Project interACTIVE

Amazing results from Project InterACTIVE initiative!
Project InterACTIVE has produced great results that are extremely satisfying to all parties involved. The AUT Research has clearly shown that Project InterACTIVE helped permanently change a communities physical activity levels. These levels increased by 18% in participants and their families and greatly increased the membership numbers of participants in clubs by up to 29%.
Project InterACTIVE involved a large number of collaborative partners including: Harbour Sport, SPARC, AUT, North Shore City Council, Youth Destinations Project, Waitamata District Health Board, Team Solutions, Travelwise and school principals.
Over the last three years, passion and energy have been the hallmarks of these partners as they forged ahead to successfully reach the project’s goals and objectives.
Six key aims were:
1. To develop a vertical integration model (from early childhood through to secondary school) that reflected the needs of this community.
2. To align existing programmes and work collaboratively with key agencies to ensure young people in this community receive consistent messages about sport and recreation.
3. To ensure school communities in the vertical cluster adopted an effective developmental pathway in relation to sport and recreation.
4. To raise overall awareness about the importance of participation in regular sport and recreation.
5. To increase the physical activity levels of young people in this community.
6. To collect feasibility and acceptability information that would guide future vertical integration initiatives.

All of these key aims were addressed and significant steps were completed to successfully reach these goals. A few of the outstanding achievements attained during this great project include:

• AUT found that the first year of the Project INTERACTIVE intervention increased physical activity in our participants by approximately 18% on weekdays. That equals less time in front of the T.V. and the computer, giving rise to healthier children which will bring about long term benefits to the community.
• Parents commented that Project INTERACTIVE encouraged not only the children to be active but also the families. The far reaching implications are immense, spreading to whole families and ultimately to entire communities.
• A Harbour Sports survey found that the majority of children in the primary and intermediate schools had participated in sport in the past year and there has been a 6-29% increase in the number of children who had joined a new sports club in the past year.
Transition in sports between early childhood, secondary schools and clubs was a key area we sought to make trouble-free for children. We are proud to say that there has been a decrease in the drop-out rate of children going through these sporting transitional times.
Project Interactive strived to bolster the relationship between individual schools, schools and community. This was achieved by such activities as the cluster Haka Challenge and Lunchtime Activities that included skateboarding and biking and more equipment accessibility at schools. A wide range of game ideas were provided to schools as well as Have-A-Go Day events in the community. We look forward to seeing this community continue to grow of its own accord as Project Interactive provided the initial momentum.
The collaborative partnerships created through this project will enable children living in this neighbourhood to continue to have opportunities to participate in sports and recreation. Project Interactive has allowed these children to make physical activity a way of life into their adulthood. The sustained physical activity future of these children is secure.

The History
In 2007 the Education Team at Harbour Sport identified that the three SPARC funded programmes targeting the education sector needed to be more integrated. Active Movement (0-5 years), Active Schools (5-12 years) and SportFit (secondary school) all more-or-less operated in isolation. There was some cross-over between some programmes, in some schools, in some communities, however it was not consistent. Research conducted by SPARC several years earlier also indicated large numbers of 13-17 year olds were dropping out of sport and recreation.

Early consultation with all of the Principals in the targeted community of Birkdale/Beach haven gained their support to develop a collaborative project that would engage all of the ECCs, primary schools, the intermediate and secondary school in this community. They agreed there was an opportunity to develop a project that involved all of the schools and created links with the local community to engage young children in active lifestyles from early childhood through to secondary school. In addition parents, local sports clubs, regional sporting organisations and other community groups were identified as key stakeholders.

Project interACTIVE goal
The overarching goal of Project InterACTIVE was to

“Engage and retain young people from Birkdale/Beach haven in physical activity and sport throughout their schooling lives”.

There were 6 key objectives:

To develop a vertical integration model (from early childhood through to secondary school) that reflected the needs of this community
To align existing programmes and work collaboratively with key agencies to ensure young people in this community receive consistent messages about sport and recreation
To ensure school communities in the vertical cluster adopted an effective developmental pathway in relation to sport and recreation
To raise overall awareness about the importance of participation in regular sport and recreation
To increase the physical activity levels of young people in this community
To collect feasibility and acceptability information that would guide future vertical integration initiatives

The evaluation research completed by AUT and Harbour Sport demonstrated that physical activity levels and sports participation in the children in this community had increased over the duration of the project.

AUT found that the first year of the Project INTERACTIVE intervention increased physical activity by approximately 18% on weekdays.
Parents commented that Project INTERACTIVE encouraged not only the children to be active but also the families
Harbour Sports sport survey found that the majority of children in the primary and intermediate schools had participated in sport in the past year and there had been between a 6-29% increase in the number of children who had joined a new sports club in the past year.

For a Harbour Sport Legacy evaluation report on project learnings and successes, Click here
For AUT research evaluation Click here
For Harbour Sport sport survey report Click here