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Physical education (PE) has a firmly established place in Scottish schools. While there is much to celebrate, evidencing pupil learning, the professional socialization of teachers, and the risk of motor development delay in the early years of schooling are among a range of factors that suggest redesign is warranted. The national Curriculum for Excellence, certificated Physical Education in Senior High School, fundamental movement skills in the early years and mental health and wellbeing among young people are discussed. Two design principles emerge. The first is a need for teachers to optimize the agency the Scottish system provides them to work within networked learning communities to improve teaching and learning. The second is to discover ways to provide evidence of pupil learning on a routine basis, to optimise further physical education's contribution within the school system. These principles will enable redesign to meet new, emerging challenges to young people's health and wellbeing.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the long-term effectiveness of the ‘Multimove for Kids’ program, a fundamental motor skills intervention for typically developing children between 3 and 8 years, and to determine the influence of participation in organized sports on motor competence (MC) six years after the intervention. Method: Of the 992 children who took part in the ‘Multimove’ program, 399 (intervention group: N=228, control group: N=171) were tested again at 6-year follow-up. MC was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd Edition. To examine the long-term impact of ‘Multimove’ on MC and the effect of participation in organized sports a latent growth curve analysis was conducted. Results: After the 30-week intervention, the intervention group outperformed the control group (=5.57, p

Objectives: Physical activity (PA) is associated with many health benefits but low PA levels have been reported across the globe, even among young children. Despite evidence in support of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Deci & Ryan, 2000)–proposed relationships between competence satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and PA in adults and adolescents, there is only limited proof that these relationships also apply to children. Likewise, there is no conclusive evidence for the mediating effect of perceived motor competence (PMC) in the relationship between actual motor competence (AMC) and PA in children, as suggested by the conceptual model (Stodden et al., 2008). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine whether the PA-pathways as suggested by the conceptual model and SDT apply to children. Methods: 627 children (51.67% boys, 8-13 yrs) completed validated questionnaires to assess weekly sports participation (FPAQ), PMC (SPPC), competence satisfaction (PNSE), and motivation for sports (BREQ). Children's AMC was assessed with the KTK. Structural Equation Modeling was conducted to examine the theory-based pathways from AMC via PMC, competence satisfaction, and autonomous motivation to organized sports participation. Results: We found a significant, direct effect from AMC to sports participation (beta=.142, p=.001) with PMC, but not competence satisfaction or autonomous motivation, partially mediating this relationship (beta =.119, p

Motor competence in childhood is an important determinant of physical activity and physical fitness in later life. However, childhood competence levels in many countries are lower than desired. Due to the many motor skill instruments in use children’s motor competence across countries is rarely compared. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor competence of children from Australia and Belgium using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK). The sample consisted of 244 (43.4% boys) Belgian children and 252 (50.0% boys) Australian children, aged 6 to 8 years (Australian 7.6 ± 0.7 and Belgian 7.3 ± 0.9). MANCOVA for the motor scores showed a significant country effect (F = 14.61, p < 0.001). Belgian children scored higher on jumping sideways (F = 6.61, p = 0.01), moving sideways (F = 40.52, p < 0.001) and hopping for height (F = 8.28, p = 0.004) but not for balancing backwards (F = 2.64, p = 0.105). Moreover, a Chi squared test revealed significant differences between the Belgian and Australian score distribution with 21.3% Belgian and 39.3% Australian children scoring ‘below average’ (χ2 = 23.06, p < 0.001). The very low levels reported by Australian children may be the result of cultural differences in physical activity contexts such as physical education and active transport. When compared to normed scores, both samples scored significantly worse than children 40 years ago. The decline in children’s motor competence is a global issue, largely influenced by increasing sedentary behaviour and a decline in physical activity.