly doubled in the last year to almost 4 million. Without proper nutrition, young people’s physical growth, cognitive development and, consequently, academic performance, can be impacted. It is linked to high absenteeism, early dropouts and low school enrollment. These factors together can impact their chances of securing education, employment or training post-16.

However, on the brighter side, evidence from intervention studies suggests holiday clubs show promise for increasing holiday physical activity levels. We hope to contribute to this increased level of positive outcomes for our young people through our holiday activity sessions.

During the Easter holidays, Dallaglio RugbyWorks is running a series of sessions as part of the Fit and Fed programme in Wales, and the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in England which gives children and young people the opportunity to take part in fun physical activity while enjoy nutritious, healthy meals during the school holidays, tackling three key challenges for families living in underserved communities: food poverty, isolation, and inactivity. The young people who we signpost to these holiday programmes often also invite their friends from groups who may be lost in the system or not enrolled at an educational provision so that we can pick them up and attempt to improve their prospects. We use multi-sports, not just rugby, and utilise facilities such as local rugby clubs and community centres to try and increase footfall at these locations outside of our programmes.

Our previous half-term camps have yielded great results for our young people, with one of them telling us:

“This has been the highlight of the summer, so amazing. I couldn’t stress enough the need to socialise and it’s been really good getting my fitness up while I’m having fun”

Overall, the Easter delivery sessions are just one example of how we are making a difference and helping young people across England and Wales. By providing a range of different types of support, the charity is helping young people to overcome the challenges they face and achieve their full potential.

Help us do more and make sure that young people excluded from schools are included in society!