Background: Physical fitness testing is commonplace within schools and the physical education (PE) curriculum, with advocates claiming one of the key purposes of testing to be the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity. Despite this, much controversy has surrounded the fitness testing of young people. Purpose: This paper draws on selected findings of a recent ‘fitness testing children feasibility study’ to explore the key issues, concerns and debates regarding fitness testing, as they relate to encouraging a physically active lifestyle. Research design: The feasibility study was commissioned by the National Assembly for Wales and involved two main parts: a comprehensive review of the literature (using metalib) to establish the key findings/issues, and consultation with key ‘stakeholders’ and ‘experts’ to ascertain their views, understanding and experiences of fitness testing children. The consultation was carried out via questionnaires and interviews. Data analysis: The key issues and themes emerging from the literature from 1985 onwards were identified and served as evidence for the debate. The questionnaire and interview data were analysed by quantifying the questionnaire responses and identifying the common issues and themes emerging from the transcripts (and the open items within the questionnaires). These were then used to reinforce, substantiate and illustrate key points. Findings: The findings reveal that the role fitness testing plays in PE in promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity is questionable and cannot be taken for granted. For example, little evidence was found to support the notion that fitness tests promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity, motivate young people, or develop the knowledge and skills that are important to a sustained engagement in an active lifestyle. Conclusion: Based on the evidence, the paper concludes that much of the fitness testing carried out in PE may well represent a misdirected effort in the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity, and that PE time could therefore be better spent.

This article explores the role of knowledge and understanding in fostering physical literacy, which is considered fundamental to successful participation in physical activity, and to valuing and taking responsibility for engaging in physical activities for life. First, it highlights the place and importance of knowledge and understanding within the broad concept, cognitive domain, and attributes of physical literacy. The type, scope, and progression of knowledge and understanding deemed necessary to foster physical literacy are then explored, with attention paid to knowledge of health within the school context in particular. To conclude, the article outlines selected pedagogical approaches and practical strategies for developing and monitoring such knowledge and understanding.

Various government policies, strategies and responses in England over the years have highlighted schools and physical education to be instrumental in addressing health and the focus on health has been strengthened within subsequent revisions of the National Curriculum. Whilst this might seem encouraging, concerns have been expressed that such policies and governmental regulation increasingly bear features of a ‘performative culture’ and that these have led to increasingly widespread health surveillance in schools. Linked to this are long-standing concerns over the way in which health is addressed in schools and physical education, as well as over some of the monitoring measures and practices employed within the curriculum. Despite this, little is known about monitoring practices in physical education. This article, therefore, presents findings of a study which aimed to (1) determine the nature, prevalence and purpose of monitoring health, physical activity and physical fitness within the physical education curriculum and (2) establish physical education teachers' views of and approaches to monitoring. The study comprised two phases. The first phase involved a survey completed by Heads of Physical Education in 110 secondary schools from across England, and the second semi-structured interviews with 18 of those from the original sample. The findings revealed monitoring, and in particular fitness monitoring, to be a common feature within the physical education curriculum in many schools. However, a number of issues and limitations associated with monitoring and some of the schools' monitoring practices were identified, and the individualistic nature and performative culture reflected in and reinforced through monitoring were acknowledged as potentially problematic. It was thus suggested that if the findings are typical, then monitoring practice is currently not in a good state of health. The article concludes proposing a way forward for monitoring within physical education in the form of some recommendations for practice.

The role of schools and physical education in promoting health, producing a ‘healthy nation’ and in tackling obesity has been increasingly recognised in recent years. In England this is evidenced by various policies, strategies and responses from government that have highlighted schools to be instrumental in addressing health broadly and obesity specifically. In addition, individual schools and teachers at the local level appear to be responding to the obesity issue in varied and different ways. However, we and other researchers feel that the discourse surrounding obesity and some of the reports, messages, policies and measures being taken to tackle it are misleading, misguided and could do more harm than good. At the same time, as physical educators committed to the health and development of young people, we feel unable to ignore the issue and compelled to act. We contend that ‘every child of every size matters’ and can benefit from regular engagement in physical education and physical activity and furthermore that, as a profession, we have a responsibility to provide all young people, of all sizes, with meaningful, relevant and positive physical education and physical activity experiences. Given this, we consider what role physical education can and should realistically, sensibly and safely play in addressing childhood overweight and obesity. Firstly, some of the key ‘facts’, issues and debates concerning obesity are explored and the way in which the issue appears to be being addressed in many schools is critiqued. We then briefly summarise some of the formal guidance and recommendations available to schools on obesity, before concluding with some practical recommendations to support physical education teachers in effectively engaging all children in physical activity both within and beyond physical education.

This study investigated the nature and extent of physical activity promotion in a sample of secondary schools in central England. Questionnaires were completed by 42 physical education Heads of Department and questions covered a range of contexts for the promotion of physical activity in schools including the curriculum, the informal curriculum, the environment, community, and school policies and ethos. Results showed that schools varied in the amount and nature of physical activity opportunities they provided. Encouraging curriculum developments were evident in some schools and extra-curricular activities and community links appeared to be thriving in most. However, the environments and policies in many schools were not always conducive to physical activity participation and problems were evident with liaison, finance and INSET. It was concluded that, while most teachers were working hard to promote physical activity in some areas of the school, many other avenues for physical activity promotion were being overlooked.

The promotion of physical activity within schools and physical education (PE) has attracted growing interest in recent years. Schools have been acknowledged as the primary institution with responsibility for promoting activity in young people and more specifically, school PE has been recognized as having a key role to play. Given this, and based on previous reviews of the findings of formally evaluated interventions, this paper considers the evidence for the effectiveness of school-based physical activity interventions and highlights the key trends and a number of issues concerning their type, target population, design, implementation and content. Earlier reviews have provided comprehensive summaries of the effectiveness of physical activity interventions but they have not provided specific guidance for teachers’ practice in schools. Thus, whilst it is acknowledged that the existing literature is not sufficiently extensive to provide definitive guidelines for schools, this paper considers the implications for practice and presents recommendations for future physical activity programmes, initiatives and interventions.