Can changing the nature of PE lessons help children do better at school? This is the key question that the project is aiming to answer.
Physical exercise has been shown to have positive effects on the brain and to improve cognitive performance, both immediately and in the long-term. This project is being conducted to better understand how the content of school PE, focusing on Year 8 pupils during the academic year 2017/18 in this project, affects brain function and academic performance.
A programme of activities for PE lessons has been developed by Oxford Brookes University (in collaboration with Oxfordshire Sport and Physical Activity) to try to optimise the benefit of PE for brain function. Staff from Oxford Brookes University will train PE teachers to deliver this programme.
NatCen Social Research has been funded by EEF to carry out an independent evaluation of the ‘Fit to Study’ project. The aim is to assess whether ‘Fit to Study’ improves pupil attainment, and to identify the necessary conditions and potential barriers to the success of the study.
To view the timeline and key tasks for the project, click on the image on the left.
The main study will run from September 2017 to July 2018. Schools will be randomly assigned to deliver their usual lessons or integrate the new PE activities into lessons. All schools will take part in the assessment sessions.