Testing physical activity and physical literacy measurement tools for use in schools
Researchers are testing a new website system to help schools measure the necessary skills for children to lead an active life.

Only a quarter of Australian 5–12-year-olds meet health recommendations of at least 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous-physical-activity. Just as children need to be taught the alphabet to read, they also need to develop physical literacy skills to be active.
‘Physical literacy’ is the term for the physical, psychological, social and cognitive skills needed to be active. Together with physical activity, physical literacy is essential for children’s development.
Currently schools have no central mechanism for assessing and recording children’s physical literacy and physical activity levels, which has made it hard to know where to put educational efforts to improve these skills. But a newly developed website system could change that.
In collaboration with the Australian Sports Commission, Professor Lisa Barnett and team recently developed online measurement tools to help schools:
- benchmark their physical activity initiatives (Years 1-6)
- determine children’s physical activity (Years 3-6), and
- measure physical literacy levels (Years 1-6).
As part of this project, the team tested the feasibility of the tools with children and teachers. The information gathered informed development of a new integrated website system for the next phase of the project. This website system will allow entry of data and results to be visualised in a meaningful and appealing way for schools to act on.
The next step, to test implementation of the website system in schools, is underway, with funding via a Healthway WA grant.
Professor Barnett will test the website system in nine Western Australian schools. Teachers from each participating school will be trained to use the tools within the website system. A school leader will report on physical activity information, such as how often children have physical education and sport. Classroom teachers will administer the tools in their classes. The research team will then interview teachers and leaders to see how they used the data.
“Children spend a large portion of their day in school, so this is a great opportunity to optimise physical activity and physical literacy,” Professor Barnett said.
“This project will help us develop the resources to encourage schools to use the new website system to measure physical activity and physical literacy as standard school practice.”
The project is conducted in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, with Australian Sports Commission and Telethon Kids as partners on the project.