Physical activity for health: framework

Our Strategic Delivery Outcomes

Our Strategic Delivery Outcomes are framed around 8 evidence based sub-systems that constitute the physical activity system as a whole. These actions are wide ranging, ambitious and long term and can be undertaken by a range of partners.

Each of our outcomes is described in greater detail below. For each, we have listed key actions derived from international evidence of what works. The intention is to provide direction to those who are developing plans at either national or local level such that they can both consider actions which will improve levels of physical activity as part of those plans and also ensure that these actions are firmly evidence-based.

In many cases, actions are already being taken forward both nationally and locally. In line with the systems approach, national actions are being taken forward across a range of policy areas and Ministerial portfolios. Each Strategic Outcome below includes a brief description of national actions which are contribution to the delivery of that outcome. This document does not list all of these actions or duplicate the full detail which can be found in specific strategies and plans for these areas. Links to relevant documents can be found in the Additional Resources section below.

At a local level, we have numerous examples of existing initiatives. Some of these are highlighted below and others can be found at Actify. These examples are intended to both highlight and share good practice such that it can potentially be adopted in other areas while recognising that local circumstances vary and approaches that may work in one area may not be suitable for another.

Active Systems

What we mean by Active Systems

Active Systems represent those investments which are needed to strengthen and enable the systems necessary to implement effective and coordinated action to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. These actions address governance, leadership, multisectoral partnerships, workforce capabilities, advocacy, information systems and financing mechanisms across all relevant sectors.

Active Systems Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome if collaborative leadership and accountability has been strengthened and actively champions our vision of a more active Scotland through a whole systems approach to physical activity and sport and key partners understand and embrace their roles.

Evidence based actions

1. Strengthen leadership, governance, and accountability for physical activity.

2. Establish collaborative working via multisectoral partnerships and across Ministerial portfolios to maximise the impact of resources and enable the coordinated implementation of actions. Key partners understand and accept their role in the delivery of the Scottish Government vision for physical activity and there is clarity around roles and responsibilities.

3. Strengthen our collective approach to translate evidence into policy and action by increasing access to and maximising the use of physical activity related data and intelligence held across organisations to inform national and local planning and decision-making.

Examples of national and local action

National Leadership Group for Physical Activity and Sport

The National Leadership Group for Physical Activity and Sport includes senior leaders from key agencies, COSLA and the Chief Medical Officer. It is chaired by the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport. Physical activity and sport: National Leadership Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Group provides national leadership and drives partnership working by identifying potential areas of collaboration across sectors. This work has led to more formal agreements in this area between organisations such as sportscotland and Public Health Scotland as well as agreements between sportscotland and COSLA.

The leadership group is supported by the Development Group for Physical Activity and Sport which includes representation from a wider range of organisations. The Development Group works in partnership to advise on development of policy directly or indirectly related to physical activity in line with up to date evidence, to promote key messages to the wider stakeholder community and to drive forward translation of national aspirations to local delivery. The Development Group has been heavily involved in the creation of this Framework.

Support for local delivery

Working in partnership, sportscotland and Public Health Scotland are supporting local government partners apply the systems-based approach, to guide the development of evidence-based physical activity strategies and action plans.

Collectively sportscotland and Public Health Scotland provide leadership and support to enable partners at a local level to adopt a systems-based approach to shape the strategic direction of physical activity and sport.

SPARC Conference

Scottish Physical Activity Research Connections (SPARC), established in 2016, is a network of physical activity researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in Scotland organised by the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) at the University of Edinburgh and supported by the Scottish Government. The annual conference brings together academics, policy makers and practitioners to share learning and experience and provides a collaborative forum to continue to develop new and innovative physical activity approaches in Scotland.

Mental Health Charter

Scotland’s Mental Health Charter for Physical Activity and Sport is hosted by SAMH, Scottish Action for Mental Health. The Charter is an important advocacy tool which aims to empower physical activity and sport communities to improve equality and reduce discrimination, ensuring mental health and wellbeing is not a barrier to engaging, participating and achieving in physical activity and sport. Since launching in 2018, Scotland's Mental Health Charter has been joined by everyone from grassroots clubs to elite sporting bodies, using their collective power to play their part in supporting Scotland's Mental Health.

Charter Signatories can access a Charter Toolkit, providing access to mental health and wellbeing digital assets, tools and resources, mental health e-learning module, bespoke wellbeing activities and various mental health publications and activities to empower physical activity and sport's organisations and clubs to engage with their communities.

Active Places of Learning

What we mean by Active Places of Learning

Active Places of Learning are those which are committed to promoting physical activity to all members of their learning community through a multi-component approach encompassing supportive policies, environments and opportunities.

