Early Years Physical Activity and Movement Skills Intervention: a Feasibility Study

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

43 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-03-02

Study Completion Date

2019-01-31

Brief Summary

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This project aims to test the feasibility of using an existing training course for nursery practitioners (those that care for children aged under 5 years) to improve their ability and confidence to teach fundamental movement skills to the children they care for. 'Fundamental movement skills', or FMS, are based on agility, balance and coordination, and include jumping, throwing, catching, striking and running and are vital for children's involvement in, and enjoyment from, physical activities and sports. The intervention consists of a one-day course given by specialist providers, specifically for those who work with children under 5. The intervention aims to increase practitioner knowledge and awareness, and increase confidence in their ability to provide age-appropriate guidance and settings for FMS and active play. The implication from the training is that the children's FMS and overall physical activity will increase, whilst decreasing time spent in sedentary behaviours. A long-term aim of the project would be the maintenance of a healthy weight by the children and increase in self-efficacy for physical activity. The benefits of the study, therefore, are an increase in practitioner confidence and knowledge, and a positive change in their behaviour during their everyday practice. As this is a feasibility study, the main objective is whether a full trial would be feasible. The primary outcomes are therefore 1. Recruitment (ratio of consented participants to potentially eligible participants approached) 2. Numbers completing study 3. Numbers completing study questionnaires 4. Acceptability of the intervention to participants.

Detailed Description

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This is a pilot non-randomised controlled trial. The study was approved by the Newcastle University Research Ethics Committee (application number:01223/9764/2016). The intervention consists of a one-day course given by specialist providers, specifically for those who work with children under 5. The training consisted on helping practitioners around fundamental movement skills (balancing, jumping throwing, catching kicking) and helping them to develop a better understanding about the importance of physical activity for early years. The training also covered an introduction to the United Kingdom (UK) physical activity guidelines and how practitioners could translate the physical activity guidelines into practice. The course used an ecological model approach in the delivery of the intervention. The programme provided ideas for: creating enabling environments for physical activity; planning physical activity for all stages of development; balance child-initiated and adult-led physical activities; encourage parent and carer support and promotion of physical activity beyond the nursery setting. Data collection took place between February 2017 and June 2018. All nurseries and schools with nurseries in the Middlesbrough area were eligible to participate and were invited to take part.

The following measures were intended to be collected pre-intervention and 6 months post-intervention (follow-up). Practitioner behaviour was assessed by direct observation adapted from the Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool. Each observation lasted approximately 30 min and was conducted by one of the researchers. Knowledge of the physical activity guidelines and benefits of physical activity for early years was assessed by a customised questionnaire. Intentions for behaviour change was assessed by a questionnaire which covered the following domains: Knowledge; Skills; Social/Professional Role \& Identity; Belief about Capabilities; Optimism; Beliefs about Consequences; Intentions; Goals- Action Planning; Goals - Priorities; Memory, Attention \& Decision Processes; Environmental Context \& Resources; Social Influences; Emotion; Behavioural Regulation; Social \& Professional Role; Work Environment. Children. Physical activity was measured directly using a thigh-mounted accelerometer (activPAL) which has been validated in young children. Time in sitting, standing and stepping postures was measured during school or nurseries hours. Data were recorded in 15 s epoch and reduced to the percentage of wear time in each of the postures, to account for potential differences in wear time within and between participants. Height (to 0.1cm) and weight (to 0.1kg) were measured twice without socks or shoes, in indoor clothing. BMI was then derived, and z -scores created relative to UK 1990 data. Fundamental movement skills were assessed with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (Movement ABC-2) which covers fine and gross motor tasks, manual dexterity and balance. Process evaluation. Using focus groups, interviews and a questionnaire with all stakeholders explored the reasons for participation/non-participation of practitioners and families; participants' views and perceptions of the intervention in terms of acceptability, feasibility and usability. All data were exported to SPSS for analyses. Descriptive statistics for all variables of interest were generated

Conditions

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Child Obesity Activity, Motor Physical Activity

Keywords

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Practitioner Fundamental movement skills Educational training Early years Preschool

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Non-randomised before and after pilot feasibility study

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Intervention group

Physical Literacy in the early years. The intervention was delivered by an external provider and designed to provide nursery teachers, teaching assistants and others working with children under age five the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver enjoyable and engaging lessons which focus on the development of core "fundamental" skills. The course was developed in conjunction with leading Physical Education (PE) consultants, Sports Scientists and Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) advisors which covered both the theory about FMS and physical literacy, and practical demonstrations of age-appropriate ways to teach and develop FMS. Staff from the Intervention settings received the six-hour training session. After the training session, school nurseries which were encouraged to speak with the training provider to follow-up the understanding of the training and provide additional help for implementation of the practice learned.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Physical literacy in the early years

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Intervention nurseries received a 6-hour training session, covering the theory about FMS and practical demonstrations of age-appropriate ways to teach and develop FMS.

Control

The control nurseries followed their usual practice.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Physical literacy in the early years

Intervention nurseries received a 6-hour training session, covering the theory about FMS and practical demonstrations of age-appropriate ways to teach and develop FMS.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Children who are 3 to 4 years old at the time of data collection.
* Children who received parent/guardian consent.
* Children who provided assent to take part in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

* None

Minimum Eligible Age

3 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

4 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Laura Basterfield, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Newcastle University

Locations

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Newcastle University

Newcastle upon Tyne, , United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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United Kingdom

Other Identifiers

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