Altogether Active
Start, stay and succeed
A framework to increase physical activity in County Durham
Altogether
better
Durham
County Durham Partnership
2016 - 2021
Altogether Active
Start, stay and succeed
A framework to increase physical activity in County Durham
2016 - 2021
This framework provides an overarching vision to increase
physical activity over the next five years for all people living in County
Durham. It explains the need for development of a framework, what we would
like to achieve, and how we will work towards this.
Why is the framework needed?
There is compelling evidence that being physically active
can help people to lead healthier and happier lives, and that
empowering residents to ‘start, stay and succeed’ in physical
activity can make a significant and valuable contribution in
supporting the Altogether Better priorities for County Durham,
Altogether Wealthier, Altogether Better for Children and Young
People, Altogether Healthier, Altogether Safer and Altogether
Greener.
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For instance;
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Physically active workers take on average 27% fewer sick
days than those who are inactive.
Sport for development projects can help to improve
educational attainment by 12.7%.
Active adults have a 30% lower chance of feeling distressed
or a 30% higher chance of enhanced wellbeing than those
who are inactive.
Sports programmes are estimated to have reduced the
risk of anti-social behaviour and crime by 15.8%.
An individual switching five journeys of fewer than
2km each week from the car to walking would reduce
their carbon footprint by 86kg per year.
Increasing physical activity can make a significant contribution
to reversing this trend.
The journey to produce this framework, and the framework
itself, are crucial in securing and cementing the contribution of
physical activity to wider county outcomes. The framework will
provide County Durham with a coordinated approach to tackling
physical inactivity and raising activity levels, as an essential
ingredient in County Durham being ‘Altogether Better’.
So what is physical activity?
Physical activity is an all-encompassing term that includes any
kind of movement that raises the heart rate and so helps to
improve mental and physical well-being. Active living including
active travel, everyday activity, active recreation, play, exercise
and sport (casual and formal) are all elements of physical
activity.
The World Health Organisation defines physical activity as ‘any
bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires
energy expenditure’. The diagram below shows the relationship
between the separate elements that connect to physical activity.
However, despite boasting a wealth of strategic assets including
some excellent built facilities, natural landscapes, a skilled
workforce, strong partnerships and creative programmes, there
still remains an alarming gap between the minority of County
Durham’s population who are active or ‘active enough’ and the
many residents who are simply not active at all.
In 2014, 32.1% of the county’s adult population were classified
as inactive, with 44.5% failing to meet recommended levels of
physical activity. This inactivity is leading to an epidemic in
lifestyle-led conditions, which together create an unsustainable
economic burden on the county. Indeed, it is estimated that
the annual health, social & economic cost of physical inactivity
is in excess of £100 million.
Physical
Activity
Bodily movement
that raises
heart rate
Active Living
Everyday Activity
Active travel,
housework, gardening,
DIY, occupational
activity, play
Active
Recreation
Recreational walking,
recreational cycling,
dance, occasional
swimming for
fun, play
Sport
Individual pursuits,
informal sport,
structured competitive
activity
Our Vision
Our vision is to encourage more people of all ages and backgrounds to ‘start, stay and
succeed’ in their endeavours to be more physically active and in doing so contribute to
an Altogether Better County Durham.
What do we want to achieve?
This framework will:
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Look to attract more people to start and stay being
active and so contribute to addressing a range of issues
including health inequalities, a greener environment, social
capacity and community cohesion, the economy, improved
attainment and lifelong learning.
Focus resource to encourage people to move towards
achieving the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO)
recommendations on physical activity which are:
Everyone to minimise the amount of sedentary
time spent sitting and to maximise opportunities for
physical activity.
Every child under 5 who can walk unaided to be
physically active for at least 180 minutes throughout
each day, including movement of all the major muscle
groups.
Every child aged 5-18 to engage in moderate to
vigorous intensity physical activity for at least
60 minutes every day, including undertaking activities
that strengthen muscle and bone.
Every adult (including older adults 65+) to undertake
150 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical
activity per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more, with
physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least
two of these days.
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Ensure that those responsible for planning and funding
recognise that for some residents and communities there
are additional barriers to starting and staying active.
For example:
Levels of deprivation
A disability or long term medical condition
Gender, race and ethnicity
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Acknowledge that inactivity is complex and that the above
barriers can be more relevant at different stages of the
life-course. This can mean that some people fail to succeed
in moving towards the CMO recommendations, or start
enthusiastically only to drop out as further barriers emerge at
particular transition points in life. Ultimately, those that remain
inactive, or drop out, increase their risk towards a poorer
quality of life.
Encourage partners to develop intelligent, evidence based
solutions, recognising that various approaches are required
to reach different sections of the population, yet to also make
a difference at scale, and therefore to change the
culture of inactivity in County Durham.
