Schools need to introduce opportunities for children, young people and staff to be active, it has been suggested.

Whether through indoor fitness equipment or outdoor activities, one of the best ways to encourage children to get active is by giving them control over their health aspirations, according to the National Children's Bureau (NCB).

Assistant director of the bureau's wellbeing department Jo Butcher explained that giving children the opportunity to play is very important for their health and wellbeing.

She added that schools the NCB had worked with setting health challenges used this approach as a way to introduce new health activities to children.

Ms Butcher was commenting following the release of new figures from the British Heart Foundation, which indicated that only one in eight children get 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

Children are now spending more time on their computers and mobile phones than exercising on indoor rowers or playing outdoors, the figures revealed.