old problems: new solutions research report - full version

Old Problems: NEW SolutionsUSING THE PLAYGROUND AS A COST EFFECTIVE

PREVENTATIVE MEASURE TO REDUCE CHILDHOOD OBESITY

INDEPENDENTLY RESEARCHED BY:

EVIDENCE

Early Years Primary Secondary SEN CPD

Interimreport:Playgroundsofthe21stcentury(SWEssexPCT)01/10/2009

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Summary Background:Thestudyhasbeendesignedtoprovideindicatorsofchangefollowinginstallationofnewplaygroundfacilitiesinall163schoolsinSWEssexPCT.Datawerecapturedbeforeplaygroundswereinstalled(Dec/January)toprovidebaseline(before)data.Datawerethencapturedafterplaygroundswereinstalled(June).Assessmentsofinterventioneffectivenesswerebasedoncomparingthesebefore‐afterdata,usingstandardstatisticaltestingprocedures.

Methods:TheMAINformofdatacapturewasbasedonindependentobserversreportingontheplaygroundbehaviourofINDIVIDUALchildrenin15schoolsdrawntorepresentmedianenrolmentsinSWEssexschools(primaryandsecondary).Inthesesameschoolsinterviewswithteachersandpupilsassessedqualitativeexperiencesofthenewinstallationsandanychangetheymayhaveinitiated.

Asasubsidiaryformofquantitativedata,teachersfromallschoolswereinvitedtoprovidetheirestimatesofobservationsofplaygroundbehaviourofALLCHILDRENintheirclass.Additionally,toprovidecorroboration,asimplerobservationreportdocumentwasforwardedtoheadteachersinallschools.Finally,intheschoolsvolunteeringforintensiveobservationsofplaygroundbehaviour,interviewswithteachersandpupilswereundertakenbeforeandafterinstallationtoassesssubjectiveexperiencesofchangeandofimplementingthenewfacilitieswithinroutinesandhabits.

Findings:themainfindingisthatindependentlyobservedchildrenweremorephysicallyactivefollowinginstallation.Comparingbeforewithafter,teacherobservationssuggestthatmorethan1in7childrenbecamemoreactiveafterinstallation.Thisconvertstofourpupils/classwhowouldhaveremainedinactivebutforthenewinstallation.Teacherinterviews,butnotclassobservations,notedanimportantpositiveimpactonactivitytypes.Headteacherssawhigh‘physical’valueinthenewinstallationbutalsoreportedotherimportantbenefitsfortheclimateofthewholeschool.Theinstallationscreatedanewenergyforbreaktimesandencouragedmorestafftospendtimethere,whichitselfmaycatalysefurtherengagementofchildren.

Playgroundaccessduringtheschooldayreachesalmosteveryenrolledchild,yet,schoolshaveespeciallydifferentpracticeregardingaccesstoplaygroundsbeforeandaftertheschooldaybegins.Untrainedstaffwereoftenanxiousaboutencouragingplaygroundactivities,especiallythatinvolvingequipment.Incontrast,trainingbuildson‘wholeschool’commitmentstophysicalactivityandmulti‐skilldevelopment.

Summary:Withinthelimitationsofresponserates,therangeofsourcesanddifferent,robustandvalid,methodsshowsthattheinstallationhasbeenassociatedwithincreasedphysicalactivityamongactivechildren.Further,morechildrenweremorehighlyengagedduringplaygroundtime,includingthosewhohadpreviouslybeenonlylightlyengaged.Thefullvalueofthesefindingsemergeswhencontextualisedtothegrowingconcernsaboutrisingobesityanddecliningphysicalactivityamongyoungpeople,especiallyfemales.


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METHODOLOGYQUANTITATIVE

Twoelementsgeneratedquantitativedata.Themostimportantoftheseistherepeatedobservationofindividualpupils’playgroundbehaviourbyindependentobservers.Thesedataareaimedatshowinghowobservedpupils’physicalactivityandgeneralplaygroundbehaviourrespondedtonewplaygroundprovision.

SchoolswereinvitedtoparticipateaccordingtotheirproximitytotheenrolmentmedianfortheirrespectiveareawithineachofthethreeeducationalconstituenciesintheSWEssexPCT.Invitations,alternativelydrawnfromaboveandbelowthemodeenrolment(basedonfiguresprovidedintheSWEssexSchoolOrganisationalPlan,2007)werecontinueduntila10%sampleof163schoolswascomplete.

Twoindependentobserversthenattendedeachcontributingschooltoobservedifferentchildren’splaygroundbehaviour.Pupilswereselectedusingastandardisedsystem(SOCARP)toensureimpartialitybothinpupilselectionandrecordingofbehaviour.Basedon10‐minutesofdedicatedobservation(with15secondboutsofrecording),scoringwasbasedonawell‐validatedschema,providingindividualindicatorsofpupilactivitylevel,thesizeoftheirsocialgroup,numbersofsocialinteractionsduringbreaktimes.

