The children’s sport participation and physical activity study 2018 (CSPPA 2018): Final report

BACKGROUND The Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity Study 2018 (CSPPA 2018) was a follow up to CSPPA 2010 looking at participation in sport, physical activity and Physical Education among children aged 10 to 18 on the island of Ireland. CSPPA 2018 was the first study to look at these issues in an all-island context. It was a multi-centre study,undertaken by the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, University College Cork and Ulster University. It was funded by Sport Ireland, Healthy Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland.POLICY CONTEXT The importance of sport, physical activity and Physical Education is reflected by various public policies and strategies related to these domains which have been developed inthe North and South. In the Republic of Ireland (ROI), these include the National Physical Activity Plan, the National Sports Policy, and numerous recent changes to the Physical Education curriculum e.g. the introduction of the Junior Cycle Wellbeing Curriculum, and the Leaving Certificate Physical Education (LCPE) as an examinable subject. In Northern Ireland, examples include A Fitter Future for All: Outcome Framework 2015-2019, the Healthy Child, Healthy Future: A Framework for the Universal Child Health Promotion Programme in Northern Ireland, and Changing Gear: A Bicycle Strategy for Northern Ireland. CSPPA 2018 AIMSThe aims of CSPPA 2018 were to:• Comprehensively assess the participation levels of Irish and Northern Irish children insport, physical activity and Physical Education.• Provide quality data on current physical activity levels of children.• Determine factors that enhance or inhibit participation levels of children in sport,physical activity and Physical Education.• Explore the relationships between regular participation in physical activity and health for children.• Provide a comparison, where possible, between CSPPA 2010 and CSPPA 2018.• Provide policy insight on physical activity initiatives aimed at children.METHODS CSPPA used a cross-sectional research design involving similar methods to those used in 2010, with some important changes:• Questionnaires were completed using tablet / laptop technology rather than on paper.• Disability status was assessed using the Child Functioning Module questionnaire.• Family socioeconomic status was assessed using the Family Affluence Scale II, which stratifies individuals into low, medium or high family affluence.10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For the Republic of Ireland, the 114 schools which participated in 2010 and were eligible were invited to participate. 74 of these agreed to take part, with 12 new schools being included for a total of 86 schools. This allowed 4,697 primary and post primary students to provide input. In Northern Ireland 29 schools and 1,954 primary and post primary students were involved. In total, 6,651 children aged 10 – 18 took part in the study. In addition, a small number of school administrators were interviewed about participation in sport in schools, school facilities and resources available for sport.