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The Institute for Physical Education and Sport (IPES) at the University of Malta, in collaboration with the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (MEYR), is concluding the third phase of SkaRF – Skip a Rope for Fitness – with Year 6 learners at San Ġwann Primary School. This innovative, school-based initiative, led by Professor Andrew Decelis, has followed the same cohort of learners from Year 4 through to Year 6, engaging them in a multi-year intervention focused on rope skipping.

SkaRF was launched to improve children’s fundamental movement skills, physical fitness, and activity levels while reducing sedentary time through rope skipping. In its first phase, Year 4 learners were split into control and experimental groups, with the latter participating in daily 15-minute skipping sessions for four weeks. In the second phase, all learners, now in Year 5, participated in the intervention and were assessed again before and after the programme on motor skills, fitness, and activity levels using wearable accelerometers.

In the third phase, now in Year 6, learners completed a final month of daily rope skipping sessions, further building on their progress. Early results show that those who started earlier maintained and improved their skills, while others also benefited significantly after joining the sessions. Professor Decelis noted:

“We observed improvements across various fitness components, and particularly in the skipping ability of all participants. Interestingly, girls outperformed boys in skipping, while the learners who began in Year 4 consistently performed better than those who joined the programme later. These findings underline the importance of early exposure to fundamental movement skills and highlight the lasting benefits such exposure can have. This study confirms that even a short, focused skipping intervention can significantly enhance children’s physical ability and confidence to remain active.”

Alongside SkaRF, IPES is also concluding the pilot phase of – the Fitness Monitoring of Adolescents Project. Data was collected from six state secondary schools with the collaboration of 12 dedicated PE teachers. Analysis is currently underway, including insights from two focus groups with teachers evaluating the project’s implementation. A key innovation in FitMAP-MALTA is the use of the FitBack Europe interactive toolkit, allowing students to generate personalised fitness reports, set goals with teacher support, and track progress over time. Teachers can also conduct group evaluations to inform their PE planning and set targeted fitness objectives.

Through FitMAP-MALTA, Malta is paving the way for a healthier future for its adolescents, ensuring they gain the knowledge, skills, and motivation to lead active, fulfilling lives.

Looking ahead, the next step for SkaRF is to secure funding to provide each learner at San Ġwann Primary with their own skipping rope, establishing Malta’s first official SkaRF Skipping School. SkaRF’s broader vision is to see every primary school learner in Malta equipped with a skipping rope and the confidence to use it during both structured PE and recreational time, with plans to expand to other schools. Similarly, FitMAP-MALTA aims to extend fitness monitoring to all local middle and secondary schools.

In parallel, IPES has also begun piloting MYPASS – the Maltese Young People’s Physical Activity & Sport Participation Study– which will be rolled out to all local primary schools in October 2025. This study focuses on Year 6 learners and aims to gain a deeper understanding of their physical activity habits, sport participation, and related behaviours, with the goal of enhancing opportunities for movement in schools and communities.

Professor Decelis expressed his sincere thanks to the MEYR Director General, Mr Jude Zammit; Head of College Network, Mr Jonathan Attard; Head of School of San Gwann Primary, Mr David Caruana; Deputy Head Ms Susanne Mifsud Triganza; Year 6 teachers and Learning Support Educators; Mr Michael Xerri (PE teacher); and Education Officers Mr Marvin Spiteri, Mr Stephen Grima and Mr Kevin Azzopardi for their continuous support. He also extended his appreciation to the PE teachers involved in FitMAP-MALTA, as well as the Heads of College Networks and Heads of Schools who supported the pilot.

Both projects have been made possible through funding from the University of Malta Research SEED Fund.