Moving well, being well: an intervention aimed at increasing fundamental movement skills in Irish primary school children, while also increasing teacher confidence in delivering physical activity based lessons.

Abstract

Physical Activity (PA) has long been positively linked with health benefits. Recent research shows that 67% of adolescents are not getting the recommended one hour of moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA) per day. In addition, 99.5% of the same sample did not achieve the level of Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) proficiency expected of their age. In young children FMS proficiency is hypothesised to correlate with increased PA in later life, and these skills are best developed throughout the early school going years. To address these alarming statistics, phase one of the Moving Well-Being Well project has assessed a nationwide sample (n=2148) of primary school children (5-13 years) in Ireland. The range of assessments covered all aspects of the currently accepted physical literacy model: competence, motivation, confidence, and knowledge and understanding. The results show that 77.5% of primary school children were classed as ‘very poor’ or ‘below average’ in FMS proficiency (n=2098, Male 53%). The findings also show significantly higher (p<0.001) FMS proficiency for children who achieve high levels of MVPA, over those who are less active. Confidence and motivation both saw significant increases (p<0.05) for those categorised as highly active, compared to those in the low activity group. There was significant difference between these groups for knowledge and understanding, and 54.8% did not know the minimum recommended MVPA guidelines. These findings have been used to develop the intervention aiming at addressing these deficiencies. The intervention targets increasing teacher confidence in delivering FMS programmes through an innovative school’s in-service training program