School Games at the heart of a whole systems approach

Context, Intent and Target Group

Background Information

Gravesham currently has some of the highest childhood obesity rates in the country, alongside increasing concerns around physical inactivity, wellbeing, and health inequalities affecting young people and their families. Despite a wide range of organisations working to support schools and communities, much of this work has historically operated in isolation, with services often competing for engagement rather than working collaboratively. In addition, the educational landscape within Gravesham is fragmented, with multiple academy trusts and no fully coordinated approach to supporting physical activity and health across schools.

Traditionally, School Games has worked closely with PE coordinators to deliver competitions, events, and participation opportunities. While this remains important, it became clear that if meaningful and sustainable change was to happen, there needed to be greater engagement with senior leaders, community partners, and wider stakeholders who influence decision-making and long-term strategy.

The intention of this work was therefore to move beyond a traditional delivery model and help create a whole systems approach to physical activity across Gravesham. The project aimed to bring together schools, health partners, local organisations, and community services to better understand the challenges facing young people and create a more joined-up and streamlined offer for schools and families.

The primary target group is children and young people across Gravesham, particularly those who are least active or face barriers to participation. However, the work also intentionally targets school leaders, parents, community organisations, and strategic partners, recognising that improving outcomes for children requires collective action and shared responsibility. A particular focus is also being placed on Early Years intervention, understanding that supporting healthy habits and positive experiences of physical activity at the earliest stage is likely to create the greatest long-term impact.

What was the aim of work?

The aim of the work was to create a more coordinated and sustainable approach to improving physical activity, health, and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people across Gravesham. Recognising that School Games and individual organisations could not tackle these challenges alone, the project aimed to bring together schools, community organisations, health partners, and local stakeholders to work collaboratively within a whole systems approach.

A key objective was to move School Games beyond its traditional role of delivering competitions and events and position it as a strategic partner that supports wider school and community priorities. This included engaging senior leaders and decision-makers within schools, developing stronger partnership working across the community, and creating a more streamlined and supportive offer for schools.

The work also aimed to better understand the real challenges schools and families are facing, while supporting schools to become more active environments throughout the entire school day. A particular focus was placed on early intervention and supporting less active children and families to build healthier habits and more positive relationships with physical activity over the long term.

Which outcome(s) did it focus on?

• 1. To advocate and position the delivery of the CMO daily active minutes for all young people, as a universal offer to maintain and grow school engagement
• 5. To advocate and engage key stakeholders on the value of School Games to support local provision and improve the experience for young people and their families

Which expectation(s) did it meet?

• Using the development plan to show how community connections will be made for young people to continue their participation.
• Using local insight and youth engagement to identify young people and schools that would most benefit from a targeted School Games offer.
• Developing a case study to show where you have made the most impact against local priorities, and through effective storytelling share your learning locally and nationally.
• Collaborating with key partners to inform the local and county offer to tackle inequalities and ensuring inclusive and safe practice.
• Developing strategies to improve knowledge and understanding of the School Games for key stakeholders.
• Work with schools to maintain and grow their active engagement in School Games.
• Identify schools that are not engaged and developing strategies to improve this.
• Encourage the use of tools, such as School Games Mark, Inclusive Health Check and Active School Planner to help schools better understand their needs.
• Planning for and increasing delivery of 60 active minutes for every child.
• Provide an offer of professional development and communication for all schools to increase their understanding and increase their provision of 60 active minutes.
• Work intensively with a minimum of two low engagement schools to improve their understanding, engagement and access of the School Games offer.
• Co-design and deliver a broad and balanced School Games offer that is informed by insight and youth engagement and embeds positive experiences. It is expected that an SGO will facilitate a minimum of 12 targeted inter competitions/events/festivals with clear intent.

Community links

• Active Partnerships
• Community sports clubs
• Headteacher group
• Leisure providers
• Local authority
• Multi Academy Trust leads
• Public health lead
• SEND leads / SENCO
• Youth board within Local Authority

Intent

The intent of this work was to move away from a fragmented, isolated approach to physical activity and school sport in Gravesham and instead build a genuinely joined-up, whole systems model that brings key partners together around a shared vision for improving outcomes for children and young people.

It was intended to strengthen collaboration between schools, community organisations, health services, and local authority partners so that support for physical activity and wellbeing is more coordinated, consistent, and impactful. A key part of this intent was to shift engagement beyond PE coordinators and involve senior leaders and decision-makers, ensuring that physical activity is embedded within wider school improvement priorities rather than treated as a standalone initiative.

The work also intended to streamline the offer to schools, reducing duplication and conflicting messages from multiple organisations, and replacing this with a more coherent, strategic approach led by partnership working. In addition, there was a clear intent to focus on early intervention, recognising that long-term change in activity levels and health outcomes will only be achieved by supporting children and families from the earliest stages of development.

