To provide professionals with a functional fitness toolkit and the knowledge and skills to educate and discuss components of fitness and the UK Physical Activity Guidelines with people aged 50 – 90 so they can motivate themselves to reduce their sitting time, be more active and maintain their functional fitness into later life.
The Functional Fitness MOT (FF MOT) was designed by Professor Dawn Skelton and Bob Laventure for the Glasgow Science Festival in 2011, as a science learning event for older people accompanying their grandchildren to the festival. Over 60 older adults took part in two subsequent events, one at Glasgow Caledonian University and one in the Govan Shopping Centre. A further large-scale FF MOT event was then run during the World Congress on Active Ageing at the SECC, Glasgow attended by over 300 older people during the week-long event. The FF MOT was then run by Glasgow Caledonian University with a local Renfrewshire charity – ROAR Connections for Life.
Based on the training offered to Glasgow Caledonian Students and staff for these previous events, in 2013 a professional FF MOT training day was offered through the former BHF National Centre for Physical Activity and Health at Loughborough University. In four years, over 30 training days reached in excess of over 750 professionals as well as 5 Physiotherapy Specific training days reaching over 125 physiotherapists through the CSP Special Interest Group for Older People AGILE.
The original Functional Fitness MOT was designed to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and functional fitness for people aged 60 – 90 and originally used by local professionals as an educational and promotional tool in a variety of public facing settings including leisure centres, shopping precincts, community centres, supported living settings and physiotherapy settings. It includes activities such as the chair sit and reach, the 30 second chair rise, handgrip strength assessment, together with educational and motivational conversations.
From February 2017, Later Life Training then continued the face to face FF MOT training until December 2019 and reached an additional 450 professionals
LLT has also worked in partnership with the following organisations to deliver bespoke FF MOT training to enhance their programme development:
The Functional Fitness MOT training has also been delivered to organisations in Greece, West Virginia (USA) and Canada (British Columbia and Alberta)
In the Spring of 2020, face to face courses ceased due to the Covid 19 Pandemic and Later Life Training took the decision to transfer the Functional Fitness MOT training to their online learning portal under the title of the Functional Fitness MOT at Home.
The Functional Fitness MOT at Home course (FF MOT at Home) has been devised to replace previous face to face Functional Fitness MOT courses for professionals. As a result of the impact of Covid 19 (whereby professionals have very limited or no opportunities for face to face contact with participants), to initiate or maintain their physical activity, people face the challenge of accessing either on-line resources (groups, 1 – 1, videos and or booklets) or being active away from the home in an “unfriendly” and threatening environment. Delivered through the Later Life Training on-line Learning Portal, the new Functional Fitness MOT at Home course provides the opportunity for professionals to reach participants remotely with advice and guidance on functional fitness, wellbeing and physical activity
We recognise that there is some overlap between the content of the new FF MOT at Home online course and previous face to face one day CPD training. However, the FF MOT at Home online course requires a commitment of 16 hours online learning, provides enhanced learning, new resources and a method of working for those who wish to reach people in their own homes.
These are the significant changes that have been made to the FF MOT course since March 2020, now called the Functional Fitness MOT at Home.
Later Life Training will be offering the new online course (including all materials) at a discounted price of £50.00 + VAT to those who have attended a previous face to face CPD course between 2017 and 2020. Details of applying for the discounted price will appear on the Apply section of the FF MOT at Home course pages and subject to evidence of previously having attended a Later Life Training FF MOT Face to face CPD day.
This term (the Functional Fitness MOT at Home) is used to describe the current series of Functional Fitness MOT courses (April to June 2021) that are being delivered to a range of professionals to enable them to deliver the Functional Fitness MOT assessments and conversations remotely to people 50 – 94 in their own homes. This approach is in addition to the previous face to face training that Later Life Training has delivered from 2013 – 2020.
Although the timing is uncertain, as and when the current restrictions on in-person meetings and training are relaxed, Later Life Training will also be providing an enhanced blended learning face to face CPD course. We are planning that these courses will enable professionals to use the Functional MOT assessments in both at home remote settings and face to face events and activities.
Details of these courses will be posted on the LLT website as they become available.
