Dr Tom Van Rossum

This session will introduce Move 2 Sport, a movement-based resource co-produced with PE teachers to bridge the gap between movement and sport. Drawing on the experiences of both teachers and pupils, we will explore how Move 2 Sport supports the transition from primary to secondary PE while enriching learning opportunities. This session will highlight evidence-based practices for fostering more effective and engaging movement-based PE lessons and the positive impact this has on competence, confidence and motivation.

This paper offers a snapshot into the unexpected and yet positive results of a small-scale survey about learning to teach Physical Education within initial teacher education and school-based settings. It shares data from four institutions about how pre-service teachers explained their learning and teaching experiences within Physical Education during the COVID-19 pandemic, often working within a number of social and physical restrictions and teaching within enforced bubbles.

A global decline in levels of movement competence and physical activity in children presents the urgent need to look at how to reverse this trend. The Movement Oriented Games Based Assessment (MOGBA) is an intervention designed to improve children’s complex movement skills, based on principles of motor development and assessment theories. There is a positive relationship between children’s movement competence and physical activity (PA), with a further relationship established between PA and childhood obesity. This study aimed to assess how using MOGBA in PE lessons might impact primary children’s movement competence, PA, muscular fitness and self-perceptions of game and physical competence. A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted involving 229 children (51% girls) from nine different schools located in the north of England. The average age of participants was 9.1 years (SD = 0.21). Participants were randomized at the school level into either the MOGBA intervention group (n = 128 students) or a wait-list control group (n = 101). The MOGBA intervention was delivered over nine weeks during PE lessons by trained deliverers. The main components of the intervention included the implementation of 14 games-based activities, which were designed to support assessment within PE lessons and enhance children’s movement competence. The game-based cards also provided guidance on how to tailor activities to meet the children’s individual needs by manipulating space, effort and relationships. Pre-Post test design was employed, with participants being assessed at baseline and within 7 days post intervention. The assessment included measures of movement competence (Dragon Challenge), in-class PA (accelerometer), muscular fitness (standing long jump and plank), and perceived game and self competence (Game Play Perception Profile and Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children). Findings show that MOGBA had a positive effect on the primary outcome of movement competence (ES: 0.18; 95%CI: -0.02, 0.38; p = 0.071) and a significant positive outcome (ES: 0.30; 95%CI: 0.04, 0.56; p = 0.025) on the way that students perceived their ability in game play. An impact was not observed on in-class PA and muscular fitness. These findings are significant as we know that increased movement competence and game self-perceptions mean children are more likely to engage with future movement, sport and physical activity opportunities. This could positively influence lifelong PA levels and promote better health. Further work should involve teachers and coaches using MOGBA to support children’s movement competence in the hopes of supporting their involvement in sport and PA.

In early 2020, universities across the world ceased face-to-face teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the experiences of first-year UK university students during this time. Four main themes were identified in the data. Regarding course delivery, students valued the flexibility of blended learning, which involved attending some live sessions while working on others in their own time. Student interaction was mentioned to be critical for learning and how the use of webcams and breakout rooms can facilitate or hinder it. Regarding staff, continuous communication, availability and online drop-ins were highly valued and had a positive impact on satisfaction. Finally, while students benefitted from a coherent use of online tools provided by the university, they also valued the flexibility of using less-regulated tools, including social media.

The aim of this study was to establish the content of a teacher-oriented movement assessment tool (MAT) for children aged 4–7 years. A three-round Delphi poll with an international panel of forty-six academics and practitioners was conducted. Consensus was reached on a selection and number of fundamental movement skills to be assessed with four stability (one foot balance, walk forwards along a line, front support, and sideways roll), five object control (two handed catch, underarm throw, overarm throw, kicking a ball, dribbling a ball with hands), and five locomotor (run, hop, horizontal jump, side-stepping, and skipping). A developmental stage approach and process-oriented scoring were deemed most suitable. These findings present the requisite elements to develop a teacher-oriented MAT for children aged 4–7 years. This framework would provide teachers the opportunity to effectively assess children’s FMS and subsequently intervene to improve movement competence.