Active places of learning prioritise

• the provision of suitable physical environments, dedicated time and resources to support structured and unstructured physical activity throughout the day
• the provision of provide regular, high quality, physical education classes in school;
• supporting active travel programmes;
• enabling action through supportive education policies and by engaging staff, students, parents and the wider community.
• connection to a pathway of activity with local communities

Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome when we have created active environments, policies and opportunities across all places of learning.

Evidence based actions

1. Adopt a ‘Whole of School Approach’ in schools including:

• a Physical Education curriculum that develops knowledge, confidence, competence, and motivation to be active;
• active classrooms and outdoor learning that incorporate movement into classroom and outdoor learning experiences across the curriculum;
• after school physical activity opportunities;
• supporting outdoor learning and active play;
• active travel to and from school.

2. Adopt a Whole-of-campus approaches to physical activity in colleges and universities including:

• strengthening implementation of initiatives such as WHO’s “Health Promoting Universities”;
• strengthening opportunities for students, staff, and visitors to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour, by prioritising and enabling access to campuses by walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.

Examples of national and local action

Physical Education

We continue to support schools to meet our commitment of providing two hours of Physical Education in primary schools, or two periods per week in secondary schools. As part of the announced Curriculum Improvement (Review) Cycle for Scottish Education, Education Scotland will begin a review of the Health and Wellbeing Curriculum which will include Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport.

Active Schools

The Active Schools programme contributes to a shared vision and goals for education in Scotland, working in partnership with schools to improve outcomes for children and young people by providing a range of opportunities for children and young people to take part in sport and physical activity beyond the classroom. Active Schools has been evolving since 2004 and is a network of over 400 managers and coordinators across all 32 Local Authorities part funded by Scottish Government through sportscotland.

College Active Campus Network

The College Active Campus Network aims to promote health and well-being among students in higher education delivered in partnership with sportscotland and Colleges Scotland. The investment strengthens the existing network of sport and physical activity staff already working within the college sector through Active Campus Coordinators who work to increase participation opportunities for students. Through the creation of participation opportunities that improve the physical and mental wellbeing of students and staff. It also further enhances the approach colleges take to creating high quality, effective work-based placements for sports students, helping equip them for potential future employment opportunities.

The Daily Mile

The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of children – regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances. It is a social physical activity, with children running, jogging or wheeling– at their own pace – in the fresh air with friends. We want every child to have the opportunity to do The Daily Mile at primary school, and are now working to build The Daily Mile’s community with schools, local councils, sports bodies and other supporters in Scotland. A new Daily Mile Advisory Board has recently been established to oversee the delivery of our plans to increase participation in the Daily Mile across Scotland. The Board includes head teachers as well as representatives from academia, sportscotland, Education Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Cardonald Primary School Daily Mile Story

Cardonald Primary School have been participating in The Daily Mile for over two years and do it every day.

The Daily Mile has become a part of the daily school routine, with the children reminding teachers if they haven’t done their Daily Mile that day! The school created their own Daily Mile challenge where they ran around the world to see how far they could travel! The children fully embraced the challenge and keen to find out how far they had reached and which countries they have visited. They were also very motivated to reach their next target.

The school started their journey in Glasgow in October 2021 and every week, sports leaders would visit classes to count the number of miles each class had done. The mileage would be added up every couple of weeks and at our school assembly they would plot the journey, travelling through a variety of countries, continents, across oceans and deserts to eventually reach the target of arriving back in Glasgow having circumnavigated the globe. On their journey, children learned about the countries visited, and calculated distances between different points. They finally finished after 2 years, covering 47,949 miles, the equivalent of over 1830 marathons!!

Dianne Strang Principal Teacher:

‘The children regularly asked when they can go out and do their Daily Mile, staff enjoy this opportunity for children to have a ‘brain break’ and enjoy the outdoors and the parents were very supportive of the initiative. It’s something the whole school embraced’

Children:

‘it makes me feel fit and enthusiastic’

‘in improves your mental health constantly and gets you outside more’

Active Travel

What we mean by Active Travel

Active Travel refers to journeys made by modes of transport that are fully or partially people-powered, irrespective of the purpose of the journey. It includes walking, people using wheelchairs, cycling (including e-bikes). Active travel modes are at the top of the transport hierarchy and should be prioritised accordingly, with walking and wheeling considered first, followed by cycling, then the remainder of the modes, as per the transport hierarchy.

‘Walking and wheeling’ represents the action of moving as a pedestrian, whether or not someone is walking or wheeling unaided or using any kind of wheeled mobility aid, including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walking frames, prams or buggies. ^[20]

Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome when sectors are working collaboratively on action that prioritises active travel infrastructure and supports and encourages active travel behaviour

Evidence based actions

1. Continue to prioritise investment in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure that enables access to destinations and services, as well as actions that influence active travel behaviour to encourage modal shift.