The FF MOT at Home course has been designed for use by those who for the sake of simplicity, can be described as a Functional Fitness at Home Coordinator. A number of professionals will be in an ideal position to use the FF MOT at Home tool including:
The following may also be relevant:
| CIMSPA defined Occupations and Job Roles | Working with the following Population specialisms |
|---|---|
| Manager | Older Adults |
| Senior Coach, Coach | Inactive People |
| Group Exercise Instructor | Community Environments |
| Gym Instructor | People with Long term Conditions |
| Personal Trainer |
NB. Later Life Training advise that whilst Volunteers, Coaching Assistant or therapy assistants could deliver components of the FF MOT at Home programme, it would not be appropriate for them to undertake a coordination role.
In addition to an understanding of and interest in physical activity and ageing, professionals will also require experience of using remote communications technology. They will also need to be able to understand and provide one to one support to participants over a period of time in order to achieve sustained participation.
The aims of the Functional Fitness MOT at Home are to:
By the end of the course participants will be able to:
NB The Functional Fitness MOT at Home tool is designed for use with people from 50 – 90 who live independently at home and may have long term conditions. It is not appropriate for use with frailer, older people who require care where additional knowledge and skills will be required.
The new FF MOT at Home course is now designed to include people in the 50+ age range, providing new opportunities for those working through primary care, workplace and pre-retirement programmes.
The online Functional Fitness MOT at Home course comprises 3 parts:-
The course is delivered through the Later Life Training online e-learning portal and learners will be able to access via interactive and self-directed individual learning tasks. All these activities will be supported by a course tutor. A total of 16 learning hours will be required, spread over a period of 4 weeks.
A new FF MOT at Home Assessment Tool has been devised which contains the eight original FF MOT assessment activities, (involving strength, balance, flexibility and endurance) and a physical activity questionnaire used as a means of initiating conversations between the participant and the coordinator.
Some of the functional assessments have been modified to permit participants to self-assess their functional fitness (assisted if they choose, by a friend or family member) to ensure accuracy, safety and ease of access. NB Self-assessment is unlikely to be sufficiently accurate to permit robust assessments and be used as pre-post physical activity outcome measurement or evaluation. This would require additional planning. They retain their principal use as awareness raising, educational and motivational tools.
Those attending the FF MOT at Home course are provided with the new FF MOT at Home Assessment Tool as a download document which can be customised to enable local information (contact details, information on how to be active and local identity) to be added.
Participants will be provided with:
There is no formal assessment during the FF MOT at Home course. Participants will be asked to undertake a number of Multiple Choice Questions and learning checks throughout the course.
Participants will also be given the opportunity to consider how the course can be applied to their own workplace or setting and asked to undertake personal and professional reflection on their current practice using a Personal Implementation Plan (PIP).
Following the submission of the MCQ learning checks and their Personal Implementation Plan, participants will be issued with a downloadable certificate of completion.
The FF MOT at Home programme is underpinned by a strong evidence base relating to what is required to improve functional fitness and how we can support individuals to change their physical activity habits and behaviour. We have retained the original functional fitness assessments (with some modifications) and continue to advocate that supporting people over time (including the use of goal setting and self-monitoring) is fundamental to their ability to make decisions and changes that will improve their physical activity behaviour. Recent research offers additional insight into the impact of Covid 19 upon physical and psychological function and how (older) people are adapting to the increased use of information technology, virtual learning and communications.
The content of the FF MOT at Home course and the resources provided are based upon the following evidence.
The evidence base relating to motivation and behaviour change including
The course has been enhanced by the evidence from the Centre for Ageing Better publications :-
The Impact of COVID19
Activity restriction brought about by shielding and the (voluntary) restrictions on movement brought about by Covid19 has resulted in deconditioning, functional loss amongst older people and has contributed to increased fall risk. This has been accompanied by an additional loss of confidence and feelings of increased vulnerability amongst those who have been shielded or isolated. These feelings may also have been exacerbated by a lack of meaningful social contact with family and friends and increased loneliness as well as a lack of contact with health care and support professionals who provide access to healthcare for pre-existing or new non-Covid-19 illnesses.
Consequently, physical activity now provides an even greater challenge for those deconditioned as a result of movement restriction but also a greater need for those seeking to return to a previous level of functioning and independent living
As yet there has been no scientifically evaluated outcomes on the previous Functional Fitness MOT. However, recently in Edinburgh, a feasibility study on the implementation of the FF MOT within musculoskeletal physiotherapy out-patient clinics was undertaken. You can read the published paper for this study here.
