Advancing Physical Literacy in Peel: Evaluating the Impact of the Play in Peel Initiative • Sport for Life

Introduction

The Play in Peel initiative is a community-driven program designed to develop physical literacy and increase physical activity among children aged 0 to 12 in the Peel region, which includes Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), this cross sectoral initiative trained educators to help children develop fundamental movement skills, ensuring they have the confidence and ability to engage in lifelong physical activity.

This article explains the initiative’s key findings, summarizing its successes, challenges, and recommendations to help educators, policymakers, and community leaders understand its impact and future potential.

Key Findings

1. Training Educators to Promote Physical Literacy

One of the primary goals of Play in Peel was to train educators—ranging from early childhood educators (ECEs) to teachers and recreation staff—to develop physical literacy in their programs. Over 3,489 educators participated in 85 training sessions, learning how to encourage movement, improve motor skills, and increase children’s engagement in physical activity.

Through mentorship programs and workshops, these educators developed strategies to integrate physical literacy into their daily activities, leading to more intentional and effective programming for children.

Key Takeaway: Expanding mentorship programs and offering more in-person training can further improve educator confidence and implementation.

2. Physical Literacy Improvements Among Children

To assess the program’s impact, researchers used standardized tools to measure children’s movement skills, confidence, and motivation. Schools that participated in the initiative saw improvements in children’s ability to perform basic movements such as throwing, kicking, and balancing.

PLAYbasic scores improved from 50.32 to 56.43 over the course of the program.
PLAYself scores, measuring self-perceived physical literacy, rose from 69.29 to 71.14.
PrePLAY assessments in early years centers showed overall physical literacy scores averaging 63.50, with some sites improving by over 20%.

Key Takeaway: Regular assessments and hands-on activities can help sustain physical literacy improvements over time.

3. Collaboration Across Sectors

Play in Peel successfully built strong partnerships between educators, recreation staff, public health professionals, and community organizations. These collaborations resulted in the formation of Physical Literacy Champions’ Networks, where professionals from different sectors worked together to create inclusive and engaging physical activity programs.

This teamwork also led to new community projects, such as swimming and skating programs for newcomer families, ensuring that all children had access to movement-based activities regardless of their background.

Key Takeaway: Sustaining these partnerships will help maintain the momentum of physical literacy efforts beyond the initial funding period.

4. Challenges and Learning Opportunities

While Play in Peel had many successes, the initiative also faced several challenges:

COVID-19 disruptions led to training sessions being moved online, limiting hands-on learning opportunities for educators.
Resistance to change from some educators and parents made it difficult to introduce new physical literacy concepts.
Social disparities meant that children in lower-income areas had fewer opportunities for physical activity compared to their peers.

Although these challenges presented obstacles, they also provided valuable learning opportunities. For example, the shift to virtual training highlighted the need for flexible delivery methods, and resistance to change underscored the importance of strong advocacy and clear communication about the benefits of developing physical literacy.

Key Takeaway: Future efforts should focus on addressing barriers to participation, including providing targeted support in underserved communities.

Conclusion and Future Directions

Play in Peel has laid the groundwork for a lasting impact on physical literacy in the region. By exceeding training goals, improving children’s physical literacy skills, and fostering cross-sector partnerships, the initiative serves as a model for similar programs nationwide.

However, to sustain this progress, continued funding, leadership, and expansion of training programs are necessary. The Play in Peel Leadership Team is actively seeking new funding partners, policy support, and educational stakeholders to scale these efforts.

If you are an educator, policymaker, or potential funder, you can contribute by advocating for physical literacy programming in your community, incorporating these principles into your educational settings, or supporting funding initiatives that sustain programs like Play in Peel.

As more communities recognize the importance of physical literacy, Play in Peel provides a valuable example of how collaborative efforts can create meaningful change in children’s health and well-being.

For more information, visit Play in Peel.