2. Engage communities in urban and rural transport planning processes to enhance the design of connected and walkable communities.

3. Accelerate implementation of policy actions to improve road safety and the implementation and enforcement of traffic speed restrictions.

4. Upskill local authority transport and planning workforce to create inclusive and equitable active travel infrastructure.

Examples of national and local action

Active Travel Framework

Transport Scotland’s Active Travel Framework brings together the key policy approaches to improving the uptake of walking, wheeling, and cycling. At its heart is an ambition that by 2030 these will be the most popular modes of travel for short, everyday journeys.

To deliver on that vision, Transport Scotland lead nationally on two major areas of work: Active travel infrastructure, and active travel behaviour change. On infrastructure, Transport Scotland allocates infrastructure project funding using a tiered model, The Active Travel Infrastructure Fund, with the first tier considering factors such as population size, population density, and deprivation levels. Funding is available to Local Authorities (LAs), Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs), and National Park Authorities to support strategic projects, which may include public transport integration. Alongside the tiered model, funding is also provided to Sustrans in support of their role as custodians of the National Cycle Network.

On behaviour change, Transport Scotland provides funding and guidance to RTPs through the ‘People and Place’ programme. RTPs work with their respective LAs and other delivery partners to design tailored programmes that provide people with the ability, knowledge, and motivation to choose active and sustainable travel. These services are aligned with regional transport strategies and the needs of local communities, with an emphasis on the link between infrastructure and behaviour change in achieving modal shift. Alongside the People and Place programme, funding is also provided to Cycling Scotland to deliver Bikeability Scotland.

Active Travel Infrastructure

Transport Scotland allocates infrastructure funding using a three-tiered model. Tier 1 funding is provided directly to all Local Authorities based on a distribution methodology which considers population size, population density, and deprivation levels.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 funding is available to Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs)24, and National Park Authorities to bid for through the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund. Tier 2 is intended to support the delivery of prioritised Active Travel Infrastructure projects. An assessment methodology determines which projects receive Tier 2 and Tier 3 funding.

Alongside the tiered model, funding is also provided to Sustrans in support of their role as custodians of the National Cycle Network

Musselburgh path network

The Ian Findlay Path Fund, managed by Paths For All, provides grants which of necessary funding for projects that want to integrate urban design and transport planning. These grants typically target path projects which seek to facilitate active travel and provide safe places to walk for the public. One project from March 2024 has had an immense impact on these factors, improving the capacity for active travel in Musselburgh. The Ian Findlay Path Fund in collaboration with East Lothian Council on behalf of Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government funded upgrades for a path connecting Queen Margaret University to the centre of Musselburgh.

This path now actively meets the needs of locals. The short path runs alongside a railway and residential areas to provide an accessible urban active travel for everyone. By ridding it of all barriers, resurfacing the space, installing new lighting as well as efficient drainage within the space, the path has been transformed to withstand all kinds of traffic and weather. This project serves as one of 22 within the area that is improving the urban design around Queen Margaret University. This joint partnership between the council, Scottish government and council has benefitted students, cyclers, wheelers, walkers and everyone in between.

Active Places and Spaces

What we mean by Active Places and Spaces

The way indoor and outdoor urban, suburban, and rural environments are planned, designed and created influences many of our conscious and unconscious behavioural choices including the way we move. Research shows that adults who live in the most activity-friendly environments engage in at least an hour (up to an hour and a half) more physical activity per week than those living in the least activity-friendly environments. Placemaking is key to the development of active places and spaces and encapsulates the process of creating good quality places for people.

Strategic Outcome

We will achieve this outcome when we have strengthened access and ensured sustainability of good quality public and green spaces, green networks, recreational spaces (including blue), play and sports amenities. Increasing levels of physical activity is a priority within planning considerations

Evidence based actions

1. Integrate urban design, transport planning and land-use policies to enable and promote walking, cycling and other forms of physical activity by creating connected, walkable communities, with equitable and inclusive public space, as well as pedestrian access to a range of local amenities for daily living.

2. Strengthen access to good quality indoor and outdoor public park and open spaces, green (including blue) spaces and infrastructure, green networks, recreational spaces, play spaces and sports amenities through spatial design and community engagement.

3. Increase awareness of access rights in Scotland. Our access legislation has provided a right of responsible access to most land and inland water in Scotland since 2003 and the implementation of this legislation has supported the growth in active recreational activities involving visits to the outdoors.