The FF MOT has received a lot of anecdotal evidence on the positive outcomes to participants and also to the professionals attending training and delivering the FF MOT in practice. Many of these are highlighted in the BHF NC Impact Report on the use of the FF MOT.
The Functional Fitness MOT at Home course is endorsed by CIMSPA and has been awarded a total of 8 CPD points.
The theme of Universities week (June 9th–14th 2014) was Ideas for Life and the relevance of university research and its everyday impact on our lives. To this end, a survey commissioned for the annual event, which was run by Universities UK with Research Councils UK, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement, asked the general public about the issues that they want university research to address.
Thirty per cent said they wanted improved wellbeing in old age; just under half (47 per cent) wanted better treatments for the UK’s most deadly diseases; a quarter wanted technology that would improve people’s quality of life; and 38 per cent said they cared about living in cities that are safe, enjoyable places. With this in mind, 20 UK university research projects that hope to tackle these issues were highlighted as part of the celebrations.
“The FFMOT was included as one of the 20 new ideas from UK universities that will change the world”.
Glasgow Caledonian University worked closely with a local charity called ROAR (Reaching Older Adults in Renfrewshire) training their volunteers to run Functional Fitness MOTs with the older people they befriend and as a result the partnership won “Innovation Partnership of the Year” (2016) from Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. The awards, held in the Scottish Parliament, celebrated people and projects from across the country which support others to feel in control of their health and wellbeing.
“We’ve used the Functional Fitness MOT as part of a grant-funded project in Hackney to encourage those who’ve not yet experienced a fall to take part in preventative activities. Not only have we had some great feedback from participants, it’s helped us to better understand the level of risk among older adults living in Anchor Hanover properties. This information has helped us to think about how falls prevention services and activities can be adopted within retirement housing, and how we can work more closely with the NHS and local voluntary services.”
Read the Anchor Hanover Evaluation Report “Staying Strong”
“The Functional Fitness MOT is a really great tool which we run alongside our exercise classes. The seven tests are all very straight forward and all our participants are able to perform them and even enjoy it and feel motivated by it! Participants really like to be able to see where they score against their peers. It is really informative for both the instructor and the exerciser and it works as a great outcome measure and goal setting tool. Using the FF MOT we are able to promote the benefits of physical activity in succinct way. The Functional Fitness MOT training was time very well spent – we implemented it the next day and haven’t looked back”!
“We have used the Functional Fitness MOT across Cumbria as a key component in multi-agency health and wellbeing days. FFMOT has been incorporated into various health promotion initiatives such as falls awareness week, carers week and Older Peoples’ Day and we have held events in a variety of locations such as local libraries, farmer’s markets and health centres. The benefits of these events have been felt not only by participants and visitors but by staff and services taking part. FF MOT days have proved to be invaluable in building links between services and sectors including our local voluntary organisations”.
Read the North Cumbria Integrated Care evaluation report
The Functional Fitness MOT events were programmed to support the start of “Elevate” strength and balance exercise classes. The Elevate project, funded by Shropshire Public Health, was run by Energize STW to train local exercise teachers to be Level 4 Postural Stability Instructors and support them to start 20-week strength and balance exercise programmes (branded “Elevate”) in the community.
Functional Fitness MOT events were held in 18 community settings across Shropshire, resulting in 332 attendees, 261 of whom completed feedback forms and 283 completed review interviews. Of the attendees, 70% were women. Suitable FF MOT attendees were referred to the Elevate programme, helping to kick-start new Elevate classes in each area.
Read the Full Shropshire RCC Report
The Babergh and Mid Suffolk project is a three-year project between Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils and our Active Wellbeing service; a service that supports older adults who are physically inactive to become more active. The Active Wellbeing service will be works closely with separate surgeries in 9 district to support patients to improve their physical activity levels.
With the support of one of a Physical Activity Advisors, clients are invited to complete a Functional Fitness MOT, discuss their motivations to get active, different options that are available locally to them and consider any barriers, issues or concerns they might have. The service is focused on the individual, and the Advisor will support clients through consultations, phone calls and on-going reviews to provide support and motivation.
Read the full active Suffolk Report
In developing our BSc Module ‘Working with Ageing Populations’, we included the Functional Fitness MOT as a key practical element and experience to enhance our students learning. It provides excellent insight into understanding how physical functioning relates to well-being and successful ageing and in Later Life. The Functional Fitness MOT is an absolute must.