Thesecond,subservient,formofquantitativedatawasbasedonobservationalformsdistributedtoallschools.Thisapproachwasaimedatprovidingestimatesofnumbersofpupilsinvolvedindifferentplaygroundactivities.Aone‐pagequestionnairewaspreparedforHeadteachers,sixA3observationalreportingformsforclassteachers(inprimaryandjuniorschools;insecondaryschoolsonlytwowereprovided)andfourA4sheetsformiddaysupervisors.Thiswascirculatedto163schoolsinDecember(withafollow‐upinFebruaryforthosewhohadnotyethadthenewplaygroundinstalled)andtoallschoolsagaininJune2009.Aswellasaskingfornumericaldata,therewerealsoopportunitiestoprovidequalitativecommentsusingopen‐endedsections.

Toidentifyanyimpactsofthenewplaygroundprovision,percentages(ratherthanactualnumbers)ofpupilsattributedtothedifferentengagementcategoriesandactivitieswerecalculatedandcompared(BaselinevsFollow‐up).Usingpercentageshelpstoovercomeinconsistenciesintroducedbypupilabsenceandfacilitatesincludingallresponses,includingthosewhereonlyonesetofobservationswasreturned.

QUALITATIVE

Interviews

Herethepurposewastoinvestigateteachers’andpupils’perceptionsoftheirplayfacilitiesprior to the introductionof the newequipment and then their perceptions after the newequipment had been installed and teachers trained. The initial phase of the researchidentifiedwhatactivityandbehaviourwasprevalent intheschoolspriortotheinstallationandwhatteachersandpupilswerehopingtogainfromthedevelopment.Semi‐structuredinterviewswerealignedwiththequantitativepurposeofthestudy. Thesetookplacewithpairsofteachers/teachingassistantsin16schools(infants,primaryandsecondary)andwithgroupsofupto6pupilsacrossthe4SchoolSportPartnershipsinthearea.


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Allinterviewswererecordedtoenablein‐depthanalysisfollowingdatacollection.

BeforeInstallation:

• whatactivitypupilstookpartin:

o beforeschool,duringbreaktimesandafterschool

• Whatsupervision/structurewasprovidedatthesetimes

• Whattraining/experiencestaffhadtosupportactivityatthesetimes

• Howdifferentgroupsofpupilsengagedinactivityatthesetimes

• Whatschools/staffwerehopingtogainfromtheinstallationandthetraining.

Pupilinterviewswerecarefullyplannedtoforagesuitabilityandappropriatenessforphasesofdevelopment.Forinfantandprimarychildrenthisinvolvedusingdrawingstohelpchildrenexplaintheirfeelingsandtocreateanenvironmentinwhichtheyfelthappytotalk.Thisapproachfollowsestablishedprotocolsdrawnfromprominentresearchersandreports.Despitedifferentinterviewingstylesinterviewswith,infants,primaryandsecondaryschoolweredesignedtoidentify:

• Howchildrenspendbreak/playtime

• Whospendstimewithwhoatbreak/playtime

• Howbreak/playtimecouldbemademorefun

• Howchildrenfeltabouttheirexistingplayspaces

• Whatchildrenwouldliketoseeintheirplayareas

• Howthechildrenfeltthenewfacilitywouldimpactonplayactivities.

AfterInstallation:

Thefollow‐upinterviewscarriedoutoncethenewequipmenthadbeeninstalledandstafftrainingwasunderway.Again,interviewsinvolvedpairsofteachersandgroupsofchildren.Interviewswiththeteachers/teachingassistantsweredesignedtoidentify:

• Changesinactivitytypesandlevels

• Changesinbehaviour

• Useofdifferentareas/equipment(newandold)

• Staffinvolvementandinfluenceoveranychange

o Schoolmanagementofthefacilities/equipment

o Stafftraining

• Theimpactofnewequipmentondifferentgroupsofchildren

• Staffperceptionoftheimpactofthedevelopment

• Evaluationofthetrainingandtheresource

FINDINGSIndependentObservers

Fifteenschoolsprovidedaccess.Twoobservationperiodsarereportedhere;January2009andagainapproximately6‐monthslater(July2009).Atotalof348childobservationperiodswererecordedbythreeindependentobservers.Their


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observationsweredistributedasfollows;114inmorning(32.8%),211inlunchtime(n=2118,62.8%)andtwoinafternoon(0.6%)breaks.Therewasanevengenderspreadamongobservedpupils(Malesn=171,49.2%;Femalesn=176,51.8%).Observersaveraged3.7reports/breakperiod;thelargestnumberofobservations/breakperobserverwas8.

