The BREAKS project aims to promote physical activity (PA) in schools by training primary and lower secondary teachers to integrate movement breaks into their classrooms. Recognizing the well-documented physical, mental, cognitive, and social benefits of PA for students, the project addresses the growing global need for innovative, inclusive approaches to encourage active lifestyles from an early age. Despite the acknowledged advantages of PA, many teachers lack the training, resources, and support to incorporate active breaks effectively. BREAKS seeks to fill this gap by equipping teachers with the knowledge, skills, and tools—such as guidelines, lesson plans, and practical examples—to implement movement breaks. The project also emphasizes the importance of fostering a supportive school culture to sustain these practices. Through training and hands-on opportunities to test active breaks in real classroom settings, the project aims to enhance students’ physical and mental well-being, academic performance, and holistic development.
The general objective of the BREAKS project is to train primary and lower secondary schoolteachers in the integration of movement (or active) breaks in the classroom, provide them with tangible resources and examples on how these can be applied in real classroom settings, and also provide them with opportunities for testing active breaks in their classrooms, while also increasing awareness of their importance and potential benefits for students’ physical, mental health, and holistic development.
The project’s main objectives (O) are:
O1: Design, develop and test an innovative training program for primary and lower secondary schoolteachers, upskilling them for designing and implementing inclusive movement break activities in their classrooms for promoting students’ engagement with physical activity.
O2: Develop and test an e-platform that will act as a hub of resources, materials and networking space for teachers, promoting collaboration and exchange of good practices.
O3: Facilitate the practical application of learned skills by enabling trained teachers to implement the ‘active breaks’ in their classrooms.
O4: Raise awareness among school leaders and counsellors on the importance of incorporating appropriately designed and inclusive active breaks in the classroom for the promotion of children’s physical and mental health, academic achievements, and as a means to engage all in the classroom regardless of cultural background and language differences.
O5: Facilitate the widespread dissemination and sustainability of resources and innovative training approaches to the wider EU community and internationally.
Consortium partners:
P1: University of Patras (UPatras)
P2: INQUIRY FUSE (formerly known as INQUIRIUM)
P3: University of Niš (Faculty of sport and physical education) (FSFV)
P4: Stimmuli for social change OE (Stimmuli)
P5: University of Rome “Foro Italico” (Uniroma4)
P6: Infinitivity Design Labs (IDL)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Project number: 101183667
