Methods

Participants Ethical approval (EP 19/20 009) was granted by the Research Ethics Approval Committee for Health (REACH) at the University of Bath.
Schools and class teachers were recruited through email and word of mouth from the South- West of England. Opportunistic sampling was used; schools were recruited on a first-come first-served basis, which was also influenced by device availability. Recruitment initially commenced in October 2020 but was paused due to UK COVID-19 national lockdowns before re-commencing in March 2021 and ending in September 2021.
School headteachers consented to being involved in the project before all pupils in each school aged 8-11 (Year 5-6 pupils) were invited to participate and were provided with participant information sheets for themselves and their parents (N = 489). Whilst information sheets were sent home to parents, it was not feasible to talk to parents due to COVID-19 restrictions; and the research was conducted fully remotely. Year 5 and 6 pupils were chosen as it is well reported that this is the least active class age group in primary education.

Baseline pupil physical activity was measured for 2-weeks using a commercially available accelerometer, before data visualisations were used to inform teacher-led strategies with the aim of improving pupils’ physical activity. These strategies were then implemented, with physical activity measured post-data-sharing discussions. Mixed-methods analysis explored the feasibility of using data visualisations to inform teachers’ understanding of their pupils’ physical activity and the development and implementation of teacher-led, school-specific strategies to increase pupils’ physical activity