Table1showsthatthemagnitudeofdifferenceinobservation(beforeimplementationversusafter)achievedstatisticalsignificancefor‘Activitylevel’andfor‘numberofAdultsupervisors’.Ineachcasethefollow‐updataarehigher,suggestingapositiveeffectofprovidingthenewplaygroundfacilities.Theseeffectsareindependentofgroupsizeornumbersofinteractions.

Checkingdataquality

Therewasonlyonedifferenceinscoringbythetwomainobservers(contributing92%ofscores):averageactivitylevelreportsdifferedby0.23,p<0.01.

Table1.SOCARP:Baseline(January)versusFollow‐up(July)differences

Mean(SD)

Beforeinstallation

Afterinstallation

Difference Pvalue

Variable(range)

Activitylevel(1‐5) 3.64(0.58) 3.79(0.67) +0.14 .05

Groupsize* 2.32(0.60) 2.29(0.52) ‐0.02 n.s.

Noofinteractions† 2.30(0.44) 2.38(0.48) +0.07 n.s.

Adultsupervisors 2.39(1.28) 3.72(1.53) +1.32 .001

*Referstothesizeofthegroupinwhichobservedpupilswereengaged.

†Referstonumberofsocialinteractionsreportedduringtheobservation

TeacherObservers

Baseline

Thirty‐sixschools(23%returnrate,148teachers)providedcompletedbaselinequestionnaires.Observationsspannedanaverageof3.93(s=1.70)schooldays,foratotalof507daysofteacherobservation.Thisrepresentedobservationsof4212pupilsfromclasssizesaveraging27.05(SD=4.51),with44.5%femalepupils(n=1782).Amongrespondentstheaveragetotalbreaktimeintheschooldaywas66.77(s=20.26)minutes.Teachersreportedthatonly203oftheirpupils(i.e.,<1%)couldnotparticipateinplaygroundactivities,indicatingalmostuniversalreach.

Table1showsimportantdifferencesinthenumbersofpupilsteachersassignedtothethreedifferentintensitycategoriesofplaygroundactivity.Roughly,these


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proportionsappeartodouble,startingwithafterschool(15%),tobeforeschool(25%)toduringschool(59%).Expressedaspercentages,40.6%pupilswereconsideredhighlyengagedatsomepointduringtheschoolday,comparedto34.5%for‘moderately’and25.1%for‘lightly’engaged.Male:femaleratiosinhighandmoderateplaygroundengagementroutinelyshowconsistentlygreatermaleinvolvement.

Table2.Teachersobservations:Pupils’levelsofplaygroundengagementatdifferentperiods

Nofpupils(row%)

[n,column%]

Highlyengaged Moderatelyengaged

Lightlyengaged

Beforeschool

[1077,25.6%]

376

(34.9%)

405

(37.6%)

306

(28.4%)

Duringschool

[2488,59.2%]

994

(39.9%)

867

(34.8%)

627

(25.2%)

Afterschool[637,15.1%]

334

(52.4%)

180

(28.3%)

123

(19.3)

Total(femalen) 1704(637) 1452(542) 1056(489)

Totalpupilreportsmaynotmatchattributionstocategoriesofactivityengagement.Thesedisparitiesmayreflectpupilsbeingoccupiedinotherbreaktimeactivities.

Inrelationtoengagementusingexistingplaygroundequipment,102teachersnotedthatthehighlyengagedpupilswereusingthisequipment.Thiswaslowerfor‘moderately’(n=69)and‘lightly’(n=27)involvedpupils.Figure1showstheprofileforthethreelevelsofpupilengagement.

Teacherscouldendorseuptosixpositiveoptions(excludingthe‘Don’tknow’option)forplaygroundactivitiesthattheysawpupilsengagein.Teachersmade1284endorsementsofactivityoptionsforhighly,moderatelyandlightlyengagedpupilsbefore,duringandafterschool.Teachersaveragedmostendorsementsforhighlyengagedpupils(n=412),especiallyforduringtheschoolday(2.73,SD=1.59).Thiscomparesto1.99(SD=1.46)formoderatelyand1.21(SD=1.21)forlightlyengagedpupils.

Resultsshowadistinctiveprofileofplaygroundactivityacrosstheschoolday.Givenbalancedmale:femaleclassratios,andalmostuniversalcapacityforinvolvement,thelowinvolvementoffemalesisproblematic.Theresultsarelimitedbythetimededicatedtomakingtheseobservations,therelativelylowreturnrateandtakingobservationsduringaperiodofseverewinterweather(January2009).Only43%ofpupilswerehighlyactive,andtheseweredominatedbyboys,showingthewidepotentialforplaygroundinterventionstohelpmorechildrentoberegularlyactive.


