by Dr Sally Barber, Director of Physical Activity at Born in Bradford
When we first embarked on the JU:MP programme five years ago, in some of the most deprived communities across the city, we had high hopes but realistic expectations. Getting children more physically active in areas facing significant socioeconomic challenges is no small feat. What we’ve discovered through our recent research has exceeded even our most optimistic projections.
Breaking New Ground in Physical Activity Research
Our latest evaluation, conducted by researchers at Born in Bradford, part of the Bradford Institute for Health Research, supported by NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire & Humber (YHARC), and the University of Bradford, has revealed something quite remarkable. The JU:MP programme is delivering world-leading results when it comes to increasing children’s physical activity levels.
The numbers speak for themselves. Children participating in JU:MP increased their total physical activity by 8.3 minutes per day – that’s over 70 minutes per week, compared to children not involved in JU:MP. That’s an extra 3,640 extra minutes per child annually.
Perhaps even more significantly, we observed a nearly 6-minute increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on weekdays – the type of activity that research consistently shows has the most significant health benefits. We also saw substantial reductions in sedentary time, with weekend inactivity decreasing by more than 21 minutes per day.
A Global Benchmark
What makes these findings particularly noteworthy is how they compare to similar interventions worldwide. After conducting an extensive review of comparable scientific research studies, we found that JU:MP’s effects were larger than any other long-term population-level physical activity intervention for children reported in the literature to date. This isn’t just a local success story – it’s setting a new global benchmark for what’s possible in community-based physical activity programmes.
The Power of Whole-system Working
The secret to JU:MP’s success lies in what we call ‘whole system, place-based working’ This means that JU:MP has been developed with and by local communities and organisations who understand the specific needs, assets, and cultural nuances of Bradford’s diverse population, rather than being a one-size fits all programme. It operates across different levels of the ‘socio-ecological system’, making changes for children and families at a community, organisational, environmental and policy levels and crucially liking up across the system. Working in this way provides an array of opportunities for children to be active within different aspects of their lives.
We have used some innovative approaches. For example, we’ve developed ‘Healthy Madrasas’ specifically for South Asian children, recognising the important role these institutions play in community life. Our Creating Active Schools programme has been rolled out to 57 Bradford schools, embedding movement throughout the entire school day rather than confining it to traditional PE lessons.
We’ve also worked directly with adolescent girls to co-design green spaces where they feel comfortable and confident being active – addressing one of the key barriers to physical activity for this demographic. Local parks have been transformed into vibrant, inclusive environments that serve as natural gathering points for families and communities.
Image source: JU:MP (Join Us: Move. Play.)
Building for the Future
The significance of this work extends far beyond the immediate health benefits, although these are of course important. Research consistently shows that children who develop healthy physical activity habits are more likely to become active adults, creating lifelong benefits not just for individuals but for society as a whole. Active adults save the health and care system £10.5 billion annually, reducing pressure on the NHS and preventing chronic illness.
Sport England’s recognition of JU:MP’s impact has resulted in a renewed commitment to Bradford, with a new £4 million investment over the next three years. This funding will enable us to extend our reach and continue developing the evidence base for whole system, community and evidence-led approaches to physical activity promotion.
The research findings are not just important for Bradford, but nationally and globally. As a result of the successes in Bradford, Sport England are now scaling this place-based approach across more than 90 locations in England, investing £250 million to improve physical activity and reduce inequalities in physical activity participation. The evidence we have generated is already being used in government select committee meetings to consider how best to improve community and school sport provision, and we hope that our work can be used as an example globally to support and inspire others to realise the WHO global action plan and the International Society of Physical Activity and Health’s ambitions for whole-system change to support everyone to become more active.
Lessons for the Wider Research Community
For fellow researchers and practitioners working in this field, JU:MP offers several important lessons. First, the importance of genuine community engagement cannot be overstated. The interventions that have been themost impactful are those that have been developed collaboratively with the communities they serve, rather than imposed from outside.
Second, the value of taking a whole-system approach is clear. Rather than focusing solely on individual behaviour change, JU:MP has worked across multiple layers of the system working with organisations such as schools, religious institutions, and making changes to green spaces, and transport networks – to create an environment where physical activity becomes a natural part of daily life. Embedding physical activity in policy was also important for long term change. National advocacy and funding from Sport England were absolutely crucial to support this new way of working.
Finally, the programme demonstrates the critical importance of robust research and evaluation. The comprehensive qualitative research component, funded by Sport England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, fed back findings into the programme, allowing it to continuously adapt and improve, which led to long-term change. The quantitative evaluation has demonstrate JU:MP’s effectiveness, contributing to the global evidence-base as the first effective whole-system approach for children’s physical activity and securing the future of whole-system working both in Bradford and nationally.
As part of the YH ARC Knowledge Mobilisation work Born in Bradford are sharing the JU:MP learning and assets and have created an online resource hub to support this. More detail on the research can be found there too: https://jump.borninbradford.nhs.uk
Image source: JU:MP (Join Us: Move. Play.)
Image rights: All images used in this blog belong to JU:MP.
