Implementing a Flexible Whole-School Programme to Provide Physical Activity during School Day

Research output: Contribution to conferencePosterResearchpeer-review

Purpose: The purpose of the 5-year programme: Sunde Børn Bevæger Skolen [Healthy Children Moving School] (2014 – 2019), is to promote health and well-being among all Danish children through sport, physical activity (PA) and active play in all parts of the school day. The vision of the programme is to establish lifelong benefit and enjoyment of PA. Description: The programme is based on the understanding that well organized PA featuring joy and enthusiasm can improve health and well-being among children. It is designed to provide PA in all parts of the school day (transportation, recess, curriculum time, PE, after school care and health education) and for all children, including those who feel insecure participating in PA or are unfamiliar with sports. The primary focus is to support school personnel in implementation of PA in a busy everyday schedule, by offering easily adoptable concepts for PA. Secondary, the programme aims to impact the perception of school-time PA and movement among stakeholders, including school management by providing evidence-based knowledge about how PA improves children’s health, well-being and academic achievement. The programme has been continuously adjusted, according to an ongoing evaluation consisting of: process evaluation, annual monitoring of all initiatives, case studies of selected initiatives, and an annual survey among all Danish elementary schools. Annual network conferences and consulting activities facilitate best practice and share knowledge among the participating schools and spread initiatives across schools. Dissemination consists of an annual report on the status of PA in Danish schools (based on survey), as well as a comprehensive and ongoing communication strategy for the programme. Conclusion: After 4 years, 67% of Danish elementary schools have adopted one or more programme initiatives. Additionally, more schools have increased the amount of initiatives. Thus, a flexible programme designed to provide easy and accessible options for PA during school day is suitable for implementation in a complex school context. Furthermore, supportive structures for PA launched by school managements are crucial for successful implementation of PA. Consequently, future PA programmes should also target the decision-making level of schools. The programme is launched by the non-profit organization Danish School Sport with funding from TrygFonden. The surveys and the qualitative case studies are conducted by Oxford Research A/S, an independent analytic company.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date29 Aug 2019
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 29 Aug 2019
Externally publishedYes
EventHEPA Europe 2019 - Syddansk Universitet, Odense , Denmark
Duration: 28 Aug 201930 Aug 2019
http://www.hepaeurope2019.org/

Conference

ConferenceHEPA Europe 2019
LocationSyddansk Universitet
CountryDenmark
CityOdense
Period28/08/201930/08/2019
Internet address

ID: 255356002