Schools are being encouraged to get involved in a four-week initiative to encourage bursts of physical activity throughout the school day.
Primary, post-primary and special schools are being asked to sign up to the 'Active Break Every Day' programme which begins on 19 January and supports teachers to build short movement breaks into daily class routines.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Department of Education and Youth, the Department of Health, and the GAA.
Schools that get involved will be provided with a suite of short, classroom-based movement break videos in English and Irish. A different set of videos, all filmed around Croke Park, will be released each week.
Research has found that more than four out of five primary school children in Ireland do not meet national activity guidelines, which call for at least one hour of physical activity every day for children and adolescents, including vigorous-intensity aerobic activities at least three days a week.
This is leaving many children at particular risk for developing obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes in later life.
Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton said: "Initiatives such as the 'Active Break Every Day’ challenge are fun and inclusive and can help us to develop positive habits around moving more and sitting less.
"It is fantastic that the GAA have joined with ourselves and the Department of Health to help develop a challenge that will capture the imagination of our pupils, students and teachers and create lots of opportunities for activity, joy and friendship in our classrooms at this time of year.
"The movement break videos include lots of interesting facts, supporting the integration of physical activity with teaching and learning."
