Welcome

Ulster Sports Outreach

Sport for LIFE

Dr Deirdre Brennan

Director Ulster Sports OutreachProject Leader

Dr Gavin BreslinSport for LIFE

Principal Researcher

Introductions

What is Sport for LIFE?

The ‘Sport for LIFE’ is a 12 week physical activity & health programme designed to give primary 5children from areas of greatest disadvantagein Northern Ireland the opportunity toincrease knowledge and understanding of thebenefits of regular participation in sport andphysical activity.

What is Sport for LIFE?

• The project also aims to develop undergraduate students’ and professional teachers’ knowledge and experience in delivering physical activity sessions to primary aged pupils.

Goals of Sport for LIFE?

1. Increase knowledge and awareness of the benefits of participation in sport, physical activity and healthy eating in schoolchildren aged 8-9 years from the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland.

2. Develop knowledge and expertise of undergraduate sports students who are aspiring physical education teachers, primary school teachers , sports coaches and development officers.

Goals of Sport for LIFE?

3. Transfer university expertise and knowledge in sport and physical activity to primary school teachers through the delivery of this programme and the development of educational resources and interactive website.

Wk 1 :What is Sport for Life

Wk 2: Heart Health 1: Healthy Hearts

Wk 3: Heart Health 2: Don’t break my heart

Wk 4: Mr & Ms Muscles: Upper Body

Wk 5: Mr & Ms Muscles: Lower Body

Wk 6: Physical Activities for Outdoor

The 12 week programme

Wk 7 : Physical Activity for Indoor

Wk 8: Eatwell : Eat Smart

Wk 9: Eat and Drink for Energy

Wk 10: Energy in = Energy Out

Wk 11: Feel Good

Wk 12: Team Challenge

Sport for LIFE Festival

Sport for LIFE Resources

1. www.sportforlifeni.com

2. Teacher Resource

Sport for LIFE Resources

3. Sports Equipment

4. Partnership T-Shirts

Three Tier Delivery Method

USO

Student Volunteer

Primary School

Transfer of Knowledge

Roles & Responsibilities of Each Partner

University Responsibilities

• Design educational resources and materials to support the programme

• Identify and recruit schools in the most socially and economically deprived areas of NI

• Recruit sport science/studies student volunteers

• Facilitate expert training in the delivery of Sport for LIFE

• Recruit celebrity ambassadors for the programme

• Research and evaluate the impact of the programme

Heads of Agreement

• The school is required to sign the project Heads of Agreement which details the responsibilities of the school, the student volunteer and the University Sports Outreach Unit.

• The student volunteer will meet with the school 2 weeks prior to programme commencement to talk through ongoing delivery procedures

School Responsibilities

Preliminary Meeting with P5 Teacher • Introductory DVD

• Review of Teaching Resource folder showing week by week session plans and teachers notes

• Decide / Agree session delivery procedures

• Decide / Agree session review procedures

Student Responsibilities

Quality Programme Delivery

• The programme will only be as good as those that deliver it

• Large onus on the partnership between the primary 5 teacher and the student volunteer to breathe life into Sport for LIFE!

• We expect our students to be enthusiastic, motivated, passionate, hard working.

• Adherence to roles and responsibilities to ensure quality delivery

University Benefits

• Widen access to the University of Ulster to children from areas of social and economic disadvantage

• Contributes to the economic and social well-being of its local community

• Ensure students have the appropriate guidance and support to reach their highest levels of achievement

• Maintain a comprehensive and targeted programme of outreach in order to increase opportunities and raise aspirations of young people for Higher Education

• Highlight the social, physical and psychological benefits of participating in sport and physical activity

• 12 week educational resource including teaching cards, a supporting DVD and a bag of sports equipment.

