Exercise improves concentration and memory. It increases energy levels and provides an outlet for excess energy – leading to fewer conflicts in the playground and a calmer classroom environment. These outcomes are fully in line with the ethos of IES, i.e. high academic aspirations and a safe and calm learning environment. Group exercise also has a positive effect on students socially, as it can increase group cohesion while helping individuals to make new friends.
These insights formed the basis for #movewithIES, a national health initiative within IES that started in five schools in the 2021/22 academic year. One of IES’ key sustainability goals is to work proactively to improve the well-being of our students. Schools have an important role to play in this as many students do not participate in extracurricular activities and do not have the chance to adopt healthy sleeping and eating habits at home. Today, #movewithIES has been implemented at more than half of IES’ schools and from next academic year all schools will be included in the initiative.
Tools for our schools
“In the wake of the pandemic, there were alarming reports of how the health and well-being of children and young people had deteriorated. This gave rise to the idea of offering physical activities during breaks, in addition to the school subject of physical education and health,” says Andjela Dimitrijevic, a former teacher at IES Eskilstuna who now leads the initiative.
”The aim of #movewithIES is to give our schools tools to work with both the physical and mental health of students together with student health services and other school staff,” she continues.
Ms Dimitrijevic now reports to IES head office and has overall responsibility for the planning and implementation of the initiative nationally. She is also a member of the central student health team, and the initiative is part of the IES student health plan. Each #movewithIES school has a health leader, who is responsible for running the initiative locally on behalf of the school’s principal.
On this particular day, Ms Dimitrijevic has visited IES Sundbyberg to discuss how the initiative can be linked to special-needs education at the school.
“We want everyone to have the chance to move about more, and for students with special needs it is important that this is done in an undemanding and inclusive way,” comments Ms Dimitrijevic.
Greater cohesion
The initiative covers a wide range of activities at IES Sundbyberg – from basketball, football and tag in the playground to ping-pong tables inside and outdoors, shuffleboard and salsa in the common rooms. Students can also choose from cheerleading, floorball and cricket.
“We have a timetable for break-time activities which the student council can give their input to,” says principal Johanna Bohlin.
“We prioritise activities that include as many people as possible. We are working intensively to increase our students’ sense of belonging together as well as to the school, and between children and the adults who lead the activities.
Exercise can also involve improving the swimming skills of students, an area that has come under particular scrutiny following the drowning accidents during the hot summer of 2025.
“We have students from many different cultures in our school and some parents can be a little resistant to their children changing into swimwear as a group. We offer these students individual swimming lessons as a way to overcome this,” says principal Johanna Bohlin.
Educating about health
#movewithIES also endeavours to educate students about health. In collaboration with the author Maria Dufva, IES has created educational films and lesson plans linked to different chapters of her book ”The Very Best Health”. In addition, IES uses a web-based tool called On The Inside (known in Swedish as Det Syns Inte) to educate students on the topic of mental health.
The ultimate goal of #movewithIES is to create and establish healthy habits that the students maintain throughout their lives, and give them the best possible chances for physical and mental well-being in the future.