BECOME A NATIONAL COORDINATOR
MOVING Schools Award Guidelines for National Coordinators
What is the MOVING Schools Award?
The MOVING Schools Award enables schools to evaluate and compare their sport and physical activity related programs and practices to other schools’ in other European countries, in order to be able to fully utilize possibilities to provide space, time and opportunities for students to be physically active.
The European physical activity label focuses on three different dimensions:
- Physical education in schools (seen as an educational course and part of the curriculum), from the quality P.E. perspective
- Extracurricular physical activity programs with focus on health-enhancing physical activity – hereinafter: HEPA - organized in or by the schools or pupils themselves
- School sport (competitive and non-competitive sport activities and events in or between schools
In order to obtain the label, schools first have to register on the website. By registering, schools become part of the MOVING School Award network. It consists of two phases.
- Phase one is a checklist of readiness factors to assess if schools are ready to apply for the Award. Schools which have all readiness factors in place may go on to the second phase. There are 28 questions relating to the three dimensions of physical activity, physical education and school sport. Schools must be able to answer YES to every question in order to proceed to phase two. Schools requiring areas for development will be signposted to advice and information to enable them to address these areas.
- Phase two is an online self-assessment process with three levels of Award – bronze, silver and gold. In order to achieve the Award at phase two schools will be required to upload evidence to support their self-assessment.
In order to achieve the bronze award schools must
- Answer YES and provide evidence for all questions identified as essential in all three dimensions
In order to achieve the silver award schools must
- Answer YES and provide evidence for all questions identified as essential in all three dimensions
- Plus be able to answer YES to all but one question identified as desirable in at least one dimension of the school’s choice
In order to achieve the gold award schools must
- Answer YES and provide evidence for all questions identified as essential in all three dimensions
- Plus be able to answer YES to all but one question identified as desirable in each of the three dimensions
Principles
- Awards will be valid for a period of three years.
- Schools may apply at any point up until May of the school year.
- Awards come into effect from the start of the next school year.
- Schools gaining an Award will receive a certificate showing the level achieved and logo.
- Gaining the Award will entitle schools to add the recognition of excellence to their website, letterhead and displays in their school.
WHY become National Coordinator for MOVING Schools Award in your country
The National Coordinator of the MOVING Schools Award has the role to
- Promote the MOVING Schools Award to ensure the biggest possible uptake by schools
- Advocate for the MOVING Schools Award among key stakeholders, potentially as part of wider physical activity promotion efforts
- Deliver quality assessment of school performance (random or systematic checks and evaluations)
The role has some minimum requirements, but can be adapted to fit individual organisational or country needs. Each National Coordinator enters a written agreement with the consortium of organisations behind MOVING Schools Award, describing the obligations, rights and benefits, as well as the country-specific objectives.
Being the National Coordinator has a range of potential advantages. Which ones are most relevant in each country depends on the national coordinator’s organisation focus and the country context.
The advantages of being National Coordinator for MOVING Schools Award includes
- Exclusive right to use and promote the MOVING Schools Award for all schools in the country.
- Right to charge a price for schools that seek or obtain the label (pricing schemes should be approved by the MOVING Schools Award network).
- Right to organise national and local MOVING Schools Award shows, and charge entry fees, seek sponsorships etc for the event.
- Access to the central database of both the national assessment results, and the compiled European data on the use of the tool.
- Analysis of the variance of schools’ strengths and weaknesses, in-country and between countries.
- A specific tool (the label) that can be promoted as a stand-alone offer to schools, or bundled with other school offerings, making it a more comprehensive package.
- Support from the MOVING Schools Award network to develop and make the most of the tool in each individual country.
- A strong European network of National Coordinators that continuously collaborate to use and develop the tool.
- Right to promote the MOVING Schools Award to political and other stakeholders in the country, with guidance and policy recommendations from the MOVING Schools Award network.
The role as National Coordinator does not give legal rights to access or communicate with schools in the country, this right should be ensured via the competent national or local authorities, when needed.
WHERE to use MOVING Schools Award in your country
The National Coordinator has the right to use the MOVING Schools Award in relevant schools in the country.
Depending on national circumstances, the MOVING Schools Award can be piloted in a smaller number of schools, or regionally at first, and rolled out subsequently.
The MOVING Schools Award is a tool of relevance for all schools encompassing age groups up to approximately 18 years. Depending on the type of school, and the country-specific context, the deployment of the label should be adapted to be relevant and simple to use.
The National Coordinator may set up partnerships on national level to deliver the MOVING Schools Award ; however, the National Coordinator can not delegate the substantial obligations, rights and benefits to different organisations.
Strategic planning, organisational buy-in
It is important to understand how the role as National Coordinator for MOVING Schools Award will align with and help the right holder to deliver on its organisational mission. It should not be an additional task that does not bring value to the organisation. Accordingly, the National Coordinator should make sure there is buy-in at all levels of the organisation, including top management and political leadership.
Partnerships
Delivering MOVING Schools Award in partnerships is recommended. The partnerships can be to co-deliver the label, or as sponsorships, in-kind contributions etc. Strong partnerships with national and local authorities is highly recommended.
Business model
The MOVING Schools Award is not created with a view to make a profit. However, it is important that National Coordinators understand how the delivery can be resourced and thus sustainable over a longer period of time. In the list of rights and benefits above, there are some examples of how to enable a turnover with MOVING Schools Award, and more can be developend, based on the national situation.
Promotion/marketing
It is important to create a plan for the promotion and marketing of the label, and any additional activities, such as an award show. Schools can be hard to reach and persuade, and a good promotion plan needs to answer key questions such as main selling points, communication channels, and timing.
Resource planning
Delivering MOVING Schools Award is a demanding effort, and one that is not equally distributed over the course of the calendar year. Realistically planning the human and financial resources needed is therefore important to ensure timely delivery with quality.
Evaluation and follow-up
MOVING Schools Award is not a one-off assessment, but a continuous development process for the schools. It is therefore paramount to use the tool to create a culture of development, and for the National Coordinator to enable such evaluation and development, also beyond the label itself.