Improving Physical Performance and Motor Skills Competence in The Gloucestershire Course Stage Two Children

by Jaime Torres

Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 24 teaching staff from six schools across Gloucestershire. The analysis indicated that the participants perceived time, workload, children’s behavior, and lack of classroom space as barriers to implementing a movement-based intervention within the classroom. Having an awareness of the benefits of PA ( physical activity), good quality resources and having an intervention that was flexible and easy to iii implement were all viewed as potential facilitators. The results of the study helped to inform ‘Busy Brain Breaks’, an intervention designed to improve MSC ( movement skill competency) whilst increasing PA within the classroom. The intervention was implemented within 28 classrooms across three schools in Gloucestershire for 10-weeks, with all 28 classrooms engaging with intervention to some extent, before the Covid-19 pandemic closed schools. The findings of this project suggest that using teaching practitioner’s knowledge and experience to help design school based movement interventions is likely to increase feasibility, adoption, and implementation.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2023