A child’s early school years provide a crucial platform for them to develop fundamental movement skills (FMS), yet it has been acknowledged that there is a shortage of suitable FMS assessment tools for teachers to use within schools. To begin to address this shortfall, the purpose of this study was to elicit expert recommendations for the design of a FMS assessment tool for use by primary school teachers. A multi-phase research design was used, involving two scenario-guided focus groups with movement experts (n = 8; five academics and three practitioners). Data captured in both focus groups were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Three dichotomous dilemmas emerged from the data in relation to assessing children’s movement competence: (a) Why? For research purposes or to enhance teaching and learning?; (b) How? Should the assessment setting be engineered or natural?; and (c) What? Should the detail of the assessment be complex or simple and should the nature of the tasks be static or dynamic? These findings suggest that any future development of movement competence assessment protocols for use by primary school teachers needs to consider the specific purpose and context of the assessment.

Full sensory integration is vital for young people to reach their potential. This can be regarded as a 3D jigsaw where the pieces are made up of effective sound and visual processing and performance of motor skills. However, factors such as traumatic experiences and retained primitive reflexes can impede full sensory integration during childhood. This is often presented as poor movement competence, low confidence and social skills and poor academic attainment. In turn, this can prevent young people from reaching their potential to learn and to become physically literate. To help address this, the Fit2Learn intervention was developed to improve young people’s sensory integration. Once assessed, an individualised, movement-oriented programme is provided to address the retained primitive reflexes and improve sound and visual processing. Using a case study design, this presentation reports the findings of a project delivered in two schools in the north of England. Young people (n-=8) aged 11-13 years were invited by their teachers to take part. Data will be reported to identify changes to sensory integration, actual and perceived movement competence and capacity to learn (teachers’ reported changes to classroom engagement and behaviour). The Fit2Learn programme has been shown to increase young people’s capacity to learn and improve performance of movement skills. Subsequently, this could unlock their academic potential and support them to live healthier lives by becoming more physically literate. This interactive session will engage educators and practitioners from any child-focused environment but especially schools, sports clubs and special educational needs provisions.

The dataset presents data for the MOGBA Randomised Control Trial involving 229 children (51% girls) from nine different primary schools in the north of England. The average age of participants was 9.1 years (SD = 0.21). Participants were randomized at the school level into either the MOGBA intervention group (n = 128 students) or a wait-list control group (n = 101). The MOGBA intervention was delivered over nine weeks during PE lessons by trained deliverers. Pre-Post test design was employed, with participants being assessed at baseline and within 7 days post intervention. The assessment included measures of movement competence (Dragon Challenge), in-class PA (accelerometer), muscular fitness (standing long jump and plank), and perceived game and self competence (Game Play Perception Profile and Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children).

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility of the “Start to Move” (S2M) digital assessment of children’s fundamental movement skills being implemented by primary school teachers within PE lessons. Methods: Nine primary school teachers in the United Kingdom trialed S2M weekly over a 6-week period. Posttrial surveys and interviews were used to ascertain responses. Results: Feasibility was measured using seven dimensions of Bowen et al. framework; acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality, adaptation, integration, and expansion. Acceptance and demand of S2M was high with participants feeling that its contents aligned to the PE curriculum. Participants were able to implement S2M with PE lessons without assistance and stated that they would continue to use it within their teaching. They felt S2M would enhance their teaching and would recommend it to other teachers. Discussion/Conclusion: S2M is feasible for primary teachers to implement within PE lessons and has the potential to heighten the use of assessment for learning within PE in primary schools.

BACKGROUND Many children in the UK are trying to cope with the demands of the schooling system without full sensory integration. The includes: 1. Motor skills: postural control and bi-lateral integration of motor skills, which should be in place by 7 years old, are absent 2. 80% of children under 5 years old experience an inner ear infection (Berman, 1994) which suppresses the inner ear’s ability to process sound. This sound processing abilities are not checked or on the national agenda despite the impact on global development via the vestibular system 3. Binocular vision and visual processing skills are not checked or on anyone’s agenda 4. With the retention of primitive reflexes, a child may never reach their full cognitive potential (Berne, 2006). These are the foundation of proprioception (i.e. the sense of where one is in space) which can increase anxiety and sense of well-being. PURPOSE We worked with a small group of young people in alternative provision and secondary school settings who were recognised to be at risk from poor emotional and mental wellbeing, to improve their development and confidence, and subsequently, their capacity to learn. Within this project, the young people took part in a range of specific activities designed by Fit2Learn in school to help their motor-sensory development. By providing this targeted support to young people, this program was intended to improve their future opportunities by providing them with the readiness to learn, and improve their movement competence, self-confidence and motivation to make more positive life choices, influencing their future education and employment. The Fit 2 Learn program has proven to be successful in supporting children to overcome motor skill deficiencies and improve their sensory system. This has enabled the children to become more functional learners and engage better within a mainstream learning environment. RESEARCH AIMS The research objectives are three-fold: 1. Examine the relationship between completing the Fit2Learn program and children's readiness to learn. 2. Examine how completing the Fit2Learn program influences children's engagement in the classroom. 3. Evaluate the feasibility of the Fit2Learn program being implemented in school by teachers.