Examples of national and local action

National Planning Framework 4

Our National Planning Framework 4 launched in 2023, recognises the importance of planning in making better use of our spaces to support physical activity, relaxation and play and associated policies support development that helps to improve health and wellbeing. These policies are intended to encourage, promote and facilitate spaces and opportunities for play, recreation and sport with the aim of improving the natural and built environments with more equitable access to opportunities for play and recreation. In addition, the policy aims to improve physical and mental health through provision of, and access to, outdoor recreation, play and sport facilities.

NPF4 also includes policy aims to encourage, promote and facilitate developments that prioritise walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport for everyday travel and reduce the need to travel unsustainably, with the aim of ensuring that investment in transport infrastructure supports connectivity and reflects place based approaches and local living. It will also support more, better, safer and more inclusive active and sustainable travel opportunities as well as ensuring that developments are in locations which support sustainable travel.

20 Minute Neighbourhoods

The 20 minute neighbourhood concept aims to provide access to the majority of daily needs within a 20 minute walk, wheel, or cycle from home. It is an approach likely to be more readily achievable in urban places, towns, villages, and cities. It is designed to be applied flexibly, in response to local circumstances.

The timeframe of 20 minutes is derived from research undertaken in the fields of health and wellbeing, urban design and planning which explores the associations between walking and local destinations, and the ease of access to local services, infrastructure and community spaces when travelling by foot. This is based on a walk of approximately 10 minutes to any destination(s) and a 10-minute return journey. It is not a prescriptive approach, and the 20 minute travel time is not fixed, nor is it about creating boundaries or restricting people.

Placemaking is incremental, it can take a while to build a thriving and vibrant place that effectively supports local living as places evolve and their communities and their needs change over time. New places and developments should be designed with local living at their heart.

No one organisation or group can alone provide the facilities and services and connections needed to enable local living. To enable local living, collaboration is needed across many organisations, agencies, groups, and with communities.

sportscotland Sports Facilities Fund

In the last 20 years, sportscotland has invested over £235,000,000 of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding in clubs, communities, and leisure trusts across Scotland to improve over 1,000 places where people take part in sport and physical activity.

sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund supports capital projects that help to create or improve places where people take part in sport and physical activity. The Fund invests in sports facilities that offer more and better opportunities for people to participate for the first time or a better experience for those who are already engaged in sport and physical activity.

Prioritisation is given to projects that deliver the greatest impact on our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives. This includes projects that can clearly demonstrate an inclusive approach that targets participants from SIMD areas or areas of rural disadvantage, or those with additional needs, or those from ethnically diverse communities, or other protected characteristics.

Claypits Local Nature Reserve

Scottish Canals led on work at the 10 ha Claypits Local Nature Reserve (LNR). Prior to the project the Claypits LNR was a ‘no-go’ area even during the daytime, the project transformed the area by putting in a barrier free path and boardwalk network, a trail for mountain bikes, disabled access fishing pegs, re-designing the gateway entrances, including viewpoints and creating a feature canal pedestrian bridge linking the Maryhill and Woodside communities with the Claypits LNR, and linking the Hamiltonhill and Possilpark communities with Woodside and Maryhill.

Part of the project also provides surface water drainage enabling the regeneration of neighbouring vacant and derelict sites. Glasgow City Council led regeneration of vacant and derelict sites at Sighthill, which hosted several ex-industrial sites and later had notoriously poor tower-block housing. Greens Cross Housing Association led regeneration work at Hamiltonhill. They created five open spaces, greened the neighbourhood and created an integrated sustainable drainage system network, with all rainwater now passing through the greenspaces before passing to the infrastructure in the Claypits Local Nature Reserve and the canal. This work happened within a wider re-generation project which included the construction of around 600 new homes across Hamiltonhill.

This was prime example of a multi-stakeholder project with several partners. The main partners included SMART Canal programme, Historic Environment Scotland, Glasgow and Clyde Valley Community Health Partnership, NatureScot (European Regional Development Fund), City Deal, Sustrans, Vacant & Derelict Land Fund, Glasgow City Council and Queens Cross Housing Association. The Claypits Local Nature Reserve is now managed by the Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve Management Group.

A study from Glasgow Caledonian University found that there was a 3% improvement in life expectancy for people living within 500m of the regenerated canal, with people having a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease, a stroke or hypertension as well as a reduced risk of diabetes and obesity.^[21]

The regeneration has improved visitor experience of the area, making the space safer and more accessible for local people to use for active travel and recreation. Around 75,000 people live within a 20-minute walk of the Claypits and visitor numbers to the Claypits LNR during 2022 topped 1.4 million visits.

