Questions and answers for schools
Your Questions
What is Active for Life Year 5?
Active for Life Year 5 is a research study. The aim of the study is to increase Year 5 children’s levels of physical activity, decrease time spent being sedentary and increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
Why is it called Active for Life Year 5 when the pupils were measured in Year 4?
Active for Life follows children from the end of Year 4, up until the end of Year 6. The project is called ‘Active for Life Year 5’ as Year 5 is when most of the work happens.
Do pupils have to take part?
No. A letter was sent to each parent/carer before we began any measurements on children informing them of the study and allowing them to refuse participation of their child. The pupils themselves are also asked at the time of measurement whether they wish to take part. It is completely up to them and they are not under any pressure to agree. Consent is separate for each measurement, so they may wish, for example, to have their height measured, but not their weight.
I have several pupils in my class that do not have consent to participate, what do they do on the day?
We ask that they be given alternative activities so they do not feel left out or bored. Some schools have found it helpful to move them to a different class while the questionnaire is taking place, or allow them to sit and read a story book.
What measures are taken to ensure confidentiality and data protection?
The study is run in conjunction with Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council. Letters were sent to parents asking whether we could take personal details for their child, and parents were given the option to refuse consent for us to have this information. Once we have personal information it is only used for research purposes such as identification and for data analysis. All data are kept within the University’s high level secure computer network. Hard copies of data are kept within lockable cabinets, in lockable office areas.
When the data are analysed, they will be in an anonymised format, meaning that the information for each child is linked to a unique ID, rather than their name. This means results for individual children will not be identifiable to the researchers performing the analysis.
A pupil joined the school recently, can they join the study?
Yes, could you please let us know of any new pupils that have joined the school, we will then send a ‘parent pack’ out which contains all the information and non-consent forms. Measurements will be taken at the normally scheduled times (end of year 5 and end of year 6). We will not be making additional visits to establish the baseline measurement for these pupils.
What happens to the measurements that you take?
We will use statistical techniques to compare the data from intervention and control schools. This will allow us to see whether the ‘Active for Life Year 5’ programme has any effect on our outcomes, such as activity, fruit & veg consumption and sedentary behaviour. We will be looking at the effect the AFLY5 lessons have on pupils, both short-term and longer term. By doing this, we can then put forward recommendations that may benefit all school children.
We have been allocated to ‘Control’, are we still in the study?
Yes! You play a very important role in the study. We will visit you just as much as we will visit the ‘intervention’ schools, and the data your children provide will be just as useful. All that differs is that your school will continue to teach your current syllabus, whereas ‘intervention’ schools teach the ‘Active for Life Year 5’ syllabus.
When the study is over, we will offer all control schools like yours, the opportunity to complete the ‘Active for Life Year 5’ training day, and will provide you with all the materials that you need to teach the lessons if you wish to do so.