Fit for girls evaluation: interim report 2

The Fit for Girls programme (F4G) is a joint initiative between the Youth Sport Trust and sportscotland, aimed at increasing physical activity participation among girls aged 11 to 16 years. The programme was launched in 2008 and is being delivered to all secondary schools across Scotland over three years. The three year roll-out will end in March 2011. A core focus of the programme is to bring about sustainable change in schools that builds a positive future for girls’ participation in physical activity. This is achieved through providing an interactive workshop for practitioners in order to allow them to share and exchange necessary knowledge, tools and skills
to be able to successfully consult, plan and implement positive PE experiences and sustainable physical activity programmes for girls in the school setting, and build stronger links with community provision. By the end of September 2010, 327 of the 372 mainstream secondary schools and 13 of the 27 ASN secondary schools were engaged in the Fit for Girls programme.

A national evaluation of the programme is being conducted by the Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU) at the University of Edinburgh. The overall aim of the evaluation is to assess the impact of the Fit for Girls programme on levels of participation in PE, sport and physical activity among secondary school girls. A mixed methods approach is used, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Four individual school case studies are also included to allow more indepth exploration of the process of implementation at school level.

The first Interim Report from the evaluation was published in early 2010 and presented findings from a baseline survey of S2 girls in all secondary schools across Scotland. This second Interim Report presents baseline findings from a survey of Physical Education staff and Active School Coordinators in all secondary schools across Scotland undertaken during the beginning of Year 2 of the programme. In
addition, baseline findings from focus groups with low active girls undertaken during Year 1 of the programme are also presented.

An online questionnaire was administered to all secondary and ASN schools in Scotland during the Summer Term 2010. This aimed to gather information about physical activity provision in schools through PE and extra-curricular activities, perceptions of girls’ participation at school, consultation activities with girls, experiences of the Fit for Girls programme and links with key partners at local level. In total, 223 completed questionnaires were returned by PE staff and 337 were returned by Active Schools staff. In most cases, PE staff and Active Schools staff completed questionnaires independently and therefore, for many schools, more than one questionnaire was returned. Overall, responses were received from 297 of the 372 mainstream schools and 12 of the 27 ASN schools across Scotland, giving total school response rates of 80% for mainstream schools and 44% for ASN schools.