Sustrans opened a new cycling and walking route there in July 2021. It links to wider towpath and National walking and cycling network. The improved connectivity provided has led to increased use of canal towpath, and enables better access for green prescribing from the Woodside Health Centre. There are now frequent volunteer led activities to connect with nature.

The project has won multiple awards for placemaking and community consultation.

Active Health and Social Care

What we mean by Active Health and Social Care

Evidence indicates that healthcare based interventions, either targeting physical activity alone, or combined with interventions for other modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets, are effective and cost-effective. There is particularly strong evidence for providing brief advice and for signposting or referral of patients to physical activity opportunities within the community Interventions are most effective when inactive individuals with the greatest readiness to change are identified, simple and realistic advice is given, and behavioural and cognitive approaches are used to facilitate the adoption and maintenance of physical activity

Strategic Outcome

We will achieve this outcome when we have embedded the provision of appropriate physical activity opportunities and programmes between NHS Scotland, health practitioners and physical activity providers for different patient populations

Evidence based actions

1. Integrate the NHS Physical Activity Pathway into routine healthcare and exiting clinical pathways as part of treatment and rehabilitation for people diagnosed with long term conditions e.g., heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and mental health conditions, as well as into the care and services for pregnant women, people with disabilities and older adults.

2. Develop partnerships between NHS Scotland and physical activity providers across Scotland to embed the provision of appropriate physical activity opportunities and programmes for different patient populations, for example, those living with mental health problems.

3. Support the work of the Movement for Health Coalition which is engaging Scotland’s leading health charities, national agencies and academic institutions to support the least active people living with long term health conditions to be more physically active.

Examples of national and local action

NHS Physical Activity Pathway

For the past decade Public Health Scotland and its predecessor NHS Health Scotland has engaged with territorial NHS Health Boards across Scotland to enable them to raise the issue of physical activity with people within their care. Originally developed by NHS Health Scotland in 2014, the NHS National Physical Activity Pathway (NPAP) provides an evidence based framework to enable health professionals to deliver physical activity screening, brief advice and or brief interventions through routine healthcare.

Physical Activity Referral Standards

The link between health care and community-based opportunities and support services for physical activity has been explored by Public Health Scotland through the development of Physical Activity Referral Standards which articulate the relationship between social prescribing, signposting, and physical activity referral through a tiered approach to physical activity interventions.

Integrating physical activity into the undergraduate curriculum

Opportunities to influence the undergraduate curriculum for medics, nurses and allied health professionals is ongoing through the Scottish Medical School and Schools of Health Physical Activity Collaborative, established by PHS as a forum to increase physical activity knowledge and influence learning through the dissemination of learning resources and the exploration of curriculum content, examinations, and professional registration standards.

GOGA Tayside

Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Tayside is a partnership between NHS Tayside and Scottish Disability Sport (SDS), hosted and lead by the Directorate of Public Health.

Whilst a UK wide programme, GOGA Tayside is the first programme to have an explicit focus on health and wellbeing and a direct a partnership with a health board. The overall aims and objectives of the programme are to support our most inactive groups and people with disabilities to be active together.

GOGA is based upon the principle that local people of all ages and abilities should have access to localised, free, fun and inclusive physical activity opportunities, which can be sustained by the participant.

From programme inception in 2020, which includes online activity delivered during Covid-19, to date, GOGA Tayside has recorded:

20,606 attendances

4751 sessions delivered

424 unique participants between January 2024-April 2024

387 NHS site based (inpatient) participants between January 2024 – April 2024

GOGA’s inclusive, values based delivery model allows our local population to access low level, fun, non threatening activities that improve health and wellbeing and are delivered within the heart of communities.

Ultimately GOGA Tayside takes activity options to local people, rather than expecting the most inactive and those who face significant barriers to engagement, to seek out and access traditional forms of activity, that may not always be suitable or of interest to the individual.

GOGA Tayside, allows us to support people who have the most to gain from a more active lifestyle, to engage with activity that is of interest to them and delivered in a manner that allows activity to become more accessible across the region.

GOGA Tayside recently secured funding from the NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation to expand activity provision on NHS Tayside sites and local communities over a period of 23 months. The delivery of GOGA will be closely monitored and evaluated and governed by a steering group of key, local stakeholders.

A Step in the Right Direction

Edinburgh Leisure is a charity on a mission to keep people active and well. The Active Communities programme supports people of all ages facing the greatest barriers to being active to improve and protect their health and wellbeing through physical activity and sport. This includes people experiencing poverty and inequalities and those living with long term health conditions.

16% of Edinburgh’s population are 65+ and around thirty percent will fall at least once a year (rising to 50% for people 80+). Even the most minor falls have a detrimental effect on an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing, through pain, distress, loss of confidence and lost independence.

