The ‘Weekly Wellbeing Hour’ is the brainchild of CEO Julie Robinson, and as a result, colleagues have been utilising this hour to look after their general wellbeing, which for some has naturally led to an increase in physical activity.  

Active Calderdale envisions a community where everyone has the capability, motivation, and opportunity to lead an active lifestyle. Our mission is to work collaboratively with communities, making physical activity an integral part of daily life. To achieve this, we engage and support partners, embedding the promotion of physical activity into their initiatives.

New Road Primary School in Sowerby Bridge has set an unprecedented standard for health and wellbeing, achieving the highest recognition in every category of the Calderdale Healthy Schools award program. Recognised for its exceptional efforts in mental and emotional wellbeing, physical activity, and food and nutrition, the school has become the first in Calderdale to secure Gold level awards in all three criteria.

Active Calderdale recently had a prime slot on the airwaves, with Community Project Managers Anthony Whittaker and Emma Carter providing listeners of local station Phoenix FM with a wonderful overview of the programme's aims and benefits.

Stress and anxiety affect increasing numbers of people in our communities across Calderdale, and the consequential pressures on people's mental and physical health have been mounting up.

Active Calderdale recently spoke with Cindy from Cindy's Stompers & Silver Stompers, to learn more about the dance sessions Cindy runs on a weekly basis. Cindy was more than happy to share her aims and motivations and highlight below what prospective Stompers can expect from her classes.

Dads R Us is a group run by volunteers in North Halifax, and it is there to support men who have a connection to a child within the area. The group has mainly been funded through Sure Start North Halifax; however, in 2010 the group made significant progress by moving away from Sure Start and starting to become a single charitable group run without the aid of others around it.

"I never thought I would be playing football at 81!"

Ken Amber

Getting active is the name of the game for a collection of walking footballers at the Mark Duffy Football School, and they are loving it!

Many local authority services are often tasked with delivering advice on the benefits of physical activity. They are on the frontline and therefore their recommendations have the potential to be hugely beneficial for service users. For a service to be effective in this process, it is helpful for them to have first-hand experiences of the activities they help promote.

Invictus Wellbeing, a mental health charity supporting children and young people across Calderdale and Bradford, completed their second Active Teams Challenge in September, ‘The Active Teams Daily Boost’.