Introducing physically active lessons in UK secondary schools: feasibility study and pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial

Abstract

ObjectivesAssess feasibility, acceptability and costs of delivering a physically active lessons (PAL) training programme to secondary school teachers and explore preliminary effectiveness for reducing pupils’ sedentary time.Design and settingSecondary schools in East England; one school participated in a pre-post feasibility study, two in a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial. In the pilot trial, blinding to group assignment was not possible.ParticipantsAcross studies, 321 randomly selected students (51% male; mean age: 12.9 years), 78 teachers (35% male) and 2 assistant head teachers enrolled; 296 (92%) students, 69 (88%) teachers and 2 assistant head teachers completed the studies.InterventionPAL training was delivered to teachers over two after-school sessions. Teachers were made aware of how to integrate movement into lessons; strategies included students collecting data from the environment for class activities and completing activities posted on classroom walls, instead of sitting at desks.Primary and secondary outcomesQuantitative and qualitative data were collected to assess feasibility and acceptability of PAL training and delivery. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and ~8 weeks post-training; measures included accelerometer-assessed activity, self-reported well-being and observations of time-on-task. Process evaluation was conducted at follow-up.ResultsIn the feasibility study, teachers reported good acceptability of PAL training and mixed experiences of delivering PAL. In the pilot study, teachers’ acceptability of training was lower and teachers identified aspects of the training in need of review, including the outdoor PAL training and learning challenge of PAL strategies. In both studies, students and assistant head teachers reported good acceptability of the intervention. Preliminary effectiveness for reducing students’ sedentary time was not demonstrated in either study.ConclusionsNo evidence of preliminary effectiveness on the primary outcome and mixed reports of teachers’ acceptability of PAL training suggest the need to review the training. The results do not support continuation of research with the current intervention.Trial registration number ISRCTN38409550.

Changes in Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Well-Being Following a School-Based Health Promotion Program in a Norwegian Region with a Poor Public Health Profile: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study in Early Adolescents

“…This program did not demonstrate any effectiveness for reducing pupils' sedentary time on a full day or during school time in the short timeframe where pupils wore the accelerometers. The lack of results in reducing sedentary time in secondary schools is in accordance with a recently published pilot study from the UK, who found no evidence of reduced sedentary time after implementing PAL [55]. This indicates the importance of examining levels of PA and sedentary time as individual and independent constructs [66].…”

“…In our study, the intervention group is stable over time in minutes spent in MVPA during school hours, where the control group declines. Similar results were found by Gammon et al [55] who implemented PAL in secondary schools [55]. Because of the general decline in PA levels from child to adolescent, it is argued that interventions that attenuate PA decline could be considered effective [56].…”

Physically active lessons in schools and their impact on physical activity, educational, health and cognition outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Only two studies were explicitly based on theory, namely the COM-B model of behaviour change 18 37 . One study presented a logic model of how it's physically active lesson intervention may impact student's sedentary behaviour and educational outcomes 47 . 33/42 studies reported interventions as delivered by existing classroom teachers (Table 1), with the remainder delivered by recruited personnel of teachers or researchers.…”

Using a multi-stakeholder experience-based design process to co-develop the Creating Active Schools Framework

“…The social environment reflects the degree to which the stakeholders engage and support each other to provide physical activity. For example, teachers who implement physically active learning within supportive school social environments experience fewer implementation barriers [38][39][40].…”