Happy Homework 2.0: A Trial of Daily Movement Habits in Scottish Primary School Children Aged 4-8 Years Old

NCT07641894 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UWestScotland
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 180
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Purpose Happy Homework is a homework programme designed to help primary school children build healthier daily habits. It focuses on children's "24-hour movement behaviours," which include being physically active, spending less time sitting, and getting enough sleep. Children complete short activities at home during the week with a parent or caregiver. An earlier version of Happy Homework, tested with children aged 9-12 years, helped improve physical activity, sleep, and healthy eating. Feedback from families and schools suggested that the programme could work even better if it was delivered through a digital app rather than paper homework sheets. As a result, Happy Homework 2.0 was developed as an app-based version of the programme. This study aims to find out whether the app is suitable, acceptable, and helpful for younger children aged 4-8 years. The study will explore whether children and families enjoy using the app, whether schools can successfully deliver the programme, and whether it may improve children's daily movement habits. Why This Study Is Important Healthy movement behaviours across the whole day are important for children's physical and mental health. This includes regular physical activity, limited sedentary behaviour such as long periods sitting or using screens, and good sleep. Several countries, including Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, have introduced 24-hour movement guidelines for children. These guidelines encourage children to move more, sit less, and sleep well. However, research shows that many children in the UK are not meeting these recommendations. Only a small number of children achieve healthy levels of physical activity, sleep, and low sedentary time together. Parents and the home environment can strongly influence children's habits because children spend much of their time at home. Research has shown that school programmes which include homework activities can improve children's sleep, reduce sedentary behaviour, and increase physical activity. Happy Homework was designed to support healthy movement habits in a simple and accessible way. It does not require expensive equipment or special facilities, making it suitable for families from different backgrounds. While the programme has already shown positive results in older primary school children, it has not yet been adapted or tested with younger children aged 4-8 years. Research also shows that children often become less physically active as they get older, especially when moving into adolescence. Supporting healthy habits earlier in childhood may help prevent inactive lifestyles from developing later on. Since many children in the UK, including those in Scotland, are not meeting healthy movement recommendations, there is a need for programmes like Happy Homework that can be used widely in schools and homes. Study Design This study will use a mixed-methods design, meaning it will collect both numerical information and feedback from participants about their experiences. The study will begin with up to three co-design workshops. These workshops will help researchers improve and adapt the app for younger children before the main study takes place. The workshops will involve primary school head teachers, classroom teachers, parents, caregivers, and primary school children aged 4-8 years. Children, parents, and teachers will share their views about the app and homework activities, and researchers will use this feedback to improve the programme. After the workshops, a randomised feasibility trial will take place. The study has been designed using recognised research guidelines and will be registered on ClinicalTrials.gov before recruitment begins. Methodology Children will only take part if a parent or caregiver provides consent and the child agrees to participate. To avoid influencing results, schools and participants will take part in either the workshops or the feasibility trial, but not both. The workshops will take place in schools so children are in a familiar and comfortable environment. Teachers and other adult participants will be encouraged to attend in person, although online participation will also be available if needed. Workshops will be audio-recorded using university equipment so researchers can accurately analyse discussions later. Recordings will then be written out word-for-word for analysis. The main study will involve four primary schools in South Lanarkshire. Two schools will use the Happy Homework 2.0 app, while two schools will continue with normal practice as a comparison group. The programme will last between 8 and 12 weeks. Researchers will collect information at the beginning of the study and again immediately after the programme ends. This will help assess whether the app can be successfully delivered and whether it may improve children's movement behaviours.

Conditions

24-Hour Movement Guidelines

Keywords

physical activity; sleep; sedentary behaviour; children; homework

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Attrition rates

  Defined as the proportion of schools and children completing the study and providing post-intervention data compared with those recruited at baseline, with reasons for dropout recorded where available.

