Girls Active Programme - Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership

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Introduction Girls Active is a physical activity programme targeting teenage girls in schools in the northwest region of Ireland 1 . This report is an evaluation of the first two years of the programme. Its purpose is to provide feedback to the support organisations on the extent to which Girls Active has achieved its aims and objectives. In addition, the report provides information that may be useful to those who are interested in developing physical activities for teenage girls. It will also assist future policy development for physical activity in schools. Section 1 of the report provides information on the background and origins of the Girls Active programme. Section 2 presents more detailed data on the implementation and characteristics of the programme. Section 3 describes the methodology utilised in the evaluation. The findings are outlined in Section 4 and discussed in Section 5. The recommendations arising from the findings are presented in Section 6. 1.1 Context Research in Ireland and other countries indicates that girls and women are underrepresented at many levels of sport. Females of all ages participate in sport and recreational activity less than boys and men do, are relatively absent from media portrayals of sporting achievements and are poorly represented at decision-making levels 2 . Not only are teenage girls less physically active than boys, many of them engage in very little physical activity. A recent Irish study reported that over onefifth of secondary school girls engage in non-PE (Physical Education) sports on less than one day per week, twice as many as boys 3 . As habits in relation to physical activity are developed at an early stage and tend to be reproduced throughout later life, it is not surprising to find that adult women also engage in sport to a lesser extent than men. Recently published figures in an Irish context indicate that 25% of women participate in sport regularly compared to 41% of men 4 . This relative inactivity has negative consequences for the lifelong health of girls and women. The benefits of regular physical activity include a feeling of wellbeing and a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, osteoporosis and depression 5,6 . Girls Active is a joint initiative between the Health Service Executive West (HSE West, formerly the North Western Health Board), Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership (SSRP), Donegal Sports Partnership (DSP) and Youth Sport West (YSW). The programme aims to increase the number of teenage girls involved in long-term regular physical activity through developing more supportive environments in schools. Girls Active commenced in 2003. 1.2 Background The Girls Active Programme was developed in response to numerous strategic initiatives in the areas of health and sport. The publication of The National Health Promotion Strategy 2000- 2005 7 , the National Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition 8 and the National Cardiovascular Strategy 9 were central in this regard. Both the National Health Promotion Strategy and the National Cardiovascular Strategy target teenage girls as a priority group for the promotion of healthy lifestyle choices. The former highlights the need to “identify models of good practice which encourage young people, especially young girls, to participate in physical activity”. The Strategy also identifies schools as appropriate settings for the implementation of health education programmes by presenting the concept of the “health promoting school” as a place that is “constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working” 10 . Under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness the Irish Sports Council (ISC) set up the first Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) in 2001. These were initiated to create a national structure to coordinate and promote the development of sport at local level particularly in disadvantaged areas. In recognition of the growing awareness of the Evaluation of the Girls Active Programme - 2003 – 2005 Report 3
Introduction exclusion of women from sporting activities, the ISC includes girls and women among groups to be targeted by LSPs in their efforts to promote local sports participation. This is reflected in the strategic plans and related objectives set out by both the Donegal Sports Partnership and Sligo Sport and Recreational Partnership. Other publications such as the ‘Women in Sport’ 11 report are instrumental in keeping the issue of women and physical activity on the agenda of LSPs. In 2000 the Health Promotion Department of the then North Western Health Board (NWHB) supported schools in organising yoga for girls as a response to the low participation rates of girls in physical activity. Subsequently, in 2001/2 the Health Promotion Department conducted a consultation with teenage girls on physical activity. The consultation findings informed the development of the model for the Girls Active programme and were published in the booklet, ‘Consultations with Teenage Girls on Being and Getting Active’ 12 . During the course of the consultation girls attributed the main reasons for their non-participation in physical activity to: • The limited choice of extra-curricular activities offered to teenage girls in schools • Their preference for girl-only activities • The lack of non-competitive activities • Their perception that less value is given to girls’ sports in schools • The lack of available facilities for girls • Their perception that there is a lack of media coverage of girls’ and women’s sports. The girls also identified many potential benefits of physical activity: • Feeling healthier and being healthier • Feeling good • Having a sense of achievement • Weight management • Having fun and enjoyment • Meeting and making friends • Having more energy • Having more concentration. On foot of its findings, the consultative report included the following recommendations: • The promotion of non-traditional forms of physical activity within the school setting targeting those not participating in extracurricular programmes • The provision of training and support for teachers and principals • The commitment of resources to long-term initiatives based on the expressed needs of girls themselves • The involvement of the NWHB and LSPs in the provision of supports • Links with the Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Programme of the Dept. of Education and Science. The model for Girls Active was successfully piloted for a school-term in partnership with Moville Community School in 2003. The full programme, with the NWHB as lead agency, supported by the ISC and included in the strategic plans of the LSPs in Donegal and Sligo, was then offered to ten schools in the region and implemented widely in the 2003/4 school year. 1 The Girls Active Programme is widely recognised by the abbreviation, Girls Active. 2 Houses of the Oireachtas (2004) Women in Sport. Dublin: Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Af fairs, Report No. 5. 3 Fahey T, Delaney L & Gannon B (2005) School Children and Sport in Ireland. Dublin: Economic Social & Research Institute. 4 Fahey T, R Layte & B Gannon ( 2004) Sports Participation and Health Among Adults in Ireland. Dublin: ESRI. 5 U.S Dept of Health and Human Services (1996) Physical Activity and Health. Atlanta, GA: A Report of the Surgeon General. 6 He Taskforce on Obesity. 7 Department of Health (2000). 8 SLÁN (1999). 9 Department of Health (1999). 10 Department of Health (2000) National Health Promotion Strategy. 11 Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (2004). 12 NWHB (2004). 4 Evaluation of the Girls Active Programme - 2003 – 2005 Report
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