Edinburgh Leisure’s Steady Steps project supports adults who have had or may be at risk of having a fall, to improve their strength, balance and mobility through physical activity. Embedded into the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership Falls Prevention Pathway, the fun and sociable classes are led by specialist instructors and help people build their confidence to lead a fuller, more independent life. Referrals come from a range of health care professionals.

Pat (74 years)

Pat embarked on the 16-week programme to address her health challenges including peripheral neuropathy resulting from non-Hodgkin’s lymphatic cancer in 2021, as well as osteoporosis.

Following cancer treatment, Pat experienced a decline in physical function, manifesting in reduced mobility and increased vulnerability to falls. Despite her previous activity levels, she struggled with pain and difficulty with some basic movements and had experienced several falls.

Completing the programme, she was delighted with her progress over a relatively short period of time. Pat says: “Following my cancer treatment, I was unable for example to move sideways – something I used to take for granted - but following the Steady Steps classes, I now have the confidence to do this and so much more. I feel so much more stable, enabling me to walk increasing distances each day as well as attend some gym classes.

Everyone has their own reasons for attending Steady Steps, with some more mobile than others but no matter what stage you are at, our instructor had a way of including everyone ensuring that we each individually progress from week to week.”

Steady Steps participants are encouraged to continue simple exercises at home. Following the class a social session provides the chance for participants to chat to the instructor, and other participants, over a well-deserved cup of tea or coffee.

Active Communications

What we mean by Active Communications

Mass media provide an effective way to transmit consistent and clear messages about physical activity to large populations. Both paid and non-paid forms of media can raise awareness of health benefits, inform about targets and activity guidelines, raise motivation to be active and to stay active, raise self-efficacy to be active, and impact attitudes, beliefs and intentions. Media can also increase awareness of opportunities and ways to be active, stimulate increases in help-seeking behaviours (e.g., interaction on a social media platform or helpline) and contribute to building cultural norms that are favourable to physical activity

Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome when we have integrated communications and public education into both national and local strategies for physical activity ensuring collaboration and cross organisational messaging

Evidence based actions

1. Apply ‘best practice principles’ such as those described in The Physical Activity Messaging Framework (PAMF) and Checklist (PAMC)^[22] to communications by developing positively “gain” framed messages highlighting short-term outcomes relating to social and mental health.

2. Develop and implement a physical activity for health communications plan that operates alongside the proposed actions identified across physical activity system.

3. Engage with the media on mass communication approaches.

Examples of national and local action

Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week

The Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week is an annual Scottish Government campaign that was first established in September 2017. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits of sport and physical activity for women and girls, and provides opportunities to increase the visibility of role models, highlight barriers to participation, host conversation events and ministerial visits, as well as to engage with communities and clubs. The Week is now firmly established as a highly recognisable campaign supported by Scottish Governing Bodies, Active Schools and wider key partners.

In 2023, the total campaign impressions were 39 million across seven social media platforms as well as a large number of new organisations beyond traditional sport and physical activity supporting the Week. This fulfilled the campaign ambitions of broadening the reach, to create more lasting and meaningful impact.

Feel Your Personal Best campaign

As part of their strategic partnership, sportscotland and SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) have jointly developed the ‘Feel Your Personal Best’ social media, digital and press campaign.

‘Feel your personal best’ shares the benefits of physical activity to support mental health. The message is that physical activity is central to good mental health, and small changes – like a daily walk with a friend – can be transformational. The campaign is relevant regardless of fitness level and highlights that physical activity doesn’t need to be strenuous to be effective. This campaign isn’t about clocking steps, miles or fastest times, it’s about finding our own way to get moving.

The second phase of the campaign, #TrySomethingNew provides a joint message to demonstrate the breadth of opportunities available, and highlights that there’s an activity out there to suit everyone.

A range of case studies and user generated content across social media tells the stories of those whose lives have been improved by taking part in physical activity. These real-life examples inspire others to take the first steps towards getting more active, and to take notice of the positive impact it has on their wellbeing.

Dumfries and Galloway Council - DG Doing More Campaign

Dumfries and Galloway Council in partnership with the Health and Social Care Partnership launched the ‘DG Doing More’ regional physical activity campaign in March 2022. The campaign was identified as a key component of a systems-based approach to increasing population levels of physical activity and providing a central multi-agency platform for clear consistent messaging.

DG Doing More consists of a webpage and social media page and aims to provides a one stop shop for physical activity in D&G for adults and older adults. The campaign is designed to positively influence social norms for physical activity while increasing awareness of local opportunities and benefits of being active.

