GPA0015

Written submission by Ferrero UK

About Ferrero

Ferrero is a leading sweet packaged foods company with brands including Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac and Thorntons. In the UK, Ferrero has a turnover of around £500m, employs over 1,000 members of staff and has a factory in Alfreton, Derbyshire.  Internationally, Ferrero is the third largest chocolate confectionery company in the world, and has been family-owned and run since it was founded in 1946.  Recent acquisitions by Ferrero or Ferrero-related companies in the UK include Eat Natural, Fox’s Biscuits and Burton’s Biscuit Company, making Ferrero a major foreign investor.

At Ferrero, we make unique high-quality products that are enjoyed by consumers around the world. We always encourage our consumers to enjoy our products as part of a balanced and active lifestyle. Ferrero has three core nutritional principles that underpin everything we do. We believe that all foods can be eaten in moderation, as part of a balanced and varied diet, combined with a physically active lifestyle.

In line with our company nutritional principles, we believe that getting children moving can have a positive impact and encourage them to lead active lifestyles in the future. Our Joy of Moving programme is one way to help inspire a passionate approach to moving in children and to date we have moved over 400,000 children in the UK.

Summary

• Joy of moving is an unbranded CSR programme delivered by Ferrero in partnership with the English Football League Trust designed to inspire active lifestyles in children. Its aim is to teach children how to enjoy moving through non-competitive play, and to help them develop positive habits for adulthood.
• We are proud to have moved over 400,000 children and delivered nearly 2 million additional hours of learning to date.
• The Joy of moving methodology has been developed by independent experts and inspires children to move through play whilst developing key skills in four major areas: physical fitness, motor coordination, cognitive functions and creativity and life skills.

Joy of moving programme

Joy of moving is an unbranded CSR programme designed to inspire active lifestyles in children. Its aim is to teach children how to enjoy moving through play, and to help them develop positive habits for adulthood.

As the Committee notes, participation in physical activity fell during and following the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the UK 55% of children do not meet the Chief Medical Officer guidelines of taking part in sport and physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day[1].

However, as active play and informal activity remains the most common activity amongst children in Years 3-6[2], we are proud to have been able to deliver a programme since 2013 through our long-term partnership with the English Football League Trust (EFL Trust) and partners that is playful, all-inclusive, and importantly, non-competitive.

We also host an online Resource Hub to help inspire parents with various activities to get their families moving and active.

Joy of moving Methodology

The Joy of moving programme is based on methodology developed by independent experts, including Foro Italico (Rome University) and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). This methodology inspires children to move through play whilst developing key skills in four major areas: physical fitness, motor coordination, cognitive functions and creativity and life skills, and is delivered through two key parts.

The methodology was included among the best transferable practices in the 2019 Guidelines on physical activity in school settings, issued by the Italian Ministry of Health, and in 2020, the methodology was included among the European best practices promoted by HEPAS 2020 (Healthy and Physically Active Schools in Europe).

The Move & Learn project:

• Over six weeks, children aged 9-10 learn about the importance of active lifestyles, nutrition and hydration through a combination of physical activity and classroom lessons. Each child in this year group receives 9 hours physical activity and learning.
• 36,292 pupils engaged with the Move & Learn project, across 609 schools, in 2021 – 2022.

Joy of moving Festivals:

• Taking place during the summer term in over 650 schools across the UK, the specially designed games and activities help children to develop skills including communication, empathy and teamwork.
• 31,582 pupils have taken part in Festivals in 2021 – 2022, including this summer. 

Recognised by teachers and pupils

• 98% of teachers would recommend the Move & Learn programme to other schools/ colleagues.
• 99% of teachers felt children had a better understanding of the importance of how many days they should do physical activity.
• 94% of children felt the six-week programme had given them new ideas to get active.
• 98% of children returned a positive response when asked, “How do you feel about exercising?”

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Ferrero would be delighted to invite the Committee to visit a Joy of moving session at a location of their convenience in the coming months.

September 2022