Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study.

The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN.

Qualitative changes in children's physical activity and sedentary behaviours throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: The HomeSPACE project.

Opportunities for children to be physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic were limited, resulting in a decrease in overall physical activity and an increase in sedentary behaviour during the lockdown restrictions of the pandemic. This study further explored these changes across various stages of the restrictions, starting during the first UK-wide lockdown in March 2020 through to the "new normal" in December 2021. Nine families, consisting of eleven children (36% girls, 64% boys; aged 13.38 years ± 1.14), eight mothers and one father were tracked throughout this time, using semi-structured interviews to explore the fluctuations in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the home environment in the context of self-determination theory. Findings indicate that as restrictions eased, physical activity within the home decreased, as children were exposed to more opportunities at school and in the community; these opportunities seemingly increased children's motivation to be physically active through increasing levels of their basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Some children's physical activity levels have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, with a newfound enjoyment for being physically active. Whilst others now prefer to pursue more sedentary behaviours that became habitual during the lockdown restrictions. Accessible opportunities now need to be promoted to drive up children's motivations to be physically active following the years of uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.