Port Vale U18 scholars recently took part in Practical Wellbeing Testing to collect physical and mental health screening information as part of their BTEC/SEP education programmes.
The session consisted of the apprentices carrying out tests on club staff members.
There were five different stations, with each member of staff making their way around the room until all the tests had been completed.
The five tests were:
- Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
- Resting Heart Rate
- Blood Pressure
- Body Mass Index
- Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS)
Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
A PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) is a simple health screening tool that is used to determine if there are any potential health risks for an individual before they start a new training regime/lifestyle change. The type of questions involved in a PAR-Q are fairly straightforward, such as questions about someone’s drinking/smoking habits, their activity levels and medical history.
Resting Heart Rate
This test is pretty self-explanatory. It simply measures a person’s heart rate at complete rest. This test can be used to determine someone’s level of cardiovascular fitness.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the term used to describe the strength with which your blood pushes on the sides of your arteries as it’s pumped around your body.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
The BMI test is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy. The BMI calculation divides an adults weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.
Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale
The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) was developed to enable the monitoring of mental wellbeing in the general population and the evaluation of projects, programmes and policies which aim to improve mental wellbeing. The WEMWBS is a 14-item scale of positively worded statements covering feeling and functioning aspects of mental wellbeing. The 14-statements have five response categories from ‘none of the time’ to ‘all of the time’.
Matthew Meredith, Academy BTEC Tutor at Port Vale said: “The afternoon was a great experience for the scholars to undertake a Practical Health Screening as part of their BTEC qualification. The scholars showed great enthusiasm to collect physical and mental health screening information from the whole staff team at Port Vale. The afternoon was a real success and will be an annual event at the club moving forwards.”
Second-year apprentice, Logan Stinton added: “I really enjoyed being able to apply my knowledge and understanding of health screening tests, which we have learnt in BTEC sessions within a practical situation. It was a good experience because it helped prepare me for if I ever wanted to be a Personal Trainer after my football scholarship. Along with meeting and speaking to staff at the club in a different setting.”
