Maarit Hohteri

KouluPT – physical activity counselling for young people (aged 13––17)

KouluPT is a low-threshold physical activity counselling service the City of Helsinki provides for secondary school pupils. Within KouluPT, young people can, together with their counsellors, test their local physical activity options, participate in the small group activities of their local KouluPT, and be encouraged to be independently physically active. 

‘KouluPT’ is part of the city’s well-being efforts, the aim of which is to promote young people’s overall well-being.  

One of the actions is increasing young people’s physical activity, because the number of young people who are not physically active is high and the number of children and young people who exercise enough is decreasing in primary school and secondary school and the trend continues in upper secondary education.  

The starting point of KouluPT is the national Move! measurements, according to which the physical ability to act of 40% of 8th-grade pupils in Helsinki is so poor that they have difficulties with managing their everyday lives. 

For who? 

  • ‘KouluPT’ is a low-threshold physical activity counselling service the City of Helsinki provides for secondary school pupils.  
  • The KouluPT activities will be implemented in close cooperation with schools and school health care. The KouluPT activities provide schools and school health care with the opportunity to direct the young people who, according to the Move! measurement results, require support to the KouluPT activities. Within KouluPT, young people can, together with their counsellors, test their local physical activity options, participate in the small group activities of their local KouluPT, and be encouraged to be independently physically active. 

How does the KouluPT process progress? 

  • Once a contact person from the school has discussed the matter with the young person and their parent/guardian, the school will contact a KouluPT counsellor who will agree on a meeting time with the young person.   
  • At the first KouluPT meeting, the young person and the counsellor peruse the local self-directed and instructed exercise opportunities, and the young person is directed to physical activities that suit their personal needs. 
  • In the KouluPT activities, young people see their KouluPT counsellors about twice a month. Between meetings, they can keep in contact via the HeiaHeia mobile application in which the counsellors can encourage young people to be physically active through various everyday life challenges.  
  • If the existing services cannot offer the young person a physical activity that is suitable for them or if the young person requires long-term instruction, he/she can join a KouluPT small group and individual instruction (6 months) in which the activities are planned in cooperation with the young people, based on the wishes and needs indicated in a preliminary survey.  

How to sign up 

Each area has its own KouluPT counsellor in charge who is responsible for the activities in the area. Young person, parent, guardian, teacher or representative of school health care – contact your local KouluPT counsellor who can tell you how to get started with the KouluPT process.

For more information, please contact:  

Project Coordinator Viivi Wallenius
viivi.wallenius@hel.fi
0406522056