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BaselinevsFollow‐updifferences

Reportsoffollow‐upobservationswerereturnedby103teachers(n=21schools).ComparedtoBaselinetherewerenodifferencesintheaverageclasssize,numberofdayscontributingtotheobservations,orthenumberofgirlsintheclasses.

Statisticallysignificantdifferenceswerefoundinthefollow‐updata;theseshowapositiveeffectonmoreintensiveengagementwithaconcurrentreductioninlowlevelsofplaygroundengagement.Theseareshownintable3.Differencesidentifiedbychangesinthegirls’levelofengagementdonotexplainthetotallevelofchangethatwasobserved,whichsuggeststhatboysandgirlsrespondedequallytothenewplaygroundprovision.Teachers’reportsoftheactivitiestheysawchildrendoingweretalliedforeachperiodintheschooldayandforeachlevelofengagement.Therewerenodifferencesintherespectivetalliesbetweenbeforeandafterinstallation.

Table3.Teacherobservations:Percentagesofpupilsattributedtoplaygroundengagementcategories.

Mean(SD)

Before After Change(vsBefore)

Pvalue

Variable(%)

Highlyengagedpupils

54.43(26.18) 69.15(24.87) 14.7%increase <.001

Moderatelyengagedpupils

27.82(17.15) 23.36(16.49) Nodifference n.s.

Lightlyengagedpupils

17.25(18.11) 6.89(9.18) 10.3%decrease <0001

Girlshighlyengaged

18.64(17.16) 25.17(16.32) 10.6%increase <.01

Girlsmoderatelyengaged

15.76(12.57) 14.39(11.27) Nodifference n.s.

Girlslightlyengaged

11.52(12.44) 5.63(7.49) 5.8%decrease <.01

Otherstatisticallysignificantdifferences(P<0.05)werealsofoundamongteachersreportingfollow‐upobservations.Thesewerelinkedtothethreelevelsofexposuretoplayground(PG)training(NoPGtrainingatmyschool[n=55],OtherschoolstaffhavereceivedPGtraining[n=49],IhavereceivedPGtraining[n=16]).StaffinschoolswithnoexposuretoPGtraining,reportedmorepupilsas‘Lightly’engaged(a7.78%difference)andmoregirlsbeing‘Lightly’engaged(5.64)thanstaffwhosecolleagueshadreceivedtraining.Further,staffwhohadreceivedPGtrainingreportedbasingtheirreportsonfewerdaysofobservations(2.5vs4.4)thanstaffwithnodirectorindirectexposuretoPGtraining.


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Open‐endedcommentsfromteachers

Teachersprovidedatotalof95writtencommentsinfollow‐upreports.Itwasclearthatteacherswerepositiveaboutthenewplaygroundprovision,withrelativelyfewcommentsprovidedinthequestionnaire(C2)‘What,ifany,NEGATIVEpupilimpact(s)haveyounoticedforchildreninyourclass?’.Onecommentrelatedtotraining;‘Becauseofnotrainingasyet,staffweren’tabletohelppupilsandsointerestwanedasquicklyasitwasaroused’.Anothersawproblematicbehaviour;‘Hascausedsomenegativebehaviourinthatsomechildrenhavebeenunabletoshareortaketurnsorhavearguedoverequipment’.Thissameteacherhadconcernsaboutthequalityofsurface;‘…weedsaregrowingthrough.Tarmacisnotevenwithholesinit.’Negativeimpactswerealsolinkedtopupils’over‐exuberance,disagreements,fightsandinjury.

Oneteacherwasconcernedthatchildrenmayrequireadulthelptousetheequipmentandthatthismightnotalwaysbeavailable.Otherteacherscommentedabouttheorientationofequipment,‘facesawayfromplaygroundmakingitsoyoucannotseethechildren’,whereasanotherfoundbenefits–presumablythroughreducingovercrowdinginhotspots‐in‘thechildrenspreadoutmore.’Forotherstherewereclassroomeffects‘Somechildrenrefusetocomeofftheapparatusattheendofbreaktimes’.Thiscontrastedwithapositiveclassroomeffectexpressedas‘’Morereadytolearnwhenreturnedtoclass’,‘Awaytouseunspentenergybeforesettlingbackdowntoclassroomactivities.Childrencouldthenrefocus’,and‘Helpstoreducefidgetingduringlearningtime.Increasestheirselfconfidence.’

Inrelationto‘surprising’pupilimpacts(C3),therewerepositivecommentsaboutsociability;‘…morecollaborativeplay’,‘….encouragingeachother’,‘…moreteam/groupactivitiesenhancingsocialskills’,‘(especiallygirls)whoplaywithyoungerpupilswhoarenotalwayssiblings’,‘Thenumberofpupils‘…howspontaneoustheywere’and‘Tryingtoplaychess–fantastic!’.Othersnoted‘Itwasgoodtoseechildrenthatarenotusuallyactivetalkingpartinclassgames’and‘…theirself‐esteemandconfidencewasdefinitelyraised.’

