Moving More, Living Better

HOW JUNIOR PARS IS HELPING MANCHESTER KIDS THRIVE

Anational company specialising in weight management, MoreLife, runs a 10-week Junior Physical Activity Referral Service (PARS) in Manchester. The service, commissioned by Population Health at Manchester City Council, supports children and young people aged 5-17 years old who are above a healthy weight and not engaging in physical activity.

“Our Children’s Healthy Lifestyle Practitioners connect families to fun, budget-friendly activities in their local area,” says MoreLife’s contract manager for the Greater Manchester and Sheffield services, Rebecca Hellyer. “We also offer Tier 2 children and family weight management services, signposting people towards local offerings that can help improve their health and wellbeing.”

Born out of Leeds Beckett University in 1999 (as Carnegie Weight Management) MoreLife was founded by Professor Paul Gately, a visiting Professor at Leeds Beckett University and one of the UK’s most respected experts in obesity and exercise. MoreLife’s initial focus was tackling obesity in children. Services have now expanded to adults, young people and families. “As we continue to evolve and branch out our lifestyle-related support services, the challenge has been proving how successful our services really are, to help us build relationships with stakeholders and identify gaps in our provision,” says Hellyer. “In the Manchester City Locality, we use ReferAll to manage our Junior PARS – I think it’s one of the most user-friendly databases for administration I have ever worked with. We use ReferAll’s software to monitor attendance of children who come through the service, their weight pre- and post-attendance and other metrics such as demographics and age, questionnaire responses or biometric data. This allows me to evaluate their progress as well as to report the overall success of the service.”

We connect families to fun, budget friendly activities in their local area

For Hellyer, the stand-out benefit is the ability to export data – both for quick reporting and more in-depth exports. “Whenever I need to, I can access a flash overview of a moment in time. This means I can be on top of the efficacy of service we’re offering and see a snapshot of how we’re working,” says Hellyer. “The more in-depth data export is invaluable for reporting on KPIs and evidencing our success to commissioners. I can get a run-down of every person’s scores before they enter our service and again once they’ve completed it.

“There’s a big story to tell from the numbers. It’s my job to forge strong partnerships with commissioning teams, service departments and cross-functional units within the organisation to champion the seamless delivery of exceptional services. Having clear numbers and a compelling story from a client who has seen positive change helps me to share an honest insight of what’s happening within our service with commissioners. Without access to that data, reporting would be very difficult, especially with the volume of clients we see each year.”

To date, MoreLife has had 1,172 referrals to the service with 69 children and young people actively participating. In Q3 2024, Hellyer’s team received 91 referrals with a current uptake of 57% into service.

55% of clients report that they feel better about themselves 63% have more energy 33% made friends 77% made healthier food choices 70% made healthier drinks choices 55% feel fitter 66% have more confidence in their abilities 33% are sleeping better