The Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research
The imminent completion and opening of the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research (CAHR) at the Bradford Institute for Health Research has presented me, at last, with the opportunity to finalise development of an evidence-based motor skills programme for children. With two years' funding and a role at CAHR that will support preparation of both The Alps' manual and for a randomised controlled trial, I am delighted to be part of the amazing Born in Bradford team.The Alps: Towards Healthy Education - Accelerated Learning of Playground Skills
The Alps has been designed from good quality evidence for physiotherapy activities that demonstrated large improvements in children's motor skills. The aim now is to produce a user-friendly manual that enables teaching assistants to deliver the programme independently.
I am seeking help in the final development of The Alps manual from primary school teaching assistants (TAs).
The role of each TA will be to read through the manual and identify where my descriptions of The Alps activities, and how to deliver them, are unclear. Once the activity descriptions have been amended based on TAs' feedback, each set of activity descriptions will be passed to a different TA to read through. In this way, each TA will always receive a diferent set of activities that have been amended based on feedback from other TAs. I anticipate that the manual will be clear and easy to understand after two or three amendments, thanks to the TAs who have corrected my poor descriptions.
Please get in touch if you would like to contribute to The Alps manual development. I can be reached on 0113 392 2647 or email nickphysio@gmail.com.
My role at CAHR includes chairing the Motor Skills committee. The role is funded by the Department of Education. Educators recognise that promoting development of the essential fundamental motor skills encourages children's participation in physical activity, promotes inclusion in playground activities and facilitates improvements in educational attainment. Given the impact that poor motor skills have on self-esteem and psychosocial development, there is even the potential for The Alps to benefit children's mental health.
The role of each TA will be to read through the manual and identify where my descriptions of The Alps activities, and how to deliver them, are unclear. Once the activity descriptions have been amended based on TAs' feedback, each set of activity descriptions will be passed to a different TA to read through. In this way, each TA will always receive a diferent set of activities that have been amended based on feedback from other TAs. I anticipate that the manual will be clear and easy to understand after two or three amendments, thanks to the TAs who have corrected my poor descriptions.
Please get in touch if you would like to contribute to The Alps manual development. I can be reached on 0113 392 2647 or email nickphysio@gmail.com.
 |
| The Alps includes activities that good quality scientific evidence suggests will improve children's basic motor skills. We want to find out if the delivery of these activities by teaching assistants in school helps to improve Key Stage 1 children's motor skills, and whether this increases their levels of physical activity, physical fitness and other health outcomes. |
Once the manual has been completed, I will pilot the manual in schools. TAs will deliver The Alps, under my non-participatory observation, to ensure that the activities are carried out effectively. This should lead to a final version of The Alps manual. Finally, benefits of the programme will be evaluated in a scientific trial.
The Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research is based in a new building within Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust (where I was first employed as a physiotherapist- great memories), with an official opening in October 2019. It provides facilities for applied health researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Bradford and local hospital Trusts to cooperate and develop research to improve health in several domains including Healthy Childhood and Healthy Aging. CAHR will emulate other top class research institutes by "by bringing together the best scientists from different disciplines under one roof to push back the boundaries of research".
 |
| The Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research, at the Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Royal Infirmary |
My role at CAHR includes chairing the Motor Skills committee. The role is funded by the Department of Education. Educators recognise that promoting development of the essential fundamental motor skills encourages children's participation in physical activity, promotes inclusion in playground activities and facilitates improvements in educational attainment. Given the impact that poor motor skills have on self-esteem and psychosocial development, there is even the potential for The Alps to benefit children's mental health.
