A group photo of the training’s participants.

Members of Saba government’s Public Health and Sport Depart­ment attended a training session in St. Maarten last week on the BLOC assess­ment, a motor skills test for children that is implement­ed on the island.

This event, held on May 11­12, was organised by non­governmental organisation Stichting EGO on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and youth health campaign FOGG Netherlands, in col­laboration with HAN Uni­versity of Applied Sciences. The training brought to­gether physical education teachers and school health professionals from St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba. The goal was learn­ing better ways to use data collected from the BLOC test to inform policies and programmes.

The theoretical part of the programme was carried out by HAN University, with practical exercises at Sister Regina Primary School in Simpson Bay.

“The practical sessions al­lowed the group to organ­ise various activities for the students. These activities were intended to help en­hance the children’s skills used in the BLOC tests, in­cluding balance, locomotor skills and object control,” Saba’s government said in a press release.

Saba’s representatives included Policy Advisor for Sports Lauren Ris­ley, Sports Coordinator Foelyn Robinson, Health Promoter Michael Bau­tista, and Gym Coach at Sacred Heart School (SHS) Shanell Heyliger.

Together with Public Health Nurse Fenneke van Bussel, they form the team that plans and implements BLOC tests in Saba.

“These trainings pro­vided insight for the team, allowing them to continue supporting children’s de­velopment and promot­ing a healthier lifestyle,” it was stated in the press release.

The Daily Herald.