Providing opportunities for two- to five-year-olds to be more physically active in Dorset

Healthy Movers is for children aged two to five years old. Through a range of physical play and activities, the programme aims to improve children’s physical literacy and development, and support their social and emotional wellbeing, which helps children gain a better start in life.

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The challenge

It is recommended that under one-year olds should participate in at least 30 minutes and one- to five-year-olds 180 minutes per day of physical activity (Department of Health and Social Care, 2019). 

In 2023/2024, only 61.2 per cent of children and young people aged 5 to 16 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, and 47.2 per cent in Dorset Council, achieved the recommended physical activity levels (Department of Health and Social Care, 2025). 

This highlights that many children and young people are missing out on the benefits of being more active. Encouraging physical activity from an early age helps establish lifelong healthy habits and increases the likelihood of remaining active into adolescence and adulthood (Sport England, 2022). 

To increase physical activity uptake and form active behaviours in early years, Public Health Dorset have commissioned the Healthy Movers programme, provided by the Youth Sport Trust. 

The solution:

Healthy Movers is for children aged two to five years old. Through a range of physical play and activities, the programme aims to improve children’s physical literacy and development, and support their social and emotional wellbeing, which helps children gain a better start in life. Healthy Movers offers early years settings training, resources and support to deliver the programme. 

After a successful pilot in Dorset, the programme is now expanding to more early years settings and being introduced in family hubs, libraries, first schools, childminders and a charity. To ensure smooth coordination and delivery, an Early Years Physical Activity role, hosted by Active Dorset, was created and funded. The intervention was evaluated through post intervention surveys to the participating settings to track, measure and understand changes. 

The impact

Children who are under five years old, and are physically active, benefit from a variety of health and development results (World Health Organisation, 2019). 

Physical literacy is our relationship with movement and physical activity throughout life. How we move, connect, think and feel during movement and physical activity plays a crucial role (Sport England, 2022b). In children and young people, frequent physical activity relates to increased learning and attainment, enhanced mental health and cardiovascular fitness, as well as supporting a healthy weight (Department of Health and Social Care, 2019). T

herefore, being physically active can help to prevent over 20 chronic conditions and diseases (Department of Health and Social Care, 2022) and lead healthier and happier lives (National Health Service, 2024). 

From the projects participating settings that have completed the evaluations, some of the following impacts have been identified so far:

Participants and demographics 

  • Eighteen settings participated in the initial pilot during 2021 and 2022, to date 145 settings are part of the local programme
  • Currently 2444 children are participating.

Families 

  • 967 families are involved in the project .

Practitioners and training

  • 457 practitioners trained (includes 225 Healthy Mover Champions who lead Healthy Movers in their settings)
  • From the training sessions, has helped practitioners feel more competent (99 per cent), confident (97 per cent) and motivated (100 per cent) in their role. 

Impact on children 

  • 89 per cent of settings either reported positive or very positive impact on children’s physical skills e.g. balance, locomotion, object control
  • 84 per cent of settings either reported positive or very positive impact on children’s confidence and enjoyment to take part in sport and physical activity
  • 84 per cent of settings either reported positive or very positive impact on children’s happiness
  • 76 per cent of settings either reported positive or very positive impact on children’s resilience
  • 71 per cent of settings either reported positive or very positive impact on children’s connectedness to others.

How is the new approach being sustained?

A few examples below:

  • All settings have enough resources to deliver the programme.
  • At least one member of staff (Healthy Mover Champion) is trained to lead the programme in their setting.
  • Settings are offered bespoke support, from experts, as a follow-up to the training along with a Power-Hour session that introduces Healthy Movers and physical literacy to all practitioners, giving them even more confidence and competence to deliver physical activity throughout the day.
  • Families are also included in the programme to participate in physical activity together with their child or children at home.
  • Healthy Movers is being delivered locally across a variety of early years settings to colleagues in pre-schools, nurseries, schools, family hubs, childminders, libraries and a charity. The project will have opportunities for children to participate in Healthy Movers in both their pre-school/nursery and then the school they may attend, aiming to support a smooth transition.
  • Virtual networking sessions are offered to Healthy Movers Champions to attend, so they can learn from others and share good practice.
  • Healthy Movers at Home resources that can be downloaded to mobile phones that are available for use, include ideas, equipment required with beginner and advanced options.
  • Flexibility on when and how Healthy Movers is delivered in the settings following the training to be suitable for the setting, children and families attending.
  • A number of local authorities early years advisors are trained to support early years practitioners with Healthy Movers during their visits. 

Lessons learned:

  • Flexibility is key – to deliver training, ongoing support and virtual network sessions on days practitioners can attend and in ways that are appropriate for the settings, children and families. With large settings, further resources can be made available, enabling more practitioners delivering Healthy Movers, and therefore, enabling more children to be having fun and engaged in physical activity.
  • Once the training has been delivered, each setting can decide how they’re going to use Healthy Movers to have the biggest impact on their children, families and colleagues. It is important to tailor the support to suit the needs of the children and the setting for the greatest impact.
  • Collaborative working and good communication with colleagues is essential to encourage participation in the project.
  • Regular project group meetings supported the project to keep it on track, to provide updates, positive stories, share and resolve any challenges or requests to keep the project on track. 

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