Creating Active Schools (CAS): Embedding Sustainable Physical Activity through Systems Change

Over the past 5 years, Bradford based researchers have engaged in a coherent, staged body of work charting the design, implementation, evaluation, and system-level impact of Creating Active Schools.

The Problem

Despite strong national and international guidance promoting whole-school approaches to physical activity (PA), most interventions have failed to deliver sustainable impact. Recent evidence shows that school-based PA programmes often suffer from weak implementation, limited adoption, and poor integration into school systems. Traditional approaches tend to act on schools rather than with them, overlooking the reality that schools are complex adaptive systems influenced by culture, policy, people, and environment. The CAS Framework and implementation programme were developed as an approach to embed physical activity into the ethos, practice, and structure of schools to create lasting change.

The Response

The Creating Active Schools (CAS) programme was established to transform how schools approach physical activity by embedding implementation science and systems thinking into every stage of development, delivery, and evaluation.

• Co-designed by over 50 stakeholders across education, health, and research, the CAS Framework maps the interconnected components of a whole-school PA system.
• Grounded in the COM-B model and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), the CAS programme focuses on organisational and cultural change within schools rather than one-off initiatives.
• A series of linked studies applied the Implementation Research Logic Model (IRLM) and the evaluation roadmap for the implementation and scale up of physical activity and behavioural nutrition interventions to explore CAS’s design, implementation, and impact over time.

The Findings

Evidence from multiple studies demonstrates that CAS is a viable, scalable model for system-wide change:

• Framework development (Paper 1): The CAS Framework represents a paradigm shift and is the first co-designed whole-school PA model identifying how ethos, environment, and stakeholder networks interact to enable change.

• Organisational impact (Paper 2): Within nine months, schools reported significant improvements in culture, staff engagement, curriculum integration, and stakeholder behaviour, particularly in deprived, multi-ethnic areas

• Initial Implementation (Paper 3): Schools valued CAS’s stepwise process and communities of practice, which built staff confidence and ownership. Success was underpinned by acceptability, school culture, and self-efficacy.

• Logic model (Paper 4): The CAS implementation logic model provides a replicable blueprint for others to plan, deliver, and evaluate complex interventions.

• Continuous Sustainability (Paper 5): After two years, schools showed deep cultural embedding and sustained activity practices, supported by peer learning and local leadership.

The Impact

The CAS programme has demonstrated that systemic, school-wide transformation is possible when interventions are co-designed, contextually grounded, and supported over time.

CAS provides a tested model for prevention, aligning local and national priorities to address inactivity and inequalities.

The approach is implementation-ready and scalable, providing practical tools, frameworks, and evidence to support expansion across regions and nations.

To achieve long-term impact, continued investment in leadership, workforce development, and cross-sector collaboration is needed. CAS offers a sustainable systems solution, moving from short-term projects to enduring culture change, and serves as a blueprint for embedding health promotion across complex systems.

Useful Videos

What is CAS? Short Video

JU:MP- The Story So Far, Creating Active Schools

References

1. Daly-Smith, A., Quarmby, T., Archbold, V.S.J. et al. Using a multi-stakeholder experience-based design process to co-develop the Creating Active Schools Framework. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 17, 13 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-0917-z

• Helme, Z.E.; Morris, J.L.; Nichols, J.; Chalkley, A.E.; Bingham, D.D.; McLoughlin, G.M.; Bartholomew, J.B.; Daly-Smith, A. Assessing the Impacts of Creating Active Schools on Organisational Culture for Physical Activity. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 16950. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph192416950

• Morris, J.L., Chalkley, A.E., Helme, Z.E. et al. Initial insights into the impact and implementation of Creating Active Schools in Bradford, UK. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 20, 80 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01485-3

• Helme, Zoe E.^1,2; Chalkley, Anna^1,3; Walker, Timothy J.⁴; Bartholomew, John B.⁵; Morris, Jade L.^1,2; McLoughlin, Gabriella M.^6,7; Bingham, Daniel D.¹; Daly-Smith, Andy^1,2. Opening the Black Box of Implementation: Developing the Creating Active Schools Logic Model. Translational Journal of the ACSM 9(2):p 1-11, Spring 2024. | DOI: 10.1249/TJX.0000000000000244

• Silva, E. C. M., Helme, Z. E., Silva, D. R. P., Morris, J. L., Archbold, V. S. J., Daly-Smith, A., & Chalkley, A. (2025). Creating Active Schools: What Influences Continuous Implementation Following Adoption? Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2025-0075