Othersvaluedthevarietyproducedbythechanges;‘…moreinteractionbetweenboysandgirls’,‘Childrenhavemorethingstokeepthemactivewhennotplayingfootball’,‘Childrenengagedandcreatedgameswiththenewequipment’,‘Childrenenjoychallengingthemselvesonthetrimtrail–childrenwhoIdidnotconsidertobephysical’,‘Childrennotpreviouslyengagedenjoyedthenewfacilities’,‘Childrenaremuchmorelikelytobeinvolvedinpositiveactivities’and‘…mychildren,whoallhavespeechandlanguagedifficulties,wereintegratingfurtherwiththeirmainstreamcounterparts.’Anotherteacherreportedthatherschoolwastryingtooptimisetheactivitypotential;‘Weareallawareandencouragephysicalactivityintheplayground’.Twoteacherssummarisedtheirfeelingsbycommenting;‘Thechildrenreallyenjoythemandithelpswithkeepingthemactive’and‘Theplaygroundisgreat.Thankyou’.

Headteachers


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Forty‐fivebaselinereportswereprovidedbyheadteachers,fourfromsecondaryschools.Table5showsheadteacherestimatesofcurrentschoolperformanceandhowplaygroundplaycontributestothosevariables.Thesefivevariablesweredrawnfromtheliteratureregardingthewiderimpactofplaygroundprovisionandshowthatbeforethenewinstalledwereinplace‘attitudestolearning’wasmostfavourablyrated,withplaygroundplaymakingthegreatestcontributionstoPAinvolvementandPAattitudes.

Table4identifiestheproportionsofpupilscurrentlyestimatedbyheadteacherstobeinvolvedwithplaygroundactivitiesbeforeduringandaftertheschoolday.Thefinalcolumnshowsaspirationsforchange;headteacherswouldliketodoubleinvolvementbeforeandafterschoolinvolvement,whilemakingalmosta20%increaseininvolvementduringtheschoolday.

Headteachers:Beforeversusafterdifferences

Headteachersgenerated24fullsetsofresponsesafterplaygroundshadbeeninstalled.Fromthesetherewerenodifferencesinestimatesoftheactivitytheyeitherreportedseeingamongtheirpupilsorintheiraspirationsforthenewinstallations.Table4showstheproportionsofpupilsidentifiedasactiveatdifferenttimesintheday.Noneofthesescoresdifferedstatisticallywhencomparedtotheequivalentbaselinevalues.

Table4.Headteacherassessmentsofpupilplaygroundinvolvementandaimsforchange.

Mean(SD)

Beforeestimate Afterestimate Beforeaim Afteraim

Pupilinvolvement%

Beforeschool 12.88(22.33) 22.42(32.64) 23.87(29.89) 24.86(35.23)

Duringschool 61.62(36.34) 75.45(31.16) 82.87(29.49) 78.64(34.23)

Afterschool 11.74(21.36) 18.50(28.53) 21.43(26.61) 21.43(16.90)

Table5highlightsscoresforthecurrentschoolperformanceandfortherelativecontributionsofplaygroundactivity.Underlineditemsindicatestatisticallysignificantdifferencesinfollow‐upscoresforestimatesofcurrentschoolperformance.Itemsinboldindicatestatisticallysignificantdifferencesinthecontributionattributedtoplaygroundplay.Of10possiblecomparisons,eightachievedahigherscoreoncetheplaygroundshadbeeninstalled.


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Table5.Headteachers’estimatesofschoolperformanceandcontributionsofplaygroundplay.

Before After

Performance(1‐100)

Playcontribution

(1‐5)

Performance(1‐100)

Playcontribution

(1‐5)

Attitudestowardlearning 69.69(14.25)

3.76(0.71)

76.19(13.59)

4.64(0.63)

Citizenship 70.16(20.90)

3.76(0.74)

81.10(12.50)

4.36(0.74)

Movementcompetence 63.55(14.96)

3.59(0.69)

72.38(9.95)

4.36(0.65)

PAinvolvement 68.71(18.41)

3.79(0.81)

80.95(13.39)

4.71(0.73)

PAattitudes 67.66(14.42)

3.76(0.75)

80.95(13.39)

4.65(0.74)

Headsprovidedfewerqualitativecommentsthanotherstaff,althoughoneendedhiscommentary‘Ithinktheschemeisbrilliant.’Incontrasttotheworriesofsometeachers,oneheadteacherreported‘fewerminorincidents’sincetheplaygroundhadbeeninstalled.

Qualitativeinterviewoutcomes

Evidencefromtheinterviewsacrosstheobservationschoolssuggeststhattheplaygroundshavealreadyhadanimpactonactivitylevelsandthereisthepotentialtoraiseparticipationratesamongstallagepupilsthroughthedevelopmentofappropriatefacilitiesandthetrainingofstafftoworkalongsidethepupils.