Overall, the intent was to reposition School Games as a key strategic connector within the local system, helping to align priorities, strengthen relationships, and create lasting improvements in the health and wellbeing of young people in Gravesham.

Target group

• All School Staff

Implementation

The implementation of this work began with a deliberate shift away from isolated delivery towards a more coordinated, whole systems approach across Gravesham. Recognising the complexity of local challenges, including high levels of childhood obesity, inactivity, and a fragmented school landscape made up of multiple academy trusts, the first stage focused on building relationships and creating the right structures for collaboration.

A key early action was the establishment of a Headteacher strategic group, ensuring that engagement moved beyond PE coordinators and involved senior leaders and decision-makers. This group provided a platform to openly explore the key challenges facing schools, including pressures around behaviour, attendance, wellbeing, staffing, and curriculum demands, and to identify how physical activity and the School Games could better support whole-school priorities. This helped shift the narrative of School Games from a delivery mechanism to a strategic tool for school improvement.

Alongside this, a system-wide partnership approach was developed with community organisations, health partners, and local providers. Previously, schools were often approached independently by multiple organisations, creating duplication and inconsistent messaging. The implementation of a more coordinated model enabled partners to align their offer, reduce pressure on schools, and present a more streamlined and coherent approach to engagement.

This approach has been further strengthened through the development of Place Partnership funding, which has reinforced the expectation that organisations work collaboratively rather than in competition. Within this structure, the School Games Organiser has taken on a leadership role within the education strand, while the Headteacher group now plays a central role in shaping the schools offer. This shared ownership has been critical in embedding the work more sustainably within the local system.

A significant strand of implementation has also focused on early years and long-term prevention, with targeted funding applications developed to support the youngest children and their families. This includes plans to deliver initiatives such as the Youth Sport Trust Healthy Movers programme, designed to engage parents and children together and build positive habits from the earliest stage of development.

In parallel, a broader Active School development framework has been introduced to support schools in reviewing the role of physical activity across the entire school day. This includes consideration of active travel, active breaks, playground engagement, enrichment opportunities, and how schools can better connect with families and community services. Schools are supported to consider what a “day in the life” of a child in Gravesham looks like and how every touchpoint can contribute to improved wellbeing and activity levels.

An additional and important strand of implementation has focused on teacher wellbeing and workforce retention. Through targeted partnership work, opportunities have been created for staff to come together through shared physical activity experiences. This includes informal school gatherings and wellbeing-focused sessions, as well as collaborative activities with local partners such as tennis sessions at Wombwell Park and team-based experiences delivered by community CICs, including laser tag. These activities are designed to strengthen relationships between staff, reduce isolation, and help teachers feel valued and connected to a wider professional community.

Although still in its early stages, implementation has established the foundations for a more connected, strategic, and sustainable model. The work is increasingly positioning School Games as a central connector within the local system, enabling schools, partners, and communities to work more effectively together to improve outcomes for children, families, and staff across Gravesham.

Impact

Impact

Although this work is still in its early stages, there are already clear indicators that a shift towards a more coordinated, whole systems approach in Gravesham is beginning to change how partners work together and how School Games is perceived within the local system.

One of the most significant impacts has been the strengthening of strategic engagement with school leaders. The introduction of a Headteacher strategic group has ensured that discussions about physical activity and wellbeing are no longer limited to operational delivery staff, but are now taking place at decision-making level. This has led to a deeper understanding of the wider challenges schools face and a growing recognition of the role physical activity can play in supporting attendance, behaviour, wellbeing, and whole-school improvement priorities.

A further impact has been the reduction of fragmented and competing offers to schools. By bringing community organisations, health partners, and local providers together into a more coordinated structure, schools are experiencing a more streamlined approach to engagement. This has reduced duplication, improved communication, and created a clearer, more consistent offer that is easier for schools to navigate and engage with.

The development of the Place Partnership model has also strengthened collaboration across sectors, encouraging organisations to work collectively rather than independently. This has improved alignment between education, health, and community provision and has created stronger shared ownership of priorities across the local system.

There has also been growing impact in relation to early intervention and long-term prevention, particularly through the focus on Early Years. While the full outcomes of this work will take time to emerge, the development of targeted programmes such as Youth Sport Trust Healthy Movers is helping to embed positive habits early and engage both parents and children in physical activity together.

Importantly, the work is beginning to influence how schools think about the role of physical activity across the entire school day. The development of the Active School Framework has encouraged schools to reflect more broadly on their whole-day provision, including active travel, movement breaks, playground engagement, and enrichment opportunities. This is starting to shift thinking from isolated PE provision towards a more holistic culture of movement and wellbeing.

