Elementary Schools on the Move with Leuphana’s “SPORT VERNETZT Ganztagsgrundschule” Project
2026-08-13 The new right to full-day schooling offers an opportunity to integrate physical activity and sports more firmly into the daily school routine—children from socially disadvantaged families, in particular, can benefit from this. Together with partners in the field, Leuphana University Lüneburg is researching and developing strategies to ensure this is achieved successfully.
Today, school bells are ringing again in Lower Saxony. For many elementary school children, starting this school year, the school day will no longer end at noon but will continue into the afternoon—due to the new legal right to full-day education and support (GaFöG). For Jessica Süßenbach, professor of physical education and sports science at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, this presents a unique opportunity to create better educational, health, and participation opportunities. As part of the “SPORT VERNETZT Ganztagsgrundschule” project—which was recently honored with the Leuphana Transfer & Impact Award—she and the project team, together with their partner organization ALBA BERLIN, have been working with eleven elementary schools nationwide since 2024 to integrate more high-quality physical activity programs into the full-day schedule. “Physical activity should not be a ‘nice-to-have.’ Precisely because children in Germany are becoming less and less active—and especially because children from socially disadvantaged families have less access to extracurricular sports programs—elementary schools should seize the opportunity to integrate physical activity, sports, and play into their all-day school programs,” says Jessica Süßenbach.
What Promotes a Good Full-Day Program
The project isn’t about adding yet another sports club, but rather about establishing physical activity as an integral part of the school day. The “Movement Track,” developed as part of the project, demonstrates how this can be achieved: This planning tool helps schools identify opportunities for sports and physical activity throughout the entire day—from active commutes to school and morning exercise routines to active recess formats and play stations, all the way to partnerships with sports clubs.
Research also shows that an activity-oriented full-day program is particularly successful when schools, sports clubs, and other regional educational stakeholders work closely together and teaching staff are appropriately trained. Reliable coordination is crucial here: “If the new all-day program is to offer quality and open up opportunities, it will also give rise to new areas of responsibility, such as a full-time all-day coordinator for physical activity, play, and sports,” says Stefan Schröder of Leuphana University and a research project staff member for SPORT VERNETZT Ganztagsgrundschule.
About SPORT VERNETZT Ganztagsgrundschule
In this project, elementary schools are working together with regional stakeholders to develop a community-based sports and physical activity concept for all-day schools, in which physical education, all-day care, and (extracurricular) programs are seamlessly integrated. The overarching goal is to improve educational opportunities, enhance well-being, and enable participation. The project is funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. The scientific support provided by Leuphana University of Lüneburg, along with the practical implementation by ALBA BERLIN, lays the groundwork for transferring the developed concepts to other locations. Through workshops, individualized support, and a systematic evaluation of the school development process, the schools—based on their respective starting points—are supported in rethinking and practically implementing physical activity, play, and sports activities within the full-day program. The concept is intended to serve as a nationwide solution for better harnessing the potential of physical activity, play, and sports in the school context and for promoting children’s participation.