Customer Story - Water Primary School

Mark Smedley is PE lead at Water Primary School in Lancashire in the UK. Here, he explains how Moki has become a key part of school life, even during lockdown.

School Life in Lockdown

Staying active is central to everything at Water Primary School. The curriculum is built around key values of resilience, respect, self-belief, keeping active and healthy – and around promoting positive health and wellbeing.

All children have a full ‘PE day’ every week dedicated to physical activity. On these days, and on others too, lessons such as Maths and English have active themes, with teachers leading active lessons, inspiring children to keep moving.

“Whether we are in school or forced apart through lockdown, Moki is helping to keep us all together.”

Mark says: “We have invested a lot of effort in making sure children understand the importance of health and fitness. From Breakfast Club right through the school day, they are keeping active: They are involved in yoga, aerobics, Wii Fit - and of course they are out and about during active breaks and lunchtimes which are planned and supervised by our wonderful staff. Everything is geared towards the children’s physical activity, and Moki has become a natural part of that culture.”

Since Water Primary started working with Moki, Mark has been looking at fun, creative activities to maintain the momentum. Children choose famous athletes that inspire them as their Moki avatar, which then links to other parts of the curriculum including art projects and school trips.

“Right away, the children were buzzing to try the Moki bands after our staff challenges. You can see how excited they get. It touches every part of school life".

“Right away, the children were buzzing to try the Moki bands after our staff challenges. You can see how excited they get. The scanning of the Moki bands has become a bit of a ritual as they are all desperate to see how well they have done. They provide positive feedback to each other and encourage their friends to keep active, keep going and to continue to do their best. Beating personal bests has become a real target for all our children. Moki is helping them learn about the positive role sport can play in society and how important keeping active is both for themselves and their families. It touches every part of school life.”

The ‘Moki Marathon’ lockdown morale booster

For Mark, Moki has been a way of staying connected with pupils and encouraging them to keep active during lockdown.

“We came up with the idea of seeing if we could do a cumulative marathon every week. We invited all children and families, from all age groups throughout school, to take part. Children were invited to collect their Moki bands on a Friday, then bring them back into school the following week to get them scanned in the Head’s office. We then analyse the data and reward children and families for things such as most improved, beating personal bests, most steps gained and so on. All children are recognised for their efforts via superstar videos created by the Head as well as messages and videos via class virtual platforms.”

Mark and his fellow teachers have been sharing details of the initiative on Twitter @Waterprimary with the hashtag: #MokiMarathonChallenge. It’s one of many initiatives they have provided to keep children physically active while they are away from school. Other regular events include Question of Sport quizzes, Bingo nights as well as yoga and aerobic classes and workouts.

“It’s really taken off. Last week, one child managed to rack up 135,000 steps! We are easily meeting the target of a marathon a week. Now we are up to two or three marathons! It has been a great way of keeping spirits high. Every child, whether they are in Reception or Year 6, can get involved, and you can see the enthusiasm throughout the school. It’s all driven by Moki.” 

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