  From recruitment until completion of the intervention, up to 12 weeks

• School Recruitment Feasibility

  Number and proportion of schools recruited

  At recruitment phase

• Participant Recruitment Feasibility

  Number and proportion of participants recruited

  At recruitment phase

• Participant adherence to intervention activities

  Whether children completed the app-based homework tasks

  Beginning of pre-intervention measures until the end of intervention delivery, up to 14 weeks

• Intervention fidelity

  Whether the intervention was delivered as intended by the researchers/teachers/programme design

  Before pre-intervention measures up to post-intervention measures, up to 14 weeks

• Acceptability of the intervention and procedures

  How the intervention and study is accepted among children, parents/caregivers, and teachers (e.g. feedback questionnaires and/or qualitative feedback from co-design)

  Recruitment until post-intervention measures, up to 14 weeks

• Feasibility of study

  Feasibility of data collection procedures including completion rates of baseline and follow up measures

  Recruitment until post-intervention measures, up to 14 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Physical Activity

  Baseline and up to 14 weeks after baseline assessment

• Sedentary Behaviour

  Baseline and up to 14 weeks after baseline assessment

• Sleep

  Baseline and up to 14 weeks after baseline assessment

Study Arms (2)

Happy Homework Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will receive the Happy Homework intervention.

Behavioral: Happy Homework 2.0 is an eHealth app-based intervention promoting 24-hour movement in children

Usual Activity Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

This group will engage in usual daily activities.

Interventions

Happy Homework 2.0 is an eHealth app-based intervention promoting 24-hour movement in children BEHAVIORAL

The Happy Homework (HH) intervention included homework activities designed to improve daily physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour, and promote healthy dietary behaviours. PA activities were informed by WHO guidelines for children aged 5-17 years, encouraging aerobic activity, vigorous-intensity activity, and muscle- and bone-strengthening activities at least 3 times per week. Children were also encouraged to break up sedentary time, limit recreational screen time to ≤2 hours per day, and achieve 9-11 hours of sleep with consistent bed and wake times. Activities required no equipment and aligned with the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. The intervention was informed by Self-Determination Theory, aiming to support autonomy, competence, and relatedness to enhance motivation for healthy behaviours.

Also known as: HH 2.0

Happy Homework Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 8 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• year old Scottish Primary School Children
• Schools and parents willing to participate in trial

You may not qualify if:

• Unable to complete homework activities using device (i.e., mobile, tablet)
• Unable to complete physically active homework activities
• Pupils without parental/guardian consent or who decline assent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of the West of Scotland: lead

Related Publications (4)

• Tremblay MS, Carson V, Chaput JP, Connor Gorber S, Dinh T, Duggan M, Faulkner G, Gray CE, Gruber R, Janson K, Janssen I, Katzmarzyk PT, Kho ME, Latimer-Cheung AE, LeBlanc C, Okely AD, Olds T, Pate RR, Phillips A, Poitras VJ, Rodenburg S, Sampson M, Saunders TJ, Stone JA, Stratton G, Weiss SK, Zehr L. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016 Jun;41(6 Suppl 3):S311-27. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0151.

  PMID: 27306437 BACKGROUND

• Edward L. Deci, E. L., & Richard M. Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum Press.

  BACKGROUND

• World Health Organization. (2020). Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128

  BACKGROUND

• Donnelly S, Buchan DS, McLellan G, Roberts R, Arthur R. Exploring the feasibility of a cluster pilot randomised control trial to improve children's 24-hour movement behaviours and dietary intake: Happy homework. J Sports Sci. 2023 Oct;41(19):1787-1800. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2023.2300562. Epub 2024 Jan 14.

  PMID: 38219248 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Interventions

Movement

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Lecturer

Model Details: Group A (intervention) will receive the Happy Homework 2.0 intervention. Group B (control) will engage in usual daily activity.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 27, 2026
• First Posted: June 11, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): October 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2030
• Last Updated: June 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share