This chapter explores the use of digital technologies for the assessment, recording and monitoring of children’s movement competence within primary school physical education (PE). There is currently limited support for teachers to assess children’s movement competence and this presents a problem in effectively supporting children’s movement development. In an attempt to solve this problem, we explain the use of digital technology in the creation of a user-friendly movement assessment app. We detail the sequential and exploratory nature of the process, using first-hand accounts of teachers and movement experts to illuminate the process of developing the app. Drawing upon a range of theoretical constructs related to meaningful assessment within PE and the generic use of digital technology, we provide a fascinating, applied and critical perspective on the realities of using digital technology to enhance our ability to assess children’s movement competence. We articulate how we encounter experts’ and users’ dilemmas and how these are overcome. Finally, we provide some useful dialogue and frameworks for further examination of the uses of digital technology and establish a platform for future practice and research in this field.

To inform the development of a teacher-oriented movement assessment tool, this study aimed to explore primary school teachers’ perceptions of assessing fundamental movement skills (FMS) within Physical Education (PE) lessons. Thirty-nine primary school teachers of PE, located in the United Kingdom, participated in an individual or group in-depth interview. Findings signify that teachers perceive a need for a movement assessment tool that is simple for them to use, quick to administer and provides valuable feedback to guide future teaching and learning. This is vital as teachers indicated a lack of appropriate resources and a shortage of curriculum time restricts their use of assessment within PE. A movement assessment tool that was integrated on a digital technology platform could increase teachers’ understanding of assessing FMS and enhance children’s learning of FMS.

There is international concern that children are not achieving average levels of movement competence. Evidence also suggests that children are dropping out of organized sport at an unprecedented rate. To address this global decline in children’s movement competence and participation, movement-based resources (Movement Oriented Games Based Assessment (MOGBA) and Move to Sport (M2S)) have been created for practitioners to implement, that specifically target the transition between fundamental and complex movement stages and promote athleticism in childhood. This session will present longitudinal work creating two such movement-based resources for practitioners to better support physical literacy development across a range of settings. Firstly, MOGBA, which was designed for 6–12-year-olds as a child-centred, developmentally appropriate, range of games-based activities, with an integrated assessment framework for practitioners to develop and assess children’s movement skills within a dynamic and fluid game environment. Secondly, M2S was co-created with teachers as a progression of MOGBA to improve the movement competence and athleticism of 8–12-year-old children, to enable them to participate effectively in sports and lead healthy, active lives. M2S is an integration of MOGBA and RAMPAGE, which is a program designed to support children’s athleticism. We see athleticism as the ability to repeatedly perform a range of movements with precision and confidence in a variety of environments requiring competent levels of motor skill, strength, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination and endurance. This interactive session will explore the findings of this work and share practical implications for practitioners and researchers working in this space.

PROJECT OVERVIEW Recent evidence shows today’s children are the least active generation in history. Only 20% of children reach the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 60 minutes physical activity a day. Moreover, children are not achieving average levels of movement competence and are dropping out of organised sport at an increasing rate, globally. The reasons for this dropout include: 1. Loss of focus on fun 2. Overly competitive structure of sport 3. Overemphasis on technical and tactical aspects of the game To address these problems: - The Moverment for Sport Playkit (MSPK) was designed for coaches and teachers to develop children’s movement competence. - This project was undertaken to measure the imact that the MSPK had on children when delivered in PE lessons. WHAT IS THE MOVEMENT FOR SPORT PLAYKIT? The MSPK is a collection of 14 innovative, dynamic and fun games that are non-sport specific. These are presented as three distinct phases, increasing in task complexity, perceptual-cognitive skill demand, decision making and interaction with others. The MSPK resource cards illustrate how to deliver and play the game and provide an assessment framework for the practitioner to score the child’s performance.

