How Primary Parliament stays healthy

This summer term marked our final Primary Parliament of the 2025-2026 academic year, and what an amazing theme to wrap up — exploring what it means to have a ‘Healthy, Happy, Me.’ Across the two in-person days the Primary Parliamentarians jumped into dynamic, creative, and engaging workshops, sparking ideas about how they can work alongside their schools to stay active and full of energy. On Tuesday, we provided an online SEND school session, encouraging every child to feel power behind their voice.

Even while the June heat-wave was blazing down, our determined Primary Parliamentarians resiliently fought through the weather to deliver their fantastic ideas and take part in a range of inspiring workshops, including:

Eat The Rainbow! 🌈

• Thriving Nottingham led our interactive healthy eating session, ‘Eat The Rainbow.’ Children experienced new fruits like pomegranate and honeydew melon, then had a brilliant time arranging them into smiley faces and other creative patterns in a positive, hands-on environment. The session blended creativity with sensory play to teach our Parliamentarians all about the importance of a balanced diet. The theme of healthy eating consistently shone through during the Primary Parliamentarians’ presentations with one group even using real fruit for their performance!

The Sheriff’s Challenge! 🤠

• Together with Fred Morris from the Nottingham Achieve Well team, we introduced Primary Parliamentarians to the updated Sheriff’s Challenge. With fantastic energy, the children discovered how counting active minutes instead of distance creates a healthier, happier and more accessible Nottingham. With the help of the Mexican Wave, we highlighted how even brief movements can improve mood. The children then collaboratively came up with their own active challenges, shared ideas to keeping everyone moving, and discussed the many activities they’d love to see in schools.

Dance Workshop! 🪩

• Working alongside Charm from Global Dance for the second in-person day of Primary Parliament brought a burst of rhythm to the Council House. The Primary Parliamentarians were filled with excitement as they explored different dance styles from all over the world, diving into the Soca dance from Caribbean and Punjab dances from India. A highlight was the interactive “follow the leader” routine which made a memorable cameo during group presentations. Alongside all the energetic movement, the children also took time for body-scans and stretches to practice mindfulness and help calm the nervous system, creating the perfect mix of active fun and peaceful reflection.

Slow Movement Workshop! 🧠

• Day one of Primary Parliament took a gentler, more mindful approach as children were invited to slow down, breathe, and connect with themselves and the world around them. With the busy atmosphere and warm weather, the workshop gave everyone a chance to cool off and explore healthy habits beyond the usual exercise-focused ideas of being active. The children let rhythm guide them, drawing freely to calming music. This workshop focused on blending art, movement, and mindfulness to connect with a ‘Healthy, Happy, Me.’

As the day drew to an end, the children presented what made them feel healthy and happy through songs, plays, dramas, posters and poems, some of which included:

• Dance ‘til you drop — a challenge-style gameshow drama where participants had to dance for as long as they could without growing tired and ‘dropping.’

• A poem on healthy eating accompanied by a poster full of amazing facts about fruit and vegetables.

• “Age is just a number” — A drama tackling how being active is achievable and beneficial at any age, centring an old man performing small bursts of movement to stay active.

• A song about staying active, mindful and healthy.

• A theatrical play using freeze frames to explore how smoking, drinking and eating heavily processed food is not good for you.

Overall, the Primary Parliamentarians seemed eager to bring more accessible fruit and vegetables, along with more active opportunities in their schools like dancing, swimming, dodgeball and other activities. Additionally, the children said they wanted more rewards to celebrate people's active achievements and encourage more nervous children to participate.

During our online SEND session on Tuesday, the children participated in discussion-based activities, warmly sharing what makes them feel Happy and Healthy. Both schools provided extremely thoughtful and empathetic answers like:

• Fruit (smoothies for those on liquid diets/with sensory issues)

• Playing games

• Animals

• Playing with friends and family

• Drinking water

• Exercise (swimming)

• Cooking and Baking

• Cleaning and Washing Hands

Their focus on healthy and inclusive eating inspired the amazing idea of a recipe book, collating the children’s favourite healthy recipes into one accessible place.

A big thank you goes out to all of the schools, organisations and councillors that made this Primary Parliament session possible. As always, we strive to create a place where children’s voices matter.