Teachersfeelthatthenewplaygrounddevelopmentshavehadasignificantimpactonpupilactivitylevelsandtypes.Followinginstallationbothchildrenandstaffbelievethatthereisahigherlevelofactivityandthattheplaygroundshavebroughtaboutgreaterlevelsofco‐operation.

Teachersroutinelyreportedapositiveimpactontherangeofactivitiesundertakenbyprimaryagedchildren.Manynowtakepartindifferentactivitiesbeforeduringandafterschool,suggestingthatchildrenhavebeenintroducedtoactivitiespreviouslynotavailable.Thishasallowedchildrentopracticeandmasternewskills.Earlyevidencefromtheinterviewsandfromgeneralobservationssuggestincreasedactivitylevelsatplaytimesandamongamajorityofpupilsalthoughtherestillneedstobegreaterattentionpaidtogroupsofnon‐participants.Insecondaryschoolsthisappearstobeanissuesamongoldergirlsandthosepupilswhoappeartohaveweightandfitnessissues.

Schoolswherestaffhavethoughtcarefullyaboutthedesignandusageofthefacilitieshaveseenthemoststrikingofchanges.Previouslyinactivechildrenwere


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nowinvolvedinanumberofsemi‐activeandactivepursuitsandmasteringanumberofcognitivechallenges.Whereschoolshavechangedsystemsandidentifiedappropriatelytrainedstafftoworkalongsidethechildrenatbreaktimesthereseemstohavebeenthelargestchangeinbehaviour.

Bothplaygroundsandstaffactascatalystsforchangeandappropriatelytrainedstaffwithappropriatefacilitiescanhaveanimportantpositiveimpactonpupilperceptionsofthevalueofactivityandultimatelytheamountofactivityinwhichthechildrentakepart.Staffreportacontinuedneedforsupportthatallowsthemtodeveloptheactivitiesandtoensuretheirknowledgeandexpertiseinmotivatingpupilstobeactiveandtohelpthemtodeveloparangeofphysicalskillswhichwillpreparethemforfutureactivelives.

Theimportanceofsupportingresourcesforbothchildrenandstaffwillbeessentialatallstagesoftheproject.Staffwillneedtobeprovidedwithresourceswhichwillhelpthemdeveloptheactivitiesperformedbythechildrenandtheresourceswillneedtobemadeaccessibletochildrenwhowilldevelopthe‘recommended’activitiestosuittheirownparticularneeds.Childrenwilltaketheuseofthefacilitiesbeyondtheexpectationsofusalliftheyaregiventheopportunitiestoexploreandexperimentforthemselves.

Theindicationsfromthisinitialresearchwouldsuggestapositiveoutcomeforpupilssuggeststhatthefacilitydevelopmentandthetrainingofstaffcaninfluencechildren’slevelsofactivity,howchildrenrespondtoeachotherandthedevelopmentofarangeofcorephysicalskills.

Questionnairedatasuggestthatthepotentialofplaygroundspacebothbeforeandafterschoolisnotoptimised.Thelowlevelofinvolvementwithafterschool(versusbeforeschool)suggeststhatdifferentinfluentialprocessesmaybeoperating.

Thetrainingofstaffandwholeschoolcommitmenttophysicalactivityandmulti‐skilldevelopmentaswellasafocusoncross‐curricularactivelearningwillcementtheimpactofthefacilities.

DiscussionandSummaryTo‐datetheprojecthasgeneratedtwomainlinesofrobustandtriangulatedevidence.Thefirst,basedonindependentobserversandonteacherobservationsofpupilsintheirclasses,shownotonlymoreactivityamongindividuals,butalso,greaternumbersofpupilsengagingmorefullyduringbreaktimes.Thesecondlineofevidenceisaffordedbyinterviews(withschoolstaffandchildren)andbyopen‐endedcommentariesprovidedbyschoolobservers.Thesedatanotonlycorrespondtothebroaddirectionoftheobservationaldatabutalsobuildonthelocalimplantationissues.Tobringtogetherthedifferentformsofdata,thediscussionisbasedontheRE‐AIMframework,whichwasusedtodeveloptheresearchdesign.

ReachPlaygroundaccessduringtheschooldayreacheseveryenrolledchild.Fewerthan1%ofpupilswerefundamentallyunabletoparticipateinactivities.


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EffectivenessComparingbeforewithafterinstallation,schoolstaffobservationssuggestthatmorethan1in7childrenbecamemoreactiveaftertheplaygroundswereinstalled.Basedonthefollow‐upsampleof1552pupilsinobservedclasses,thisrepresentsfourmoreactivepupils/classand220extraengagedpupilsintheseschoolswhorespondedwithfollow‐upresponses.

