Senior management teams and those working in schools: Strategies ...

Senior management teams and those working in schools: Strategies forpromoting physical activity in childrenStrategiesCurrently inplaceCould bedeveloped furtherCreating a supportiveethos andenvironmentDevelop a whole school PE and physical activity policy that promotes a range of activities for thewhole school community throughout the school day and beyond.Build an environment and culture within the school that is supportive of physical activityConsider developing cross-curricular links to increase the amount of time allocated for physicalactivities and provide different environments to be active.Adopt appropriate teaching and learning styles and include appropriate and relevant content.Develop a school travel plan that supports the promotion of active travel, particularly walking andcycling to and from school.Developing physical activityprovisionFocus on increasing the variety of physical activity opportunities available throughout the day, forexample, measures to increase active commuting, daily activity sessions, active classroom breaksand physical activity homework.Plan a curriculum that helps promote physical activity and work with external partners to supportits implementation.Consider school timetabling changes to allow extra time for curricular PE, eg, scheduling lessonseither side of breaktimes or lunchtimes to allow changing to be supervised by classroom assistants.Include physical activity opportunities in all the elements of teaching and learning, for example,physically active games which also develop maths or language skills.Introduce active classroom breaks such as Take 10, Wake up shake up and Bizzy breaks.Provide opportunities to try out and experience a wide variety of activities, including some whichoffer opportunities to be creative, eg, dance and cheerleading.

Senior management teams and those working in schools: Strategies forpromoting physical activity in childrenCurrently inplaceCould bedeveloped furtherEnsure that the school leadership and management structures support, promote and maintainchanges for physical activity across the school.Effective leadership, managementand staff trainingKeep staff informed about physical activity including the benefits of physical activity, physicalactivity recommendations, the school’s philosophy and physical activity policy, specific promotionsand opportunities for children and themselves to be active.Address staff professional development needs to enable them to promote physical activityeffectively.Provide a planned annual programme of continuing professional development (CPD) for staff.Hold regular informal meetings with the PE Co-ordinator/Primary Link teacher/Head of PE/SchoolSport Co-ordinator.Provide relevant training and support - this could include in-house training or demonstration lessonsby PE staff, a School Sport Co-ordinator or the PE Co-ordinator.Encourage sharing good practice by all staff, eg, adopt a procedure that teachers who attendtraining report back to other staff on what they learnt.Encourage enthusiastic staff to consider training for relevant awards and or qualifications, eg,national governing body sports awards.Consider training lunchtime supervisors to deliver playground activities.Working withchildren and theirparents and carersConsult with children on all aspects of physical activity provision.Provide support services for children, eg, specialist trained sports co-ordinator to run activities atlunchtime break.Assess, record and report children’s achievements in physical activity.Involve parents, carers and local communities in the planning and delivery of physical activity.