Designed to be a health environment

We know that school children are getting wider and heavier. We recognise that there are multiple causes of the rapid growth in obesity, including poor diet and a lack of physical activity. However, we might not see inactivity as a problem in its own right, despite mounting evidence that living without physical exercise creates a multitude of problems – not just for the current generation but for their children also.

The problem
According to evidence from University College London, 17 per cent of all premature deaths in the UK can be attributed to inactivity. This compares with 8.5 per cent of early deaths attributed to smoking, three per cent to diabetes and three per cent to cholesterol. Yes – inactivity is a bigger killer than smoking, diabetes and cholesterol combined. And the cost to the country? The NHS already spends £900 million annually treating the effects of inactivity and the cost to the wider economy is calculated at £20 billion per year. 
   
Let’s look at the impacts of inactivity on children specifically. As part of their [Designed to Move] campaign, sportswear company Nike collated a wide range of existing sources of evidence on physical activity.
   
The company found that 21 per cent of children play outdoors compared with 71 per cent of their parents when they were children, and that in the UK, we are 20 per cent less active than we were in 1961. By 2030, we are projected to be 35 per cent less active. What has caused this pandemic of inactivity? We think that there’s been a perfect storm of increasingly sedentary jobs, opportunities for entertainment at home, and the rise of car-dependent environments in our towns and cities.

The alternative
Turning to the benefits of physical activity in children, we see a much brighter picture.
   
The company found that positive experiences of sport and physical play before the age of 10 increase the probability of a lifelong commitment to being physically active. Schools have a vital role to play in making activity happen during this ‘critical window’ – through PE, the wider curriculum, pre- and after-school clubs, break time activity and the way that pupils get around. In this article we look at the physical fabric of the school and how it can help create a highly active place to learn in.

The journey to and from school
An obvious way to incorporate exercise into the school day is through active travel. But even with a good travel plan in place to encourage pupils to walk or cycle to school, traffic congestion, road safety, impacts on neighbours, and parking for staff and parents can become highly contentious issues for both primaries and secondaries. In these debates, the harsh realities of inactivity can help prioritise walking and cycling to school – and encourage staff to set the right example.
   
The school entrance also sends an important message about travel. A generous and pleasant route direct from the street to pupil entrances, with the route for cars being less easy, suggests that walking and taking public transport are the normal and desirable way to get to your school. Car parking in the prime position on a school site shows everyone that driving is advantageous, despite evidence that shows that for adults, those who walk or cycle to work are happier than people who drive. And anecdotal evidence suggests that where no car parking on school sites is provided (except for disabled people and service access), staff and parents are more accepting of the need to reach the school gate by other means.
   
A threat to healthy journeys to and from school is fast food outlets in the locality. Schools can work with local authorities to limit the proliferation of fast food outlets in certain areas, as they can be refused planning consent on health grounds.

School grounds
A variety of spaces for informal play and socialising is key in getting all children outside and moving during breaks. Australia’s Healthy Active by Design portal has brought together evidence on playgrounds and pupils’ physical activity. It suggests that nature-based play spaces may be important in children’s physical activity levels and body mass index. Natural playgrounds are shown to help improve many aspects of emotional wellbeing, including anxiety, aggression and social behaviour. Vegetable gardens enable active learning, generate fresh produce for cooking lessons and can encourage healthy eating. Providing playground and sports equipment, or painting playground surfaces with designs for games or murals, are shown to increase children’s physical activity during break times. 
   
In relation to the curriculum, outdoor learning brings many benefits and some schools have great facilities for conducting lessons outside. Even with more modest facilities, outdoor demonstrations and practicals are achievable in many subjects, with the potential for more engaged kids, better retention of information and physical movement as an added bonus.

Sport
The study found that competitive sport is celebrated but physical education and physical activity much less so. And we know that many young people really dislike sport at school. The Nike report sets out how PE teaching can increase activity in all children, including those who aren’t great at sport and those who face barriers to enjoyable participation. 

So how can the physical environment support positive experiences for all in PE? The building and grounds need to make exercise as appealing as possible.
   
Again, painted designs or graphics, if done well, can make an average sports hall or a playground a place young people like being in and being active in. Opening sports facilities up outside of school hours can help embed active lifestyles in the wider community. Based on the inter- generational effects of being physically active, some schools allow parents to use gym facilities for free before or after school.

Inside the building
An everyday opportunity for physical movement in everyday life is walking up stairs. In building new school accommodation, concerns about supervision and time loss when students take the stairs can limit the number of storeys of new accommodation. A consequence of single-storey primaries and two storey secondaries can be that for many young people, taking the stairs isn’t normalised outside, or even inside, the home. But in the context of population growth and the need to retain external space for learning, play and exercise, new school buildings and extensions are increasingly arranging accommodation vertically, effectively building a gentle staircase workout into the school day. 
   
The Schools Premises Regulations 2012 reduced the number and complexity of the rules that schools must comply with regard to their estates. And although BB103 – the Education Funding Agency’s area guidelines for new mainstream schools – isn’t generous in the floorspace it allows for, it states that the guidelines “should always be applied flexibly.” Both directives therefore give schools and the designers of new school buildings or extensions some flexibility in how to shape accommodation to encourage movement and activity.
   
According to research led by Leicester University, sitting at desks for long periods of time increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and early death. They found that even for people taking regular exercise, there is still a health risk associated with many hours of sitting. Standing desks – which are starting to appear in offices to help alleviate the health impacts of static, desk-based jobs – can also be used in classrooms.
   
A study in three schools in Texas showed that replacing standard desks and chairs with raised desks and stools, allowing the user to perch on the stool when they wish, produced impressive findings. The raised desk students burned 15 per cent more calories than those in a control group, and pupils’ attention and behaviour improved. Closer to home, Grove House Primary School in Bradford is currently piloting standing desks – we look forward to the results of this study.

Technology
In the Texas study, the children wore devices to measure their step count and energy expenditure. Potential benefits of such devices in schools include increased awareness of personal activity and the ability to give class awards or celebrate children’s personal bests. And the gamification trend – where tasks or challenges are made fun via apps for smartphones – also offers opportunities for physical activity in the school day to become enjoyable. 

Putting it into practice
By creating a place, a curriculum and a culture where movement and exercise are the norm, we can help children significantly reduce their risk of disease and reach their full potential educationally and economically.
   
The Design Council’s Active by Design programme helps public and private sector clients create healthy and active places through excellent design. The programme focuses on creating neighbourhoods, streets, public spaces and buildings that make it easy and appealing to be active, as part of everyday life.

Further information
www.designcouncil.org.uk