A project designed to inspire children to enjoy being physically and mentally active at a crucial time in their development was unveiled at a Bradford school yesterday.

Lister Primary School in Scotchman Road has become the first in Bradford to deliver Project HE:RO – Health Engagement: Real Outcomes.

It sees former Bradford City and Newcastle United footballer Des Hamilton, 35, becoming the district’s first health mentor to inspire young children to be fit and active.

The project was officially unveiled yesterday in front of invited guests from the public, private and voluntary sector who heard from Graham Morgan, of Bingley, the person who devised Project HE:RO.

Mr Morgan is a former PE teacher and was Bradford’s football development officer from 1983 to 1989 and then enjoyed a ten year career at Adidas. It was when he suffered serious health problems himself, he realised that being healthy was everything in life.

Now director of Evolve, a social enterprise company, he developed the project to combat the rising levels of inactivity and obesity amongst young children before the age of 11.

After successful testing around England and Wales, it has come home to Bradford, to encourage children to aim for brighter futures and better health.

Mr Morgan said a Telegraph & Argus report last week on health problems being faced by Bradford’s children, such as rising levels of obesity and tooth decay, highlighted just why such projects were needed right now.

“Current concerns for children’s health make this a very timely intervention,” he said. “By 2050 Government figures say that 90 per cent of the UK population will be obese or overweight and the physical fitness of children is declining by nine per cent per decade.

“That is why we developed Project Hero to inspire families to be more active and lead healthier lives. The serious challenge is to get to children before the age of ten so primary schools are the battle ground and primary school staff are the troops fighting the battle and they need our support.”

Guests were shown a video of how the project was working in Birmingham, where health mentors lead pre-school clubs to get children active, lead physical engagement activities across all ages and work alongside class teachers to tackle inactivity and obesity.

Moira Hunt, Lister Primary School head teacher, who has appointed Mr Hamilton to the position of health mentor, said: “I have been a teacher for 30 years and have noticed a change in activity rates in school, so it has been a concern for some time.”

She said Mr Hamilton, who has been at the school for five months, was a positive male role model for the pupils and had become a popular member of staff.

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