Coaches can provide an appropriate environment for children to develop a range of movement skills, but there is a dearth of research exploring the creation of appropriate resources to support the coach in developing and assessing children’s Complex Movement Skills. There is also a lack of research around coaches’ perceived feasibility of the limited resources in this area. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to design and then assess the feasibility of a Movement-Oriented Games-Based Assessment (MOGBA) for children aged 8–12 years, to be used by coaches within “Made to Play” programs. Thirteen coaches from across the United States and the United Kingdom used pilot materials to assess the feasibility of MOGBA over a 9-week period. Individual, paired, and focus group interviews were structured and data were thematically analyzed using Bowen et al.’s feasibility framework. Findings suggested that MOGBA provided a welcomed and much needed enhancement to their programs, with effective use of technology-enhanced coaching. Coaching involved notions of pedagogy and assessment, with issues emerging around class size and complexity of assessment. Coaches often used MOGBA covertly and flavored the resource to the sport being delivered, and this revealed to coaches the capability of children not viewed before.

In the UK, one consequence of neoliberalism has been the development of test cultures in schools and standardised assessment strategies used to judge all pupils against within and across curriculum subjects. Few studies to date have explored the influence of this on assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and none have centred physical education (PE). This study used the concept of ableism and semi-structured interviews to explore mainstream secondary school PE teachers’ views and experiences of assessing the learning of pupils with SEND. Based on the findings, we discuss the importance of schools disrupting hegemonic, ableist modes of thinking that cast pupils with SEND as being of inferior ability when compared with their peers and thus being disadvantaged by standardised, normative assessment practices. Specifically, we identify a need for senior leaders and teachers in schools to recognise the needs and capabilities of pupils with SEND, through more holistic assessment approaches that focus on social, affective, cognitive and physical learning and development. We end by discussing the significance of initial teacher education and teacher networks to support this endeavour and advocating for the amplification of the voices of pupils with SEND, given that they have expert knowledge about the perceived inclusivity of assessment in PE because they can draw upon their lived and embodied experiences.

Our research used an innovative methodological approach by revisiting an original study conducted 15 years previously (Morley et al., 2005). A purposive sample of 31 secondary school teachers in the UK were interviewed to explore their perceptions of including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in mainstream secondary physical education (PE). All interviews were transcribed verbatim and texts analysed thematically. Findings suggest that, despite significant policy developments, little has changed in teachers’ perceptions of their ability to include pupils with SEND in PE and there remain significant challenges to them achieving this. Some exceptions were documented, most notably an increased and positively received focus on inclusion within PE initial teacher education. The article concludes with recommendations for future practice, particularly in terms of teacher education and professional development, as well as the need for effective dissemination of research findings to key stakeholders.

A global decline in levels of movement competency and athleticism in children presents the urgent need to look at how to reverse this trend. Long term athletic development modelling proposes the habitual development of athleticism as a way to address this decline. Movement-based interventions have also been created in an attempt to improve children’s movement competence. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of a co-produced movement and athleticism programme (Move to Sport [M2S]). M2S was used with seven participating PE teachers during secondary PE lessons over a 6-week period. Qualitative data were captured through mid-intervention interviews and a post-intervention focus group. Feasibility was measured using four dimensions of a feasibility framework; implementation, practicality, adaptation and integration. Findings suggest that M2S could be implemented within the structure of a typical PE lesson. Teachers reported that M2S supported the development of sport specific skills that linked well with other activities and sports in their curriculum and promoted inclusion. Teachers felt that M2S could be integrated as an assessment tool or targeted intervention for children of all abilities. The findings suggest that M2S could be a potential solution in addressing declining movement competence and athleticism in young people.

Low and declining movement competency and fitness in children presents a need to develop provision to reverse this trend. Physical Education (PE) curriculum has been recommended as an opportunity to achieve this, however this is often dominated by traditional games and presents challenges. This study aimed to conduct a preliminary exploration of the feasibility of a movement and fitness focussed intervention (Move to Sport; M2S), co-produced with nine PE teachers. Class-based and practical co-production sessions were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings highlighted teachers recognised the demand for M2S and felt it would be best delivered at the end of primary and start of secondary school. Challenges included; a) understanding how to combine movement-based and sport specific approaches to delivering PE, b) differentiation, and c) modes of assessment. Future recommendations include conducitng a feasibility trial of M2S in school and the assessment of the impact of M2S on children.