Fit to Succeed - Toolkit - Partnership Objectives
Introduction
The idea for the project has been developed by a multi-agency team of people, all of whom share the desire to encourage children to become more physically active. The philosophy behind the project is that if children are physically active, then they will enjoy many positive health benefits, both physical and mental, and be better equipped to realise their full potential in all aspects of their lives. For this to be a realistic and achievable goal the project will need the support and involvement of the whole community; including schools, families, clubs, leisure providers and the media.
Key partners
The key partners will be those who have the overall responsibility for the smooth running of the project. They will need to meet on a regular basis to plan and review each phase of the project. These partners may vary from area to area depending on the resources and priorities of local authorities. In the Exeter model, Health Authority representation was absent but in the Tiverton example (see case study), Health was a key partner from the outset.
The detailed aims for some of the partners involved in the project are set out below.
Schools contact
Being involved in the Fit to Succeed project can bring many benefits to schools. They are key partners because they can act as the vehicle for the promotion of the philosophy behind the project and many of the practical, tangible aspects of the project either happen on the school site or notification goes home to parents via letters through the school.
Benefits for being involved include:
Sports Development team
Sports Development Officers (SDOs) have a key role to play in the project as they can act as the avenue for sport specific development officers and local sports clubs to be included. They are also well placed to keep the management team informed of local and national initiatives that may impact on local programmes.
Benefits from being involved:
Research team
In order to provide an accurate picture of the types of activity youngsters are already involved with and to monitor the progress of the project, we strongly recommend that a member of the project group has the responsibility for reporting on the information gathered via the pupil questionnaires. The use of the on-line Schools Health Education Units’ (SHEU) activity questionnaire will ensure for the quality of the data collected via a reliable instrument.
Benefits for involving SHEU research:
LEA Curriculum advisor for PE
The project can run without the direct involvement of the LEA advisor but to be able to monitor the level of activity of youngsters in and outside schools via a project like this can be valuable information for the area team.
Benefits for being involved:
Health authority representative
Again, the project can exist without the direct involvement of representatives from ‘health’ but there are obvious health benefits for youngsters involved in the project and therefore the more that the local PCT can be involved, the greater the potential for coordinated local health promotion initiatives with school-aged children.
Benefits for being involved:
The idea for the project has been developed by a multi-agency team of people, all of whom share the desire to encourage children to become more physically active. The philosophy behind the project is that if children are physically active, then they will enjoy many positive health benefits, both physical and mental, and be better equipped to realise their full potential in all aspects of their lives. For this to be a realistic and achievable goal the project will need the support and involvement of the whole community; including schools, families, clubs, leisure providers and the media.
Key partners
The key partners will be those who have the overall responsibility for the smooth running of the project. They will need to meet on a regular basis to plan and review each phase of the project. These partners may vary from area to area depending on the resources and priorities of local authorities. In the Exeter model, Health Authority representation was absent but in the Tiverton example (see case study), Health was a key partner from the outset.
The detailed aims for some of the partners involved in the project are set out below.
Schools contact
Being involved in the Fit to Succeed project can bring many benefits to schools. They are key partners because they can act as the vehicle for the promotion of the philosophy behind the project and many of the practical, tangible aspects of the project either happen on the school site or notification goes home to parents via letters through the school.
Benefits for being involved include:
- The Fit to Succeed research indicates that there is potential for raising standards within the classroom, particularly boys. The project schools have seen an increase in achievement and self-esteem among their pupils and teachers observe more co-operative, motivated classes with pupils more on task and showing fewer signs of lethargy.
- Schools receive feedback and reports from the research questionnaires that contain data which can be used within the curriculum e.g. PSHE or as source of school-based evidence for planning or for discussion by pupil councils.
- Being part of the Fit to Succeed initiative helps schools to enhance links with their local community.
- The project provides pupils with a wider set of opportunities for activity in their local area and because of the nature of that provision can encourage parents also to become more active, either individually or as a family.
- Additional benefits include the access to related research for example the information about access to water (see later information).
- Interspersing lessons with opportunities for bouts of exercise to get oxygen moving more quickly to the brain has proved beneficial. ‘Brain Gym’ activities are encouraged by many schools as they help exercise the youngsters’ brains to make them more receptive to learning.