• Access to the Sport for LIFE website with additional resources for classroom based work on physical activity and health

• An opportunity to work in partnership with a student volunteer who is trained to deliver the 12 week PA & health programme

• Schools will receive the results of the monitoring and evaluation of the ‘Sport for LIFE’ project

• Gain an opportunity to contribute to promoting PA and health to all class pupils

• Receive an invitation to participate in Sport for LIFE festivals with other participating schools hosted on a UU campus

• All pupils and teachers receive a Sport for LIFE t-shirt

Primary School Benefits

Student Volunteer Benefits

• Receive training from experts in the University on the delivery of Sport for LIFE

• Gain valuable K&E working with children in an education setting

• Have an opportunity to work alongside a professional teacher

• Gain a clear insight into education in the primary sector

• Gain K & E that will aid them in a teaching/coaching career

• Exposure to a team of multi disciplinary researchers and the research project gaining valuable experience in evaluating a PA programme

• Have an opportunity to contribute to promoting PA to 3000 children in NI

Research and Evaluation

Research Training/Team

Research and Evaluation Year 1

Pre and post Intervention Survey for

1. Pupils Overall Knowledge base Self esteem Activity levels Nutrition

Additional sub sample measure of physical activity levels and their intensity, 7

days pre and post intervention (with accelerometers).

2. Teachers Knowledge & attitude towards PA, & health promotion in the school

context Expectations of the project

3. Students Motivations, knowledge & experience Expectations of the project

Year 1 Findings – Pupil Results

Self Esteem • Findings pre and post intervention indicate that (at post intervention) all

sub domains of self-esteem were higher in those children who achieved the physical activity guidelines than those who did not.

• In particular children’s scores in athletic competence and global self-worth were the highest.

Physical Activity• The findings on pupil physical activity levels pre and post intervention indicate

that the 12-week school-based intervention resulted in significant increases in light, moderate and vigorous physical activity measured using an accelerometer, compared to a group who did not receive the intervention.

• Furthermore boys were more active than girls, with 37% and 28% respectively achieving the recommended physical activity guidelines post intervention.

Pupil Results Cont’d

Nutrition

• Within the research sample 30.8% of boys and 31.7% of girls were classified as overweight/obese with some 28.3% of boys and 35.1% of girls exceeding the recommended weight-to-height ratio of 0.5 at baseline.

• A greater percentage of girls than boys were achieving ‘healthy food behaviour’ targets (61.0% vs. 38.5% respectively) at baseline.

Year 1 Findings – Teacher Results

• (7/8) Year 5 class teachers and all head teachers reported engagement in the programme provided very good to excellent practical experience in the delivery of PA

• The majority of teachers (6/8) & head teachers (7/8) reported the quality of the partnership delivery between the teacher & student as excellent or very good

• All teachers and head teachers reported that an outcome of the SFL project was that hey were able to collate ‘new ideas’

• All teachers and head teachers reported that the SFL programme complemented their PDMU and PE curricula

• (5/8) Teachers reported preferring outside support to aid them in their delivery

Year 1 Findings – Student Results

• Students strongly agreed that their involvement in the programme enhanced their personal (3.7) and professional (3.7) development.

• Students stated an increase in confidence (3.7) and subject knowledge (3.7) delivering PA and health sessions to children aged 8-9 in a school setting

• Students (3.3) agreed their educational aspirations had been raised

• Students (3.4) agreed that they had strong communication skills as a result of delivering the programme

• Students (3.3) agreed pre intervention and strongly agreed (3.8) post intervention that the teaching resource provided to support the PA sessions was very useful

Success to Date

• WHO – World Health Organisation Selected as a best practice case study

• Olympic 2012 ‘Inspire Mark Award’

• AfPE Endorsement from the Association for Physical Education

Success to Date

• Volunteer NOW (200 Hour Award) 40 students successful

Future Programme Development

Year 2 Research

Teacher Survey Head Teacher Survey Student Volunteer Survey

Year 3 Sustainability Train pre service primary school teachers in NI University of Ulster Coleraine, Stranmillis & St Mary’s

Teacher Training Colleges

Questions ?

Contact Details

Gavin BreslinSport for LIFE Lead

ResearcherEmail: g.breslin1@ulster.ac.uk

Tel:02890 368478

Deirdre BrennanDirector Ulster Sports

Outreach Email: da.brennan@ulster.ac.uk

Tel: 02890 366668