Updated Programme: Move It March

Context, Intent and Target Group

Background Information

Move It March Programme – South Leicestershire Update

We have been delivering the Move It March programme for 2 years. The Move It March programme aims to inspire children and school staff in the SGO areas to achieve the CMO physical activities guidelines.

This year, I collaborated with the South Wigston School Games Organiser (SGO) to review and enhance the Move It March programme, with the goal of increasing its overall impact. We were able to review staff and student feedback to implement changes (seen in bold below).

What was the aim of work?

The "Move It March" project was designed to inspire children across South Leicestershire to be more physically active, encourage active travel to and from school, and increase the number of children meeting the recommended target of averaging at least 60 minutes of exercise each day.

It also aimed to raise awareness of the physical activity guidelines among children, school staff, and parents.

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?

• 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.
• Develop a communication plan to boost the profile of the host site and demonstrates the value of school sport to other schools in the area.
• 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.
• Engage with a minimum of one secondary school to promote 60 active minutes practice, and share this within the county and where appropriate nationally.
• Engage in county, regional and national networking by the Youth Sport Trust. This includes face-to-face and virtual support, Development Coach engagement, monthly updates and your termly review of your development plan.

Community links

• Active Partnerships
• Local authority
• Multi Academy Trust leads
• Public health lead

Intent

The intent of the programme was to inspire children, young people, and school staff to become more physically active and to help them meet the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) physical activity guidelines. It also aimed to raise awareness and increase the visibility of these guidelines across South Leicestershire. Additionally, the programme sought to promote more active travel to and from school, aligning with a key local priority identified by Leicestershire County Council.

Target group

• All School Staff
• Secondary Schools
• Senior Leaders
• Targeted Groups of Young People

Implementation

Physical Activity Trackers – South Leicestershire

Custom physical activity trackers were developed for different areas across South Leicestershire. A few years ago, students created local area brands, which were used by the South Leicestershire School Sports Partnership (SLSSP) to design the trackers. These included:

• Lutterworth Lions
• Harborough Hawks
• Blaby Bears
• Oadby & Wigston Wolves

A tracker was printed for each primary school child and distributed to schools for handout. Children were encouraged to colour in one icon for every 15 minutes of physical activity completed.

Each tracker featured 67 icons, allowing children to reach various milestones and earn points towards their class and school’s overall Move It March total:

• 250 minutes – Bronze Award: 1 point
• 500 minutes – Silver Award: 2 points
• 750 minutes – Gold Award: 3 points
• 1000 minutes – Platinum Award: 5 points

These individual points contributed to their school’s cumulative score. This year we worked on the tracking and evaluation processes to improve outcomes. Teachers were provided with wall charts to help track class progress.

The class with the highest point total in each school won a trophy. Additionally, the school in each area with the highest proportion of points earned a prize. An overarching competition was held between the four regions of South Leicestershire.

This year, we also asked school to nominate Ultimate Champions, who were selected if they inspired or encouraged others to be active.

Programme Launch and Secondary School Engagement

To kick off the programme, assemblies were delivered in primary schools to raise awareness and emphasise the importance of physical activity and active travel. This year, we launched weekly virtual assemblies focused on physical activity themes to maintain children's engagement throughout March.

In secondary schools, the challenge was adapted to better suit older students. These students were asked to track the number of steps taken throughout March.

Staff Challenge

A separate Move It March challenge was introduced for school staff. Participants could use any fitness app or device (e.g., Fitbit) to log their activity. Milestones were aligned with the Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines for adults. Staff were asked to submit an online form upon reaching each milestone.

This year, to enhance engagement, we introduced a weekly staff leader board highlighting the top five primary and secondary schools. The aim was to inspire staff to encourage their colleagues to participate and foster a whole-school approach to the challenge.

Impact

The project made a significant impact across South Leicestershire. Huge increases in engagement were recorded. Here are the key outcomes:

• Children and Young People Participating in 2025: 15,919
• Total Minutes of Physical Activity (Children and Young People) in 2025: 9,289,361 minutes (over 9 million) recorded during Move It March
• Staff Entries in 2025: 937
• Total Minutes of Physical Activity (Staff) in 2025: 334,050 minutes logged during Move It March — more than double the total recorded last year.

Participant stories 1-Parent Quotes

Hi all,

Please forward to staff in charge of Move it March on behalf of my child (A).

A has been obsessed with Move it March this year. She has really focused on this challenge and is currently halfway through her second sheet. She looks forward to filling it in at the end of each day after doing all of her activities.

- She’s been skipping and actually really improved with how many skips she can do in one go!

- She’s been climbing and making use of all sorts of apparatus (feels like she’s a Gladiator lol)

- She does her weekly swimming and has been trying so hard she got moved up a level this month after just one term in that class.

- She does weekly football and really loves it, doesn’t bother her she’s the only girl even though she struggled with anxiety and self confidence in the past. This was something she really wanted to do and just went for it.

- She does ballet, tap and musical theatre every week and has her tap exam in 2 weeks. She is doing so well with her focus in class she has learnt her tap routines to perfection for her upcoming exam.

A has really found a passion in the outdoors, sports and dancing and it’s great to see her so enthusiastic! She’s really improving in her ability to do these things which is giving her a great sense of achievement.

Participant stories 2- Staff Quotes

Hi Hussein,

Just wanted to update you on our staff move it March.

For staff we have been holding one night a week after school exercise classes, and it’s been so popular and positive that we are now making this a weekly event every week.

Fantastic for fitness and wellbeing !

Thanks for all you do and encouraging us all to be the best versions of ourselves.

Participant Stories 3-Schools

Woodland Grange Primary School Quote

‘Lots more children have been walking to and from schools which has helped with having less cars at the school gates’.

Brocks Hill Primary School Quote

The "Move It March" project has had a significant positive impact on our school community. By encouraging pupils to engage in daily physical activities, the initiative has fostered healthier habits and increased awareness of the importance of staying active.

The project has also strengthened the bond between pupils, parents, and staff, as everyone worked together to achieve activity milestones.

Benefits to the School:

Improved Physical Activity Levels: Many pupils achieved the recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise, contributing to better physical health and concentration in class.

Enhanced Mental Wellbeing: The activities promoted a sense of accomplishment and joy, improving overall mood.

Community Engagement: Parents actively participated by encouraging their children to take part in the initiative.

Engagement Highlights:

Pupils were enthusiastic about tracking their activity using the provided trackers.

One child shared, "I loved coloring in the icons every day—it made me want to do more!"

Challenges

Secondary School Engagement Engagement levels among secondary school students were lower compared to primary school pupils. Despite modifications to this year’s secondary school programme, it appeared less effective in motivating older students. As a result, a review and consultation with secondary students will be undertaken before the launch of Move It March in 2026.

Data Processing the data entries is a substantial task, and a comprehensive analysis took over 3 weeks to finalise.

Sustainability

• Throughout Move It March, each week focused on a different theme. Virtual assemblies were shared with schools and parents to introduce and explain each theme. The final week's focus was on goal setting and maintaining physical activity beyond March. Participants were encouraged to set a personal activity goal to work towards after the programme concluded.
• The South Leicestershire School Sports Partnership will be running Move It March again in 2026 and the local council has agreed to fund elements of the programme for 2026. We aim to build on this year’s experience and make improvements based on what we have learned.

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