Table 1.

SHARP Principles — increasing active learning time in primary physical education.

Stretching whilst moving	• During the warm up section of a PE lesson, activities are to include dynamic movements and stretches, replacing the traditional static stretching routines (Bukowsky et al., 2014).
• Dynamic movements should be designed to elevate and maintain a higher core body temperature, whilst also engaging children in a fun, active and purposeful warm up. A dynamic warm up includes various movements that engage the lower and upper body (Faigenbaum and McFarland, 2007).
• A dynamic warm up assists in increasing children's MVPA and could therefore allow for greater explosive effort during subsequent activities (Sale, 2002). Examples of dynamic stretches include: side shuffles, jump and twist, high knees, heel flicks, jumping jacks and skipping (Faigenbaum and McFarland, 2007).
High repetition of motor skills	• This principle is based on the notion that children cannot become physically skilled if they are not engaged in active learning (McKenzie and Lounsbery, 2013). In order to increase active learning time, teachers must ensure that each child has the opportunity to engage in the task at hand.
• For instance: reducing/eliminating queues so that children are not waiting their turn; having small sided games or group work such as 3 v 3 (which will increase the amount of times children have to develop/apply their skills. This will help to eliminate children being on the peripheral of, or excluded from a game/activity); and increasing the amount of equipment available to the children and/or increasing the number of stations.
Accessibility through differentiation	• All children should be set tasks that are appropriate to their physical, cognitive and social development, which will enable them to engage in active learning time.
• Teachers should ensure that they are familiar with the STEP framework (space, task, equipment and people) for effective differentiation of activities (Doherty and Brennan, 2014). An example of the acronym STEP for a gymnastics lesson would be:
STEP	Easier	Harder
Space	Working in their own space	Sharing multiple stations with others.
Task	Reducing the number of elements to be included in a sequence	Increasing the number of elements to be included in a sequence
Equipment	Using the floor and mats	Using the floor, mats and apparatus
People	Working with a partner	Working in a small group
Reducing sitting and standing	• As PE is the only required curriculum subject to provide MVPA to all children (Sallis et al., 2012); this principle aims to develop teachers' awareness of the amount of time children are sitting and standing during the lesson in relation to knowledge transfer, teacher feedback and organisation of equipment (similar to the SPARK PE programme which placed an emphasis on efficient teacher feedback (Sallis et al., 1997)). Examples of this principle include:
• When a teacher is providing feedback or questioning learners, often they do not need to stop the whole class, instead they can just target and stop a group of learners or an individual child.
• Engaging children in activity as soon as possible at the start of the lesson through concise questioning and feedback.
• Ensuring equipment is ready, organised and accessible at the start and throughout the lesson.
Promoting in class physical activity	• This principle is based on teachers encouraging children's in class physical activity through positive praise. Examples of the promotion of in class PA includes ‘great team work, keep moving and looking for space’.