Sports Development team
Sports Development Officers (SDOs) have a key role to play in the project as they can act as the avenue for sport specific development officers and local sports clubs to be included. They are also well placed to keep the management team informed of local and national initiatives that may impact on local programmes.
Benefits from being involved:
- Enhanced access to schools through the project provides the opportunity to strengthen existing links and forge new ones, between school, club and leisure activity providers and develop clear pathways for pupils to progress from school activity to community based activity.
- Using an assessment tool like the activity questionnaire means that local demand can be identified and priorities for development can be established.
- Relationships between the SDO and their local schools can be strengthened. Schools will be keen to explore new opportunities for activities for their youngsters and this provides an avenue for development of on-site activities and developing links between schools and local clubs/ facilities.
- Direct pupil contact. An additional benefit for the SDO is the invitation to address pupils in assemblies and school councils to increase the awareness of youngsters for the sporting and activity opportunities within their local area.
Research team
In order to provide an accurate picture of the types of activity youngsters are already involved with and to monitor the progress of the project, we strongly recommend that a member of the project group has the responsibility for reporting on the information gathered via the pupil questionnaires. The use of the on-line Schools Health Education Units’ (SHEU) activity questionnaire will ensure for the quality of the data collected via a reliable instrument.
Benefits for involving SHEU research:
- The SHEU data has been used widely to demonstrate the relationship between some of the key questions. This is helpful when trying to engage schools and parents in the project because it adds validity to the reasons for becoming involved.
- The questionnaire will provide schools and local coordinators (including the SDO) with reliable information from pupils about the range of activities they already participate in and more importantly any demand for new activities.
LEA Curriculum advisor for PE
The project can run without the direct involvement of the LEA advisor but to be able to monitor the level of activity of youngsters in and outside schools via a project like this can be valuable information for the area team.
Benefits for being involved:
- A key aim for the PE advisor is to increase levels of participation in physical activity amongst 8-12 year olds, both in and out of school.
- The target for all authorities would be to provide 2 hours of physical activity per week within school time.
- An additional benefit to the advisor would be seeing an increase the frequency of participation of currently active children with the ultimate aim being to encourage all pupils to aim to achieve 1 hour of moderate intensity activity per day.
Health authority representative
Again, the project can exist without the direct involvement of representatives from ‘health’ but there are obvious health benefits for youngsters involved in the project and therefore the more that the local PCT can be involved, the greater the potential for coordinated local health promotion initiatives with school-aged children.
Benefits for being involved:
- Potential to establish exercise for life (active life-style) for all pupils so that they are less likely to have need for the health care services later in life.
- Potential to help inactive children to find an enjoyable activity in which they can develop sustainable activity habits.
- There is possibility for the development of closer links between schools and health care professionals.
- Improving pupils’ physical, mental and social well being through regular participation in moderate intensity exercise/activities directly supports the government’s health of the nation agenda.
Leisure Facility Operators
Again, it is not essential to have facility operator representation on the Fit to Succeed management board but they have a key role to play in the success of the overall project.
Benefits for being involved in the project include:
Their representative on the project partnership group would be the local SDO.
Some local clubs may be working at full capacity and will find it difficult to cope with an increased demand for places, but for many clubs, the project can provide them with some welcome new recruits.
Again, it is not essential to have facility operator representation on the Fit to Succeed management board but they have a key role to play in the success of the overall project.
Benefits for being involved in the project include:
- Promotion of the benefits of active lifestyles to young people is likely to have an impact on the numbers of individuals visiting sports facilities. Particularly the indoor facilities during the winter months.
- Schools and other youth groups may be interested in having access to facilities as a direct result of a new emphasis on using existing local resources.
- Feedback from pupil questionnaires can be used to monitor the interest in activity among the local 8 – 15 year old age group.
- Popular sessions will be identified and demand for new activities may emerge that are ideally suited to the leisure facility setting.
Their representative on the project partnership group would be the local SDO.
Some local clubs may be working at full capacity and will find it difficult to cope with an increased demand for places, but for many clubs, the project can provide them with some welcome new recruits.