The campaign content was developed using research, behavioural science and public consultation ensuring messages were locally tailored and effective. The concept of physical literacy was embedded across all elements of the campaign to ensure factors critical to positive engagement in physical activity (e.g. motivation, confidence, competence, knowledge and understanding) were priority considerations.

Communications experts provided input at each stage of the campaign design and roll-out to ensure messages and imagery were clear, concise, and consistent. The Councils Communications Team recommended the campaign name as it could be used across all types of movement and enable the easy application of gain framed messaging and imagery which emphasises the social benefits of physical activity.

A public survey in February 2019 collected feedback on the draft DG Doing More website. Analysis found a strong preference for content showing local people and places, a diverse range of participant groups and activities, presented inclusively and accessibly.

Following launch in March 2022, a public survey was undertaken in July 2023 to evaluate the impact of DG Doing More Campaign. The survey found:

14% of local adults had used the website

49% of users reported positive changes to their physical activity behaviours.

Between 58% (confidence) and 80% (knowledge and understanding) strongly reported a positive effect on physical literacy

76% found the website was specific to Dumfries and Galloway

A review of website and social media analytics demonstrate excellent reach/engagement, with 66,287 website views in the first 2 years. Facebook reach increased from 6,400 per month pre-launch to 28,372 post-launch.

Active Sport and Recreation

What we mean by Active Sport and Recreation

The sport and active recreation sector provides opportunities for people of all ages to be physically active. A variety of organisations provide a wide range of programmes and opportunities to get involved in both formal and informal sport and recreation activities such as active play, dance, recreational walking and wheeling and cycling. This includes national bodies such as sportscotland, Scottish governing bodies of sport, local authorities, leisure trusts, sport clubs, community organisations, the third sector, schools, colleges and universities.

Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome when we have ensured that sport and active recreation opportunities target people and communities where the need is greatest, and the participation rates are lower while also supporting those who are already active to remain so.

Evidence based actions

1. Prioritise the least active as well as retaining existing, and returning, participants.

2. Build workforce capacity; enhance the knowledge, skills and competency of the workforce to engage, motivate and enable, inclusive and equitable opportunities.

3. Provide universally accessible programmes and mass participation events for people of all ages and abilities across multiple settings; urban and natural environments, community recreation and sports facilities, schools, workplaces, and healthcare settings; create a social norm for participation in sport and recreation.

4. Strengthen access to places, spaces and services that enable equitable and inclusive access and reduce inequalities; accessible and appropriate places and spaces (indoor and outdoor facilities and amenities, and opportunities through formal and informal clubs and programs), affordable and tailored programmes, opening of the school estate through the shared use of facilities.

Examples of national and local action

Supporting club and community sport

sportscotland works in partnership with Scottish governing bodies of sport (SGBs) and national organisations to collectively provide leadership and support to clubs, community sport hubs and community organisations with an aim to ensure that sport clubs are part of the fabric of their local communities, are focused on improving the quality and quantity of opportunities and deliver against inclusion and wider outcomes that meet local need. Over 750,000 people are members of a sports club affiliated to Scottish governing body of sport (SGB) and sportscotland currently invests over £20 million a year into these SGBs and national partners to support their work.

The Community Sport Hub programme, funded by The National Lottery, has been evolving since 2010 and is one of sportscotland’s key programmes supporting sports clubs, delivered in partnership with local authorities and leisure trusts across Scotland. A Community Sport Hub (CSH) is a local collective of sports clubs & other community organisations that come together to improve the contribution that sport & physical activity has on a community. Leaders from these organisations work together to develop active communities where everyone benefits from sport & physical activity.

Play Vision

The Scottish Government will publish its Play Vision Statement and Action plan 2024 -2030 later in 2024, building on the 2013 play strategy and re-affirming our commitment to aiding children’s development through all types of play, supporting increased and improved play opportunities for all children and families, and empowering professionals to adopt and promote play in their contact with children and families. The Vision Statement will be grounded in evidence from the recent lived experience of children in Scotland alongside academic research on play and children’s development. It will be supported by an Action Plan outlining some of the crucial steps we will undertake until 2030 to achieve a Scotland where play opportunities are embedded in all aspects of a child’s life to support their healthy development, physical and mental wellbeing.

South Ayrshire Community Sports Hub Network

The South Ayrshire Community Sports Hub (CSH) Network work to develop active communities where everyone benefits from sport and physical activity.

Recognising the levels of inactivity in their area, particularly for older adults, the Community Sport Hub looked to complement their inclusive local offer catering for those whose individual needs were not met through more formal sport and recreational activity. Those who are inactive may face barriers to engaging in physical activity such as low confidence, poor physical or mental health and isolation.