A notable emerging impact has also been seen in teacher wellbeing and staff connection. The introduction of shared physical activity experiences and informal gatherings with local partners has provided opportunities for staff to connect outside of the classroom. Early feedback suggests that these experiences help reduce isolation, improve morale, and strengthen relationships between schools and colleagues. Teachers have reported feeling more valued and more connected to a wider professional community, which is an important factor in workforce retention and wellbeing.

Overall, while still developing, the work is already positioning School Games as a strategic connector within the local system, rather than solely a delivery programme. The growing collaboration between schools, community organisations, and health partners is laying the foundations for longer-term change, with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for children, families, and the wider school workforce across Gravesham.

Challenges

Challenges

Implementing a whole systems approach in Gravesham has presented a number of challenges, particularly due to the complexity of the local landscape and the scale of change required to move away from established ways of working.

One of the key challenges has been the fragmented nature of the education system locally, with multiple academy trusts operating independently and no consistent, coordinated approach to physical activity or wellbeing across schools. This has meant that engagement often varies significantly between schools, making it difficult to establish a unified strategy or consistent expectations.

Historically, School Games has also operated within a more traditional delivery model, primarily engaging with PE coordinators and focusing on events and competition. Shifting this mindset towards a more strategic, systems-based approach has required time, relationship building, and careful communication to ensure that stakeholders understand the wider purpose and long-term vision of the work.

Another challenge has been managing the number of organisations working with schools independently. Schools have often been approached by multiple providers and partners, each with their own priorities, which has contributed to duplication, competing messages, and at times, engagement fatigue. Creating a more streamlined and coordinated offer has required significant partnership work and ongoing alignment of priorities across different organisations.

Engaging senior leaders has also required a deliberate change in approach. While PE coordinators are often highly engaged and supportive, securing consistent involvement from headteachers and senior leadership teams has required demonstrating the strategic value of physical activity in relation to whole-school improvement priorities such as attendance, behaviour, wellbeing, and staff retention.

There has also been a challenge in balancing short-term delivery expectations with longer-term system change. Many of the most impactful elements of the work, such as early years intervention and cultural change within schools, will take time to show measurable outcomes. This requires ongoing commitment and confidence from partners, even when immediate impact is less visible.

Finally, the introduction of teacher wellbeing and staff engagement through physical activity has highlighted the importance of cultural change within schools. While there is strong interest in supporting staff wellbeing, creating time and space for teachers to engage in additional activity within already demanding workloads remains a practical challenge.

Despite these challenges, they have been important in shaping a more considered and collaborative approach, reinforcing the need for strong relationships, shared ownership, and a long-term commitment to system change across Gravesham.

Sustainability

Sustainability has been a key consideration throughout this work, with a clear focus on embedding change within existing systems rather than relying on short-term projects or individual delivery programmes.

A fundamental element of sustainability is the shift towards a whole systems approach, where schools, community organisations, health partners, and local stakeholders are working together with shared ownership of priorities. By moving away from isolated delivery and instead developing coordinated structures such as the Headteacher strategic group and the Place Partnership model, the work is becoming embedded within existing decision-making and partnership frameworks, increasing the likelihood of long-term continuation.

The involvement of senior leaders has also been critical to sustainability. By engaging headteachers and decision-makers directly, physical activity and wellbeing are increasingly being positioned within school improvement agendas rather than as an additional or optional activity. This helps ensure that priorities are sustained beyond individual programmes or personnel changes within schools.

Another important aspect of sustainability is the development of local capacity and leadership. The School Games Organiser role now sits within a wider collaborative system, with education and school partners taking an active role in shaping delivery. This shared ownership reduces reliance on a single organisation and helps build long-term resilience across the local network.

The focus on early years intervention also supports sustainability by investing in long-term behaviour change. While outcomes may take time to fully emerge, embedding positive habits and family engagement at the earliest stage of development increases the likelihood of lasting impact on physical activity levels and health outcomes over time.

In addition, the development of the Active School Framework provides schools with a practical structure to self-review and embed physical activity more consistently across the school day. By supporting schools to reflect on their own practice and identify achievable changes, the model encourages ownership and reduces dependency on external delivery.

The inclusion of teacher wellbeing and staff engagement also contributes to sustainability by strengthening the wider workforce. By creating opportunities for staff to connect through physical activity and feel valued within a professional community, the work supports morale, wellbeing, and retention, which are all essential for sustaining school culture and capacity over time.

Overall, sustainability is being achieved through collaboration, shared leadership, and system integration, ensuring that the work is not dependent on individual programmes but is instead becoming part of how partners across Gravesham collectively approach physical activity, wellbeing, and school improvement.

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