Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) are less likely to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines and have higher tendencies towards sedentary behaviors. Considering a large proportion of a child's day is spent at school, this setting provides a promising environment for increasing PA levels. Staff often significantly impact the success of PA within schools. Limited research has focused on PA knowledge and confidence of staff in a special education setting. In this study, staff from two Schools for Specific Purposes in Sydney, Australia, were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their knowledge of child PA guidelines, and their confidence in delivering PA to children with ID. Questions were derived from the validated Schools Physical Activity & Nutrition Survey (SPANS). Descriptive analyses were completed on all variables. The questionnaire was completed by 55 of the 74 participants. Although 40.0% reported knowledge of Australian PA guidelines for children, only 20% correctly identified these guidelines. PA was perceived to be ‘extremely important’ (4.69/5) for children with ID, and staff reported ‘confidence’ (3.78/5) in delivering PA for children with ID. Only seven (12.7%) participants reported meeting the New South Wales Department of Education PA requirements (mean = 100 minutes per week). We conclude that despite confidence in delivery of PA and its perceived importance, staff within special education settings have little knowledge of child PA guidelines and are unlikely to meet current Department of Education requirements. We suggest a targeted intervention to improve staff knowledge of PA guidelines, which may enhance the delivery of PA for children with ID.

中文翻译：

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特殊教育环境中教育人员的体育活动知识和信心

智障 (ID) 儿童不太可能满足身体活动 (PA) 指南，并且更倾向于久坐不动的行为。考虑到孩子一天的大部分时间都在学校度过，这种设置为提高 PA 水平提供了一个有前途的环境。工作人员通常会显着影响学校内 PA 的成功。有限的研究集中在特殊教育环境中员工的 PA 知识和信心。在这项研究中，来自澳大利亚悉尼两所特殊目的学校的工作人员受邀完成一份问卷，内容涉及他们对儿童 PA 指南的了解以及他们为智障儿童提供 PA 的信心。问题来自经过验证的学校体育活动和营养调查 (SPANS)。对所有变量进行了描述性分析。问卷由 74 名参与者中的 55 人完成。尽管 40.0% 的人报告了解澳大利亚 PA 儿童指南，但只有 20% 的人正确识别了这些指南。PA 被认为对 ID 儿童“极其重要”(4.69/5)，工作人员表示“有信心”(3.78/5) 为 ID 儿童提供 PA。只有七名 (12.7%) 参与者报告说他们满足了新南威尔士州教育部的 PA 要求（平均 = 每周 100 分钟）。我们的结论是，尽管对 PA 的交付及其重要性有信心，但特殊教育环境中的工作人员对儿童 PA 指南知之甚少，不太可能满足当前教育部的要求。我们建议进行有针对性的干预，以提高员工对 PA 指南的了解，