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Seek to create a county where participants enjoy safe
and high quality physical activity experiences which
assist them in sustaining their participation.
Provide opportunities for progression, helping people
to achieve the very best they can.
Our key measures of success
Consultation to date recognises that we need to be able to
measure the impact of our work. We need to ensure that how
we invest resources makes a difference to overall physical
activity levels, and aids better understanding of the extent to
which we are achieving our vision.
Whilst we will seek to develop a whole system performance
management framework we recognise the need for some key
high level measures. It is important that those chosen reflect
the wide definition of physical activity that this framework
supports.
For adults (16+) we are proposing to use the measures for
physical activity and inactivity reported in the Public Health
Outcomes Framework for England (2013-16) as our principal
measures.
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The physical activity measure is the percentage of adults
achieving a minimum of 150 minutes of at least moderate
intensity physical activity per week and the CMO definition
of physical activity matches that within this framework.
The physical inactivity measure is the percentage of adults
classified as “inactive”, or doing less than 30 minutes of
at least moderate intensity physical activity per week.
For children the potential key measures are not as clear.
Currently there is no national, consistently collected data.
On this basis we wil look to develop a local measure of
participation to reflect the
county’s progress and/or
work with national
partners to inform a new
national arrangement.
We welcome ideas
and opinion from
experts on how
we might take
this challenge
forward as part of
the consultation to this
new framework.
County Durham Physical Activity Framework
Enablers
Leadership
& governance
Collaboration
Opportunities
to participate
An
enhanced
workforce
Built environment
(indoor & outdoor)
Programmed
activity
The key components
to achieve our vision
The framework is represented in the diagram above. Through
a number of ‘enablers’, which are pre-conditions for the
achievement of the vision, County Durham residents be able
to take advantage of opportunities to ‘start, stay and succeed’
in their endeavours to be more physically active. As residents
become and remain active, this will contribute to the
achievement of our shared long-term vision for the county,
our ambitions for the area and the priorities that partners and
communities believe are important – an Altogether Better
County Durham.
Start
– is about getting people moving. Walking to the shops,
taking the stairs at work, doing some gardening, playing with
friends, training for a park run or playing sport for a team.
We need to focus on being active as a means to the end.
It’s not necessarily the activity itself that’s important (although
it will be for some people), more the benefits that it brings.
Stay
– we need to keep people active. Whatever the barriers
of age and in life, we need to make sure people do a small
amount of activity each day to provide a healthier lifestyle.
We need to help individuals, organisations, clubs, schools
and workplaces to provide the right environment, programming
and offer to sustain regular participation.
Succeed – achieving goals and feeling
good is as important to the beginner
as it is to the aspiring champion.
We need to provide support,
reward and motivation to everyone,
at all stages of their journey.
Above all, success has to be
residents, who are healthier
and happier through being
more physically active.
Start
Through:
Natural
environment
Empowered
individuals &
communities
An
evidence
based
approach
Vision
Stay
Succeed
More people of
all ages and
backgrounds
to ‘start, stay
and succeed’
in their
endeavours
to be more
physically
active
County outcomes
Altogether Better
Durham
Altogether Healthier
Altogether Better
for Children &
Young People
Altogether Wealthier
Altogether Safer
Altogether Greener
Enablers
Leadership & governance – This is about strategic leaders
playing an advocacy role for the importance of physical activity,
lobbying for and allocating resource suitably and making
decisions which help to turn the tide on physical inactivity.
An evidence based approach – The collection of robust
quantitative and qualitative data and evidence on the benefits
of physical activity, current participation, barriers and motives
to participation and good practice, which all should inform
and aid decision making, prioritisation and resource allocation.
Collaboration – A cross sectoral partnership with a clear
governance structure reaching to all parts of the county,
to ensure coordinated allocation of resource, commissioning
and delivery both county wide and more locally, with links to
regional and national support structures as appropriate.
An enhanced workforce – A well trained work force, delivering
to the highest standards, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity.
Empowered individuals & communities –
Clear routes into physical activity and a coordinated approach
to communications and social marketing, which helps to
encourage and motivate people to become more active.
Opportunities to participate – Recognition of the
extensive natural and built environment to support
both informal and formal opportunities combined
with the wider opportunities presented by
structured programmes to engage
participants. This will reflect the mixed
economy in provision and that some
participation relies upon no providers
at all.
How will the framework be delivered?
During initial consultation it has become clear that a new Altogether Active Partnership Board is required
to oversee the new framework and its approach.
Consultation to date has emphasised that this partnership board needs to lead and engage to ensure physical activity
is a cross cutting theme to the County Durham Partnership, and so always recognising the far reaching impacts of
physical activity on the wider economy, learning, inclusion and health and happiness.
It is recognised that representation on this partnership board should fully reflect
the needs of the framework and its priorities and requires to be executive in nature
and refreshed as priorities require.
