Trial reportBMJ open2019
Introducing physically active lessons in UK secondary schools: feasibility study and pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness and promising behavioral change techniques in interventions aimed at promoting physical activity in adolescents: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Are school-based behavioural interventions an effective strategy for improving physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents? A meta-analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Intervention Strategies to Increase Adolescents' Physical Activity and Reduce Sedentary Time in Secondary School Settings, Including Factors Related to Implementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2024Pooled it
- Evaluation of feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of school-based physical activity "active break" interventions in pre-adolescent and adolescent students: a systematic review.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2022Pooled it
- School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of physically active learning on physical activity levels in secondary school students: The ACTIVE CLASS Study.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- Feasibility and acceptability of an implementation strategy to enhance use of classroom-based physical activity approaches in elementary schools: a mixed methods study.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Mapping Movement Integration in Secondary Schools: A Scoping Review of Evidence.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Article
- Feasibility of LifeLab Dublin: a co-designed health literacy intervention for socioeconomic disadvantaged schools.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Teacher acceptability of physically active learning in UK secondary schools - a mixed methods study.PloS one · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of secondary-school based interventions on the future physical activity of adolescents in Aotearoa New Zealand: a modelling study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Acceptability and perceived feasibility of the KaziKidz health promotion intervention among educators and caregivers in schools from South Africa: a qualitative descriptive study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Effects of two years of physically active lessons on cognitive indicators in children.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Online physically active academic lessons in COVID-19 times: A pilot study.Teaching and teacher education · 2022Article
- Systematic review of the characteristics of school-based feasibility cluster randomised trials of interventions for improving the health of pupils in the UK.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2022Review
- Behaviours that prompt primary school teachers to adopt and implement physically active learning: a meta synthesis of qualitative evidence.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Article
- Using a multi-stakeholder experience-based design process to co-develop the Creating Active Schools Framework.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Article
- Changes in Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Well-Being Following a School-Based Health Promotion Program in a Norwegian Region with a Poor Public Health Profile: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study in Early Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Implementing physically active learning: Future directions for research, policy, and practice.Journal of sport and health science · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAssess feasibility, acceptability and costs of delivering a physically active lessons (PAL) training programme to secondary school teachers and explore preliminary effectiveness for reducing pupils' sedentary time. DESIGN AND
settingSecondary schools in East England; one school participated in a pre-post feasibility study, two in a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial. In the pilot trial, blinding to group assignment was not possible.
participantsAcross studies, 321 randomly selected students (51% male; mean age: 12.9 years), 78 teachers (35% male) and 2 assistant head teachers enrolled; 296 (92%) students, 69 (88%) teachers and 2 assistant head teachers completed the studies.
interventionPAL training was delivered to teachers over two after-school sessions. Teachers were made aware of how to integrate movement into lessons; strategies included students collecting data from the environment for class activities and completing activities posted on classroom walls, instead of sitting at desks. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to assess feasibility and acceptability of PAL training and delivery. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and ~8 weeks post-training; measures included accelerometer-assessed activity, self-reported well-being and observations of time-on-task. Process evaluation was conducted at follow-up.
resultsIn the feasibility study, teachers reported good acceptability of PAL training and mixed experiences of delivering PAL. In the pilot study, teachers' acceptability of training was lower and teachers identified aspects of the training in need of review, including the outdoor PAL training and learning challenge of PAL strategies. In both studies, students and assistant head teachers reported good acceptability of the intervention. Preliminary effectiveness for reducing students' sedentary time was not demonstrated in either study.
conclusionsNo evidence of preliminary effectiveness on the primary outcome and mixed reports of teachers' acceptability of PAL training suggest the need to review the training. The results do not support continuation of research with the current intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN38409550.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.