Early Years Physical Activity and Movement Skills Intervention: a Feasibility Study
Condition: Child Obesity; Activity, Motor; Physical Activity
MeSH terms: Pediatric Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      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: 
      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
    

Intervention name(s): Physical literacy in the early years
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): 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.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Non-randomised before and after pilot feasibility study
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Practitioner; Fundamental movement skills; Educational training; Early years; Preschool