5 week physical activity primary school research project from Bath University
Wednesday 3rd March 2021
During this pandemic children’s opportunities to be physically active have declined, and inequalities have likely been exacerbated. This is particularly concerning as research has shown large variations in children’s physical activity before Covid-19 and around 90% of pupils failing to achieving the government target of 30-minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day in UK schools. These low levels of activity are likely to negatively impact their physical and mental wellbeing, and undermine academic performance.
Bath University is looking for year 5/6 pupils, from Wiltshire schools, and their class teachers to participate in a research project for 4-5 weeks. The aim of the project is to help teachers understand their pupils’ physical activity and potentially develop strategies for improvement.
Moki activity tracker bands will be sent out to classes of each school involved, to use for the duration of the project. Online support will be provided in setting up the bands and Moki application. The pupils in the class would then wear the bands for 2 weeks, just within school hours.
In line with the ethical approval for this study, information sheets will be sent to for parents/ guardians and teachers, along with consent forms which would need to be completed before giving children the bands.
After the pupils wear the bands for 2 weeks, teachers will be interviewed on Microsoft Teams to discuss their experiences using the Moki bands, their thoughts on the pupils’ physical activity levels and develop potential changes which could be made to improve pupils’ activity. The pupils would then wear the bands again for another 2 weeks to investigate the outcomes of these strategies. A final interview will be conducted to discuss the data (and this is something which can be presented to pupils and other teachers) and what was successful, challenging or the barriers faced.
The project will run across this academic year and your school’s involvement in this study can be arranged when convenient. If you’re interested in potentially becoming involved, please contact Georgina Wort gw597@bath.ac.uk
