A retrospective qualitative evaluation of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a school-based running programme

Anna E Chalkley,Ash C Routen,Trish Gorely,Lorraine A Cale,Jo P Harris,Lauren B Sherar

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6078-1

Abstract

BackgroundThere is growing interest in school-based interventions which deliver opportunities for additional physical activity time outside of physical education (PE). A practical and cost-effective approach may be school running programmes. Consequently, many school-based running initiatives are currently being implemented in a grass-roots style movement across the UK. However, research on the implementation of physical activity programmes in schools is notably underdeveloped. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to better understand the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a running programme, Marathon Kids (MK), within primary schools in England.MethodsTwo sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted, the first with each of the three core members of staff responsible for MK, and the second with each of the MK school staff Champions from 20 primary schools. Also, nine focus groups were conducted with 55 pupils (6–10 years) from five of the schools; all were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThree themes were identified surrounding the barriers and facilitators to implementation: features of the programme (e.g. ethos and resources), school climate (e.g. culture; whole school engagement; PE and physical activity policies and goals; and physical environment) and programme implementation decisions (e.g. aspirations and planning and sustainability).ConclusionFindings suggest that the barriers and facilitators to implementation are wide-ranging and include programme, organisational and system-level factors. Collectively pointing towards the need for a preparation period before implementation to understand schools’ readiness to implement and context-specific factors, both regarding organisational capacity and programme specific capacity.

Highlights

There is growing interest in school-based interventions which deliver opportunities for additional physical activity time outside of physical education (PE)
This study aimed to better understand the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a running programme, Marathon Kids, within primary schools in England. It found that there was variability in programme implementation across different schools and that multiple factors were reported to act as both facilitators and barriers, most of which related to the physical, social and educational dimensions of the school e.g. culture, whole school engagement, PE and physical activity policies and goals and the physical environment
These findings are consistent with previous studies examining factors influencing the implementation of school-based physical activity programmes

Summary

Introduction

There is growing interest in school-based interventions which deliver opportunities for additional physical activity time outside of physical education (PE). Research on the implementation of physical activity programmes in schools is notably underdeveloped. Many published school-based interventions have targeted physical activity within the context of physical education (PE) [2]. As curriculum pressures limit time dedicated to PE in schools [6] and the utility of physical activity to impact on educational as well as health outcomes is increasingly recognised [7], there is growing interest in interventions which provide opportunities for Chalkley et al BMC Public Health (2018) 18:1189 physical activity across all areas of the school day [8] such as recess [9], active lessons [10] and classroom energisers [11]. The strategy identified school-based running programmes as an approach to help achieve this ambition. There are examples of physical activity based ‘innovations’ which, despite limited evidence of their efficacy and effectiveness, display very high rates of spontaneous uptake [14]

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