Atapublichealthlevel,andinthecontextofdecliningPAinvolvement,thisscaleofchangeunderlinesoneindicatorofthevalue‐for‐moneyrepresentedbythisinitiative.Ofparticularnoteisthepositivechangeingirls’PAbehaviour,despitelowerbaselineestimates(providedbyclassteachers).Thissubstantialscaleofbehaviourchangeneedstobeseeninthecontextofreturnoninvestmentof£17Kforprimary/juniorschoolsand£25Kforsecondaryschools.Theadditionalbenefitsidentifiedbyheadteachers,intermsofoverallschoolperformanceandcontributionsattributabletolevelsofplaygroundactivityamongpupilsisafurtherendorsementofthevalueoftheseinstallations.

Whenreportswereprovidedbyindependentobservers,thosechildrenwhowereobservedwerealsoidentifiedasbeingmorephysicallyactive.Importantly,thedifferencesinnumbersofpupilsandinlevelsofactivityengagementwerefoundinbothboysandgirls.Thesedifferenceswerenotassociatedwithchangestopupils’groupsizeorattributabletothenumberoftheirinteractionsduringobservationperiods.Instaffreports,neitherwerethesedifferencesassociatedwithdoingmoretypesofactivity.Newinstallationsrevitalisedinterestinactivitiesthatsomechildrenwerealreadydoing.Manyofthechangesrelatetotheplaygroundbeingseendifferently;thenewprovisionmadetheplaygroundamorevaluableandpleasingvenueformostpeopleintheschoolcommunity.

Staffnotedawidearrayofbenefitsfollowingtheinstallation,andanumberemphasisedthebeneficialeffectsonchildrenwhoordinarilyhadnotbeenespeciallyinvolvedinanyplaygroundactivities.Thesebenefitsmayprovideimportantmotivational‘levers’whendevelopingfurthertrainingandstaffdevelopmentopportunities.Staffreportedthatthereweremorereasonstobeintheplayground,whichmadethemmoreenergeticenvironments.Althoughseasonalfactorsmayhaveplayedarolehere,staffwereencouragedtoreporttheirobservationsbasedondayswhenusingtheplaygroundwasareasonableoption;thismayhavediscounteddaysofespeciallybadweather,whichmadethewinterreportsmorealiketothoseofthesummerobservations.Itshouldbenotedthough,thatjustaswintermayhavedissuadedactiveengagementinplaygroundactivities,insummerthemoreactivechildrenmaybedrawnawayfromtheplaygroundsinfavourofon‐siteplayingfields(wheretheyareavailable).

Morespecificbenefitsrangedfromfewerchildrenbeingregardedas‘Lightly’engaged(whichcorrespondedwithmorechildrenbeingregardedas‘Highly’engaged)andevidenceofhigheractivityinrandomlyselectedpupils.Therewerecommentsaboutchildrendevelopingbettermotorskills,learningtoplayco‐operativelyandfindingcognitivechallengesinthenewlyavailablefacilities.


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AdoptionAllschoolswithcapacityforthenewprovisionacceptedit.Someteachersseemedreluctantaboutencouragingpupils,untiltheyhadreceivedtheirowntraining,whileothersprogressedirrespectiveofaccesstotraining.Wheresomeschoolstaffhadbeentrainedtherewasevidencethatthishadbeencascadedtoothers,whereasinotherschoolsthiswasnotthecaseandlowstaffconfidenceprevailed.Inthedatathatareavailable(from148teachersbeforetheinstallationandfrom103after),anumberofthemesemerged.Independentobserversnotedthatmorestaffwereinvolvedinbreaktime‘supervision’,which,initsownrightmayfurtheramplifypupilinvolvement.Theextenttowhichthisreflectsrenewedinterestinplaygroundactivity,betterweatherorachangeinschoolpolicyregardinghowstaffaredeployedduringbreaksisnotclear.

ImplementationImplementationposessomeinterestingchallenges.Notwithstandingthealmost100%reachofaccesstothenewplaygroundduringtheschoolday(andthesubstantialincreasesinthenumbersofpupilswhoweremoreinvolved,butalsothelevelofactivityinthosewhoweresystematicallyobserved),universalitydoesnotextendtobeforeandafterschoolaccess.Schoolshaveespeciallydifferentpracticeregardingopeningbeforetheschooldaybegins.Thismaybedueto‘staffingproblems’aswasreportedbyanumberofteachersontheirobservationforms.ATleastoneschoolhasnowtakenstepstoestablishaplaygroundrotaamongpupils’parentstoensurebeforeschoolaccesstotheplayground.Inthesecasestheplaygroundisunifyingatleastsomelocalparentsandtheschoolandisextendingservicetothecommunity.Beforeschoolinvolvementseemsmoreofanissuethanafterschoolinvolvement,whichsuggestsdifferentmechanismsof(dis)engagementmaybeoperational.

