ON After School – Connecting recreation practitioners across the province to improve programming for Ontario Children and Youth

2013-07-05

Announcing the creation of a new online network to support recreation practitioners in the delivery of quality after school programs that offer children and youth in Ontario opportunities to engage in physical activity, learn healthy living practices, and develop their personal strengths.

The ON After School initiative will expand and enhance the Active After School website to provide program information, creative activity ideas, standardized online training tools and the chance for After School program staff to share ideas, tools, and advice.

In a province where over a quarter of children and youth aged 5 to 19 years are overweight or obese* and only 14 per cent are achieving recommended activity levels**, after school programmers have expressed the need for access to practical resources and networking opportunities for staff working varying schedules and who may be in remote locations says Punch Jackson, Board Chair of the Leisure Information Network.

“Creating an online platform offers the best way to provide consistent, accessible information and allows for low-cost ways of connecting practitioners so they can share ideas, experience and best practices.”

The ON After School web site, set to launch this August, will offer an activity database, policies and procedures, and program planning templates. Social media tools will be incorporated to support fast, easy connections between recreation practitioners with the ultimate goal of providing children and youth access to better after school programs in Ontario.

This is a project of the Leisure Information Network (LIN) building on work previously done by the Ontario After School Collaborative and in conjunction with the Canadian Active After School Partnership.

LIN recognizes the support of the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in this initiative.

NT3