What the physical activity award is, what your school needs to do to achieve it, why we have a physical activity award.
About the physical activity specialist award
The physical activity specialist award outlines best practice in the delivery of physical activity and includes physical education. There's one award aimed at primary schools and another for secondary schools.
Our aim with this award is to help schools:
- build a culture of physical activity throughout their school day
- get pupils enjoying sports and travelling to school actively
- address some of the barriers pupils might have to being active
Our guidance closely follows evidence based interventions and national guidance from:
- Childhood Obesity: A plan for action (HM Government, Updated 2017)
- What Works in Schools and Colleges to Increase Physical Activity? A briefing for head teachers, college principals, staff working in education settings, directors of public health and wider partners (HM Government and Public Health England, 2015)
- Physical activity for children and young people: PH17 (NICE, 2009)
What you school needs to do to achieve the award
You must make changes in your school to increase physical activity. This could include:
- changes to the school's physical environment
- changes to the school culture
- making improvements to the curriculum
- investing in leadership and training
- working with pupils to understand what they want and need
You must complete the award within 1 year.
Use our online system to:
- see the award criteria and guidance
- tell us you're starting to work towards a specialist award
- send us evidence of your work
- track your progress
- submit your finished work
Go to the online system for primary schools
Go to the online system for secondary schools
Download the award criteria for:
Guidance and resources
We have advice, training and resources, such as lesson plans and example policies, on our Physical Activity topic page.
Why we have a physical activity specialist award
Being physically active is important for our health and wellbeing. Children and young people in England don't move enough.
We know that:
- a third of year 6 children in Bristol leave primary school overweight or obese
- nationally, only a fifth of children get the recommended one hour of physical activity a day
After you achieve the award
We'll send you:
- a certificate
- awards logos to use on your website or letterheads