Further opportunities for inclusion and engagement will come from wider groups
and networks, all of which should feed into the partnership for planning purposes
and to measure impact against the overall vision.
This document recognises that the current leadership, governance and
network of partnerships for sport and physical
activity are not clear or cohesive to everyone.
Key first steps
We recognise that this draft framework is the start of a journey
towards an Altogether Active County Durham. Initially, there
needs to be:
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A new Altogether Active Partnership Board, with agreed
membership and clear terms of reference.
An agreement on the connection between this Board and
the County Durham Partnership.
A focus on an evidence based approach to ensure that
the measures of success and targeting of resources
are appropriate.
A detailed action plan to ensure we work towards
success in each of the enablers and don’t just focus
on new opportunities.
Who is involved?
The aspirations of this framework will only be achieved through
effective partnerships. The following have played a role in
developing this framework and all have a vital role to play
moving forward.
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Durham County Council
Clinical Commissioning Groups
County Durham Sport and Physical Activity Partnership
Further education and university sector
Schools
Community and health trusts
Community voluntary sector
National governing bodies for sport
Sport England
National Physical Activity Alliance
Youth Sports Trust
County Durham Sport
So what will success look like in 2021?
Our vision is to encourage more people of all ages and backgrounds to ‘start, stay and succeed’ in their endeavours to be more
physically active and in doing so contribute to an Altogether Better County Durham.
Ultimately, by 2021, it is hoped that more people in County Durham are achieving the CMO recommendations for physical activity
for their age, and that less people are inactive. For this to be achieved we need to focus our efforts to strengthen each of the
“enablers”, or preconditions for success. The following suggests what success and might look like for each of these enablers.
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An established partnership board exists and is active, with
broad strategic representation aligned to Altogether Better
priorities.
All board members are fully engaged and take every
opportunity to champion and connect physical activity
to wider priorities.
Dedicated and sustained resources are acknowledged as
fundamental to increasing physical activity, and are made
available at the required level.
Physical activity is recognised and features appropriately
in all key strategic documents.
An evidence-based approach
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Greater insight is developed and available around
barriers to participation and the opportunities that exist
to drive increased participation.
All available joint insight is used to shape priorities and
investment.
Existing good practice is recognised and replicated in
development of new interventions to increase physical
activity.
Priorities and targets are clear and a consistent and
transparent performance management approach is
in place to facilitate monitoring, evaluation and review.
Collaboration
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A multi-agency and cross-sectoral partnership structure
exists to support the partnership board in planning and
delivering on the framework.
A physical activity plan is in place, with key partners taking
responsibility for delivery and/or facilitation of actions to
deliver on agreed priority outcomes.
Insight and learning is shared across physical activity
providers, and active partnership and joint resourcing are
seen as the norm in developing and delivering services.
There is a coordinated approach to marketing and
communications, to raise general awareness of the
opportunities to participate in physical activity and the
individual benefits in doing so.
This is a consultative framework and we welcome your
feedback on its content and ideas. If you would like to do
this please email [email protected] no later
than 20 December 2015. A feedback form is available which
we can forward to you on request.
Should you wish to raise a specific query you can call
the Durham County Council Culture and Sport enquiry
line on 03000 282 012.
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An enhanced workforce
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There is a coordinated approach to workforce planning
and development, including volunteers.
A workforce development plan exists, containing clear
workforce development priorities aligned to identified need.
A competency framework is in place which ensures that all
staff involved in supporting an increase in physical activity
hold suitable knowledge, experience and skills to fulfil their
role to the highest standards.
The number of available trained physical activity leaders is
sufficient to achieve agreed physical activity priorities and
opportunities for training and progression are in place for all.
Empowered individuals & communities
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Routes into physical activity are clear and available
to all residents.
Advice, guidance and support, to ‘start, stay and succeed’,
is available and easy to access.
Role models are recruited and used to challenge inactivity
and to inspire action.
Individual or collective ‘success stories’ are profiled and
are brought to wider public attention.
A programme of events and campaigns exist, which
highlights County Durham as a great place to be active
and helps to showcase the benefits of physical activity
to the County’s residents.
There is a year-on-year increase in reported levels of
physical activity and decrease in reported levels of
inactivity in County Durham.
Opportunities to participate (both built and natural)
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Innovative physical activity programmes are in place which
are seen to remove barriers, and to extend physical activity
opportunities to all.
Successful programmes are strengthened and up scaled
to ensure impact at a whole population level.
There is sustained and prioritised investment to maintain,
improve or add to built facilities and outdoor assets.
The stock of built facilities and outdoor assets supports a
range of participation, from informal grass-roots physical
activity to elite performance sport.
Opportunities are available for individuals to participate
at their desired level, for socialising, fun and enjoyment
through to sporting excellence.
Thank you for taking time to review this document
and we look forward to receiving your feedback.
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Leadership & governance