At Link4Life the Functional Fitness MOT is used as a guideline and starting point for participants attending a 10-week exercise course. We gained funding to run 3 of these courses across the borough by applying for a grant from the Clinical Commissioning Group. The courses target those at 60+ and anyone with mobility problems, or who needed to strengthen joints and become more functional in daily activities.
Using the Functional Fitness MOT as a guideline and providing the results really brings home how people can improve and how much more they can do, and encourages them to keep trying and work harder to get better. Participants from this course now attend, aqua aerobics, yoga and Zumba Gold sessions on a regular basis. Several of them are coming back on our next course as they want to further improve their results.
“As a wellbeing team, we have used the FF MOTs for 7 years now, and delivered both FF MOT events on a large scale citywide, smaller in community centres and individualised approaches in sheltered housing. We have evidence that the FF MOT is a great motivational tool to initiate conversations about physical activity and getting started! We have also realised the potential of the FF MOT to our partnership working with our local authority leisure provider, city physiotherapists, university and college students and our local care providers. We can’t talk highly enough of this great resource! #BeLikeAberdeen”
Read the Aberdeen FFMOT report
Since October 2018, Cardiff & Vale UHB in collaboration with Cardiff Council, the Cardiff Third Sector Council and Public Health Wales, have been running a weekly Stay Steady Falls clinics across Cardiff. These clinics are for people over 65, living in Cardiff, to help them to identify and reduce their future risk of falls. The clinics are accessed by self-referral into the Cardiff Council Independent Living Service First Point of Contact Team (see poster below).
During the clinics, each person spends time with a Physiotherapist to talk about their own personal risks and any action they could take to reduce these. This is followed by the Functional Fitness MOT assessment of their strength and balance. The benefit we have seen of using this particular measure /tool is that people report enjoying completing it and that it is meaningful and motivating for them. They like the normative data that is provided and the fact that, with some changes to their current lifestyle, they can see an improvement in their performance on the tests in quite a short time. With this in mind, recent changes were made to the service to offer each participant a review of their functional fitness after 8 weeks, using the FFMOT again to compare their test results.
Read the Cardiff Vale UHB report
“The FF MOT tool is a fantastic way to engage with individuals and provides a very tailored bespoke programme. By doing each assessment and documenting the results, you have a working document that allows the monitoring of progression for that individual with an agreed action plan. BEATS have found the individual then takes enhanced ownership of their plan, as they have something clear to work toward. It is a very powerful motivator. The FF MOT also enables our exercise referral officers to baseline test and re-test a group of individuals in one session as it’s also is very cost and time effective, which is essential when you have a small team like ours with large demands on your service”.
“I use the Functional Fitness MOT with my HND Fitness, Health and Exercise students and also our year 3 BSc Sport and fitness Degree students. All of our fitness students are qualified fitness instructors and have knowledge of the Functional Fitness MOT, as they may use this in industry in the future when working with older adults. I also teach practical sessions on functional fitness testing for older adults and the Functional Fitness MOT resources are excellent for introducing this”.
Payment must be received at least 4 weeks prior to enrolment in order to allow access to the online training portal.
The full costs for the course are £70 + VAT which includes all resources, access to the Later Life Training Learning Portal and tutor support.
If you have previously completed an FFMOT course with us, we are offering a special price of £50 + VAT. Just tick the box on the final page of the booking form, and we will provide an invoice with the discount applied.
If you are an individual wanting to attend a course but there are no course dates offered in the course dates listings, please contact the LLT office.
We encourage everyone to be responsible for their own learning. In light of this, we ask that you please inform us, at point of application, about any learning support requirements and/or medical conditions support that will help you to access our course content and learn effectively. All information will be treated confidentially and we will make reasonable adjustments to meet your needs.
The face-to-face sessions will be delivered via the Big Blue Button, accessible through our e-learning portal. For maximum compatibility we recommend using a personal laptop or desktop computer with the most up to date version of the Chrome or Firefox web browser installed. If neither are available to you, Microsoft Edge (version Blink 79 onwards) is also compatible. Please test your browser compatibility prior to booking, via the Big Blue Button test link.
We don’t recommend using a work PC as there may be firewall restrictions that prevent you from connecting to the Big Blue Button. However, if this is necessary, please check with your IT department to ensure you can connect to our BigBlueButton server prior to commencement of your face-to-face days.
A brief summary of the minimum requirements:
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