Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study

The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN

Ten-Year Secular Changes in Selected Health and Fitness Parameters of 10-11 Years Old Swansea School Children – 2003-2013

Purpose: The aim of this study was to highlight the secular changes in selected health and fitness measures (body mass index, prevalence of overweight and obesity and grip strength) in 10-11 year old Swansea school children, using data obtained in 2003 and 2013.Methods: Stature, body mass and grip strength data were collected for 512 participants (n= 230 boys, n= 282 girls) in 2003 during a Crucial CrewDay and for 414 participants (n= 198 boys, n= 216 girls) in 2013 during the Swan-Linx programme. BMIs were calculated from this data and used to calculate BMI standard deviation scores. A two-way ANOVA was conducted to examine if there was a statistically significant difference in BMI z-score by gender and year of testing. A two-way ANCOVA was used to investigate if there were differences on grip strength by gender and year of testing, with BMI z-score as a covariate.Results: BMI z-scores decreased significantly (p = 0.001) between 2003 and 2013 for both boys (0.80 to 0.40) and girls (0.58 to 0.41). Prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased for both boys and girls from 31.7% to 23.8% and 33.8% to 29.7%, respectively. After BMI z-scores adjustment, grip strength decreased significantly for boys (18.43kg to 16.88kg, p < 0.001), but not for girls (16.53kg to 16.59kg).Conclusion: The study shows promising results in terms of BMI z-scores and prevalence of overweight and obesity. However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity recorded in 2013 is still high, therefore further decreases in prevalence should continue to be an aim. The study also shows that muscular strength, in boys in particular, should be a focus for future interventions regarding physical fitness, in addition to an area for further investigation

The AHK-Wales Report Card 2018: Policy Measures - is it possible to ‘score’ qualitative data?

Comprehensive and meaningful policy analysis in the field of physical activity is difficult, not least because of the variable influence of other policy domains. However, in 2011 a Policy Assessment Tool (PAT) was developed by members of the WHO European Network for the Promotion of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA Europe) and tested in several different countries. In 2014, Wales joined a global initiative, active healthy kids (AHK) Global Alliance, that supported the development of country level ‘Report Cards’ scoring a range of indicators that influence physical activity amongst children and young people, one of which was labelled ‘Government Strategies and Investments’. For the first two Report Cards this indicator and its associated ‘score’ was informed subjectively by expert consensus. In 2018, it was decided to utilize the Policy Audit Tool Version 2 (PAT v2) developed by HEPA Europe to aid analysis and to develop and test a scoring rubric aligned to the tool. The subsequent process indicated that the tool could be applied and translated into a ‘grade’ that could be used in conjunction with the other indicators of the AHK Report Card to generate overall Report Card grades. The use of both the HEPA PAT v2 and the scoring rubric offers an opportunity to provide greater consistency and potential for developing both comparative and trend data when assessing policy impact on physical activity in children and young people. These tools should be utilized by the AHK Global Alliance in future Report Cards

A Dynamic Assessment of Children’s Physical Competence

Purpose The first aim was to develop a dynamic measure of physical competence that requires a participant to demonstrate fundamental, combined and complex movement skills, and for assessors to score both processes and products (Dragon Challenge; DC). The second aim was to assess the psychometric properties of the DC in 10–14 year old children.Methods The first phase involved the development of the DC, including the review process that established face and content validity. The second phase used DC surveillance data (n=4,355; 10–12 years) to investigate construct validity. In the final phase, a convenience sample (n=50; 10–14 years) performed the DC twice (one-week interval), the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2), and the Stability Skills Assessment (SSA). This data was used to investigate concurrent validity, and test-retest, inter-rater and intra-rater reliability.Results In support of construct validity, boys (P .85).Conclusion The DC is a valid and reliable tool to measure elements of physical competence physical competence in children aged 10–14 years

A dynamic assessment of children's physical competence: The Dragon Challenge

Purpose: The first aim was to develop a dynamic measure of physical competence that requires a participant to demonstrate fundamental, combined and complex movement skills, and for assessors to score both processes and products (Dragon Challenge; DC). The second aim was to assess the psychometric properties of the DC in 10-14 year old children. Methods: The first phase involved the development of the DC, including the review process that established face and content validity. The second phase used DC surveillance data (n=4,355; 10-12 years) to investigate construct validity. In the final phase, a convenience sample (n=50; 10-14 years) performed the DC twice (one-week interval), the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2), and the Stability Skills Assessment (SSA). This data was used to investigate concurrent validity, and test-retest, inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Results: In support of construct validity, boys (p .85). Conclusion: The DC is a valid and reliable tool to measure elements of physical competence in children aged 10-14 years

Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study

The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN

A cross-sectional study on the deprivation and sex differences in health-related fitness measures in school children

This study aimed to investigate deprivation and sex differences in selected health-relatedfitness measures in 9-12-year-old children. Data were captured on 3,407 children (49.3% boys; aged 10.5 ± 0.6 years). Cardiorespiratory fitness(20 m multistage shuttle run test; 20 m MSRT), muscular strength (handgrip strength) and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) scores were used to make quintile groups. A two-way Analysis of Variance examined differences in BMI z-score by sex and WIMD quintiles. Two-wayAnalysis of Covariances investigated the effect of sex and WIMD quintiles on grip strength and shuttles achieved in 20 m MSRT, adjusting for BMI z-score and maturation, repectively. Independent of sex, children in the middle quintile had a significantly higher mean BMI z-score (p = 0.029) than their least deprived counterparts. There was a significant increase in grip strength (p = 0.005) and20 m MSRT (boys p < 0.001; girls p = 0.028) between most and least deprived quintiles. Significant differences in 20 m MSRT score were more apparent with decreases in deprivation in boys.Overall, inequalities exist in health-related fitness by sex and deprivation. These results can be used to inform focused services to improve current and future health

Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study

The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN.</jats:p

Results From Wales’ 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

This is the third Active Healthy Kids Wales (AHK-Wales) Report Card following the inaugural and second report card published in 2014 and 2016 respectively.1,2 The 2018 report card (Figure 1) consolidates and translates research related to physical activity among children and young people in Wales. The report card aimed to raise the awareness of children and young people’s engagement in physical activity behaviours and influences, and advocate for children’s right to be active and healthy

The New Horizons Spacecraft

The New Horizons spacecraft was launched on 19 January 2006. The spacecraft was designed to provide a platform for seven instruments that will collect and return data from Pluto in 2015. The design drew on heritage from previous missions developed at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and other missions such as Ulysses. The trajectory design imposed constraints on mass and structural strength to meet the high launch acceleration needed to reach the Pluto system prior to the year 2020. The spacecraft subsystems were designed to meet tight mass and power allocations, yet provide the necessary control and data handling finesse to support data collection and return when the one-way light time during the Pluto flyby is 4.5 hours. Missions to the outer solar system require a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to supply electrical power, and a single RTG is used by New Horizons. To accommodate this constraint, the spacecraft electronics were designed to operate on less than 200 W. The spacecraft system architecture provides sufficient redundancy to provide a probability of mission success of greater than 0.85, even with a mission duration of over 10 years. The spacecraft is now on its way to Pluto, with an arrival date of 14 July 2015. Initial inflight tests have verified that the spacecraft will meet the design requirements.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables; To appear in a special volume of Space Science Reviews on the New Horizons missio