Developing a school-based universal screening tool to identify deficits in fundamental movement skills in children aged 5-11 years

A large proportion of children are unable to perform age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS), despite their importance for wide-reaching childhood development outcomes including physical activity, health (physical and mental) and academic achievement. Thus, it is important to assess FMS so that children needing support can be identified in a timely fashion. There is great potential for universal screening of FMS in schools, but it is yet to be implemented within British Primary schools. Chapter 2 utilised a systematic review to understand what assessments are available to measure FMS proficiency in school children and their psychometric properties. Results showed that the most valid and reliable tools were the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC), the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT). Chapter 3 sought to understand the barriers and facilitators to school-based FMS assessments, and develop teacher-directed feasibility guidelines. Results showed that the MABC, the TGMD and the BOT do not meet these guidelines and thus a new tool needed to be developed. Chapter 4 outlined the development of FUNMOVES. Across three studies over 1000 children were tested and Rasch analysis and implementation fidelity results were used to modify FUNMOVES after each study. The finalised version of FUNMOVES had good structural validity and made it possible for teachers to screen the FMS ability of a class in under an hour. Chapter 5 outlined a protocol for further validation and acceptability studies which were not implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In summary, there is great potential for benefit from using universal screening to measure FMS ability in schools, including increased teacher awareness and expedited time to assessment and intervention. FUNMOVES has shown promise for use in this context, and whilst further research is required, it shows promise as a tool for identifying developmental delay.