Health Walks are low level, accessible, short, recreational group walks that are free to attend, led by trained Walk Leaders along a risk assessed route. They support the most inactive people to take part. They can be open or tailored and often start from accessible local places such as local halls, GP practices, schools, leisure centres and cafes. The local team saw the potential in Health Walks to complement their delivery programme and joined the Scottish Health Walk Network (SHWN) to access training for Health Walk Leaders and establish local opportunities in areas of highest priority linked with the Community Sports Hub model.

South Ayrshire Health Walks was created and now provide 14 regular opportunities across the South Ayrshire- from Troon in the North to Ballantrae in the South. Between 100 and 120 participants attend at least one Health Walk each week. The programme is inclusive and supports a diverse range of participants with varied needs and requirements including Additional Support Needs and sensory impairment. Dementia friendly walks making up part of the regular programme.

The walks are supported by 45 Active Walk Leaders, mostly volunteers, supported by the wider Health and Wellbeing team.

The Scottish Health Walk Network is delivered by Paths for All who accredit and support Health Walk providers throughout Scotland who provide accessible programmes in communities responding to local needs. The model is underpinned by the provision of high quality training for volunteers and staff to ensure that opportunities are inclusive and equitable and prioritise the engagement of the least active as well as retaining existing, and returning, participants.

To support their successful and expanding health Walks offer South Ayrshire council secured funding from their local Health and Social are partnership and Paths for All’s Walking for Health Fund (supported by Active Scotland) to support the creation of a Health Walk development officer role to support new and existing walks through recruitment, training, promotion and activities associated with supporting a network of volunteers. The programme is dependent on a number of key partnerships, with various community groups, sponsors, education and wider public services, including the members of the Health & Social Care Partnership.

Active Workplaces

What we mean by Active Workplaces

Workplace-based physical activity interventions can provide physical, mental, and social health benefits as well as reduced absenteeism and burnout among employees. International advice is clear that we need to enhance provision of, and opportunities for, physical activity programmes and promotion in workplace environments that facilitate people of all abilities to be physically active. Workplace policies that are developed and tailored for various sectors, should encourage and promote physical activity as well as the need to interrupt sedentary behaviour for all employees and promote a culture of health which supports employees wellbeing and productivity.

Strategic Outcome

We will have achieved this outcome when everyday physical activity is supported in workplaces in Scotland.

Evidence based actions

1. Provide leadership by implementing workplace health initiatives to support employees increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour, particularly through increasing incidental physical activity during the working day.

2. Develop and disseminate guidance and promote implementation of workplace health programmes aimed at increasing physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviour and promoting incidental physical activity during the working day for employees, in different occupations and settings, with a priority focus on the least active.

3. Create workplaces that are designed to enable employees and visitors to be physically active in and around the buildings, and access by pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.

4. Raise awareness amongst employers of the evidence of wellbeing benefits to employees and retention/motivation

Examples of national and local action

Active Workplaces – reducing sedentary behaviour when working at home.

Researchers from the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) at University of Edinburgh worked in collaboration with a range of stakeholders to try to understand more about sedentary behaviour when working at home, and how best to support employees to move more for health and well-being. The team have developed a Toolkit of resources informed by behaviour change theory to support employees to ‘Move your Way During the Working at Home Day’ (available via Actify). The Toolkit includes guidance on why sedentary behaviour when working at home is an issue, and a range of ‘tools’ structured around four themes;

1) ‘Move more’ meetings;

2) Active breaks;

3) Active commute;

4) Using technology.

Each theme provides a number of suggestions on how to move more and includes strategies to facilitate effective behaviour change.

NHS Grampian Step Count Challenge

Supporting employees to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour, particularly through increasing incidental physical activity during the working day.

The Step Count Challenge provides leadership by implementing workplace health initiatives across Scotland. NHS Grampian has partnered with Paths for All for the last four years to develop this programme as a bespoke challenge encouraging an organisational-wide effort to aid physical and mental health. This programme has put particular emphasis on encouraging mental well-being during the winter months in addition to the positive physical effects. While typically Step Count Challenges commence in either Autumn or Spring, this challenge starts in January and runs for four weeks.

Over the past few years, this programme has had remarkable impacts on the staff involved with the competition. In January 2024, 10% of the total staff working signed up for the competition, making it the third largest workplace competition within all the teams signed up. Before commencing the challenge, participants were asked what their expectations of the challenge were. They detailed that they were motivated to join to be more physically active and to participate in something fun with their colleagues. Three months after the challenge finished, evaluation of the programme showed that there was a substantial positive impact on physical activity levels and mental wellbeing amongst those who participated. This programme shows that intentional and targeted approach to improving active workplaces can have enormous benefits.