Physical activity among secondary school pupils has increased in Wales, reversing a decline that started in 2017.
The School Health Research Network (SHRN), a collaboration between Public Health Wales, Cardiff University and Welsh Government, carries out one of the biggest surveys of school pupils in the UK. Every two years it asks secondary school pupils questions on a range of topics including mental well-being, substance use and school life. The latest survey was completed by nearly 130,000 learners in years seven to 11, within 200 maintained secondary schools across Wales.
The results are included as part of a new update to the Secondary School Children’s Health and Well-being Dashboard, an easy-to-use tool which enables users like schools, government and local authorities to look at figures from SHRN surveys over time.
According to the findings, nearly a quarter of boys (23%) met the Chief Medical Officers’ national guideline of at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, an increase from 21% in 2019 and 2021. Among girls, 14% met the current guidelines, which although low, has improved from 12% in 2021.
The survey also looked at young people’s experiences of bullying.
Almost 38% of young people said that they had been bullied in the previous couple of months, up from 32% in 2021. Results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey with more than 40% of girls being bullied compared to over 30% of boys.
Lorna Bennett, Consultant in Health Improvement for Public Health Wales said: “It is really encouraging to see the increase across the board in physical activity in secondary school aged young people. We know that physical activity has significant benefits for both physical and mental health, so it’s great to see that young people are reversing the decline that we’ve seen since 2017. The data show that young people are more active both in and outside school, which is pleasing to see.”
She added: “It’s clear that a significant group of young people are having to deal with being bullied, which we know can have impacts on mental health. Public Health Wales is working with schools in Wales to embed the Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Well-being, which is designed to help schools support the mental health and well-being of children and young people, including preventing and tackling bullying”.
Case study
Using SHRN data, Willows High School in Cardiff identified an opportunity to increase physical activity among their students and implemented an ongoing programme of fortnightly enrichment for the whole school. By working with local partners, businesses, and the student body, the school now offers more than 50 different activities across a huge range of areas and has seen an increase in school attendance, greater uptake of physical activity and improved physical activity skills among pupils.
Chris Norman, Headteacher from Willows High said: “By developing the enrichment programme we have given our learners an opportunity to become less sedentary and lead a more active lifestyle. The range of activities that we offer has given them a chance to try a variety of different ways of exercising and incorporating physical activity into their daily lives, and this has established new passions and interests as well as having physical and mental health benefits.”
Dr Kelly Morgan, deputy director of SHRN at the Centre for the Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer) at Cardiff University, who oversees data collection, said: “SHRN is now in its 11th year and involves every secondary school in Wales, asking questions on a wide range of areas that matter to young people. Our aim is to provide robust and widespread data so that decision-makers in the health and education sector have the tools to develop tangible and long-lasting solutions. We are grateful to all the schools and students who have participated.”
Zoe Strawbridge, analyst at Public Health Wales said: “Working in collaboration with SHRN and Welsh Government has provided a great opportunity to develop an interactive dashboard, giving us a detailed insight into regional differences in health and wellbeing of young people in Wales. We look forward to developing this tool and sharing the results on further topics over the coming year.”
This article was first published by Cardiff University.