Inoneschooltherewerecommentsaboutadoptinga‘wholeschool’approachtopromotingPAontheplaygroundsandtheformsthatthistakesshouldbeinvestigated.Anotherfeatureidentifiedasimportantwasaccesstotrainingforschoolstaff.Oneteachernotedthatlackofawarenessonthepartofstaffmaymeanthatsomechildrenbecomediscouragedfromusingspecificitemsofequipment.Othersnotedthatdespiteencouragement,someitemsofthenewinstallationwere‘neverused’bypupils.

MaintenanceMaintenanceprovidessomeinterestingchallenges.Whilethedataarelimitedtotwoobservations(andtheseweremadeinthemostcontrastingseasonalperiods),theimportantchangesinbehaviourreportedheremeetbothPublicHealthandEducationalobjectivesandpolicydrives.However,maintenancecanbeprofoundlyaffectedbyimmediateandnegativeexperiences.Staffwereoftenanxiousaboutencouragingplaygroundactivities,especiallythatinvolvingequipment.Uppermostinthesenegativeconcernswereinjuries,butmorecommonly,concernsaboutdisputes.Giventhisconcern,itmaybehelpfultoprovidein‐servicetrainingthatenhancessocialskills.Staffwerealsokeenthatequipmentwaslocatedwheretheycould‘keepaneyeon’pupils.Forthisreason,thelocation(andpossiblerelocating)


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ofsomeitemsofplaygroundprovisionmayneedtobeconsidered.Qualitativedatasuggestthatthegreatestbenefits(andfewestsubsequentproblems)werenotedinschoolswereteachersconcernswerecarefullyaddressedinthedesignstages.

Morepositiveissuesrelatedtoprovisionofon‐goingtraining.Althoughourdatadonotshowimportantdifferencesinthepositiveoutcomesassociatedwithtraining(probablyduetoonly16ofourfollow‐upteachershavinghadpersonaltrainingindevelopingplayonthenewplaygrounds),providingsuchtrainingwasarecurrenttopicininterviewsandinopen‐endedsectionsofobservationalreports.Itwillbehelpfultolookmorecloselyaboutthevalueassociatedwithtraining,sinceanegativeuseofattendingin‐servicetrainingisfor‘boxticking.’Giventhattherewereexamplesofolderpupilsshowingyoungerpupilshowtousethedifferentelementsofthenewprovision,someattentionmightalsobegiventodeliveringinterventionstopupilswithinsomeformofpeerleading.Trainingofstaffbuildsuponawholeschoolcommitmenttophysicalactivityandmulti‐skilldevelopment.Addingafocusoncross‐curricularactivelearningwillcementthepositiveimpactofthesenewplaygroundinstallations.

LimitationsAsalwaysitisimportanttoappreciatelimitationsinthedata.Regardingobservationaldata,thebaselinefiguresweredrawnfromaperiodwhereheavysnowpredominated.Sinceallindependentobservationswerearrangedthroughtheschoolsitispossiblethatanelementofself‐presentationhasinfluencedpupilbehaviour,andstaffreportingofit,bothforthebeforeandtheafterinstallationperiods.Prolongingtheobservationfortwomoreperiods(toDecember2009)mayhelptoreduceanysuchinfluences,althoughwecannotbesurethatsimilarissueswillnotinfluencetheindependentobservers.Thesefurtherobservationsarealsolikelytoovercomethe‘noveltyvalueeffects’associatedwithanynewinstallation.

Schoolshavedifferentexposuresand,therefore,accommodation,tothenewprovision.Forexample,withplaygroundinstallationinJanuary,observationsinearlyJulyrepresentoverfivemonthsofexposure.Incontrast,laterinstallationmayhavelimitedexposuretoonlytwomonths.

Althoughweencouragedteacherstobasetheirrecordingsonfivedaysofobservations,fewmetthisstandard;neithercanwebesurehowelltheycompletedthistask.Further,theresponserateregardingteacherobservationswasdisappointing,albeitthatitwasinlinewithresponseratestootherpencil‐and‐paperapproachesinschools.Neithercanbecertainthatthesameteachersprovidedbeforeandafterscoreswithintheindividualschools.Finally,thelowresponserate,especiallyatfollow‐up,risksover‐emphasisingdatafromenthusiasts.Thesefeatureslimithowfarthedatacanbeusedtogeneraliseacrossschoolsorteachersandjustifiesusingthesedatatosupporttheindependentobservationalfindings.


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Lightly engaged pupils

Moderately engaged pupils

Highly engaged pupils

Figure 1. Activities endorsed by teachers for pupils at three different times in the day and for three levels of engagement.

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