Report Card Leader

Alex Costen
Alex Costen is the Be Active for The Health Improvement Commission of Guernsey and Alderney. The Health Improvement Commission | Health Improvement Commission.

The Health Improvement Commission LBG is a charity with a mission to empower, enable and encourage healthy living in Guernsey and Alderney. Its vision is for the islands to be places that support everyone to lead healthy lives.

Alex is new to the Be Active lead role in 2025, having spent four years working for the Be Active team as an Active Travel Officer. She previously held PR and Event Management roles in Guernsey, engaging with the local community in a variety of ways, from organising school sporting events to a large tea party for people who lived in Guernsey during the Occupation.

Alex has also worked as a journalist for the Guernsey Press, so understands the importance of reporting and messaging in terms of encouraging healthy lifestyles and influencing the behaviours and attitudes of young people.

The main aim of the Be Active initiative is to get more people, more active, more often by creating positive community initiatives and advocating for the development of environments which encourage and enable everyday physical activity. Be Active | Health Improvement Commission.

A large part of Alex’s work focusses on young people’s physical activity with a particular emphasis on informal activity, as well as active travel opportunities. Bailiwick of Guernsey schools adopted a physical activity directive that clearly outlines how to embed activity in educational establishments and is being reviewed again in 2025.

Schools have also been invited to undertake a Be Active Framework that supports all areas of school life to increase activity opportunities.

Report Card Grades

• Overall Physical Activity: C+*
• Organized Sport and Physical Activity: C+
• Active Play: INC
• Active Transportation: C-
• Sedentary Behavior: C
• Physical Fitness: INC
• Family and Peers: D
• School: B-
• Community and Environment: INC
• Government: C+

Related Links

• Long form

Report Card Leader

Alun Williams
Alun Williams is the Be Active and Education lead for The Health Improvement Commission of Guernsey and Alderney. See The Health Improvement Commission | Health Improvement Commission.

The Health Improvement Commission LBG is a charity with a mission to empower, enable and encourage healthy living in Guernsey and Alderney. Its vision is for our islands to be places that support us all to lead a healthy life.

Alun has worked for Guernsey Education Services for over 35 years with a range of responsibilities including oversight of the Careers Service, Youth Service and the wider curriculum including sex and relationships education, personal and social health Education.

Alun has been responsible for three decades of the three yearly Guernsey Young People’s survey: The Guernsey Young People’s Survey 2019 – States of Guernsey (gov.gg) which has monitored the views, behaviours and attitudes of the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s young people.

He has been seconded to the Health Improvement Commission to develop the Be Active initiative: Be Active | Health Improvement Commission. The Be Active initiative aims to get more of us more active more often by creating positive community initiatives and advocating for the development of environments which encourage and enable everyday physical activity.

Alun’s work focusses on children’s and young people’s physical activity with a particular emphasis on active travel opportunities. Bailiwick of Guernsey schools have recently adopted an Activity directive that clearly outlines how to embed activity in educational establishments.

Schools are also being invited to undertake a Be Active Framework that supports all areas of school life to increase activity opportunities.

Alun is a prominent participant and advocate of Guernsey sport. He is the immediate past president of Guernsey athletics and is an endurance coach for a training group of 12-15 year olds. He also continues to compete as a superveteran.

Report Card Grades

• Overall Physical Activity: D
• Organized Sport and Physical Activity: C+
• Active Play: INC
• Active Transportation: D
• Sedentary Behavior: C
• Physical Fitness: INC
• Family and Peers: INC
• School: INC
• Community and Environment: INC
• Government: D

Related Links

• Short form
• Scientific paper
• Poster
• Conference abstract

Top Three Priorities

1. To support the development of healthy nutrition and activity in Early Years settings.
2. To increase active travel opportunities associated with schools.
3. To refine a programme of measurement of behaviours linked to healthy weight, including physical activity, sedentary time and healthy eating.

Report Card Leader

Alun Williams

Report Card Team

Testimonial

"It has been a fascinating learning experience for the Bailiwick of Guernsey to be part of the AHKGA Global Alliance 3.0 initiative. There is a growing understanding of the importance of physical activity for young people locally and it is reassuring and inspiring to work alongside a range of like-minded global partners." - Alun Williams

Conference Abstract: Movement to Move

A Golden Opportunity: The Bailiwick of Guernsey Report Card 2018

Alun Williams¹, Lucy Whitman², Yve Le Page³, Colin Le Page⁴, Graham Chester⁵, Simon J. Sebire⁶.
¹ States of Guernsey Education Services; ² The Health Improvement Commission for Guernsey and Alderney; ³ Health Promotion Unit, Public Health Services, Guernsey; ⁴ States of Guernsey Traffic and Highway Services; ⁵ Guernsey Sports Commission; Sebire is with the ⁶ Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, England and The Health Improvement Commission for Guernsey and Alderney.

Introduction

Located in the English Channel, Guernsey has a population of 63,000. This first Report Card will  summarise existing evidence on young people’s physical activity.

Methods

The main data source was the self-reported Guernsey Young People’s Survey, administered online in spring/summer 2016 in 16 primary (561 pupils) and 8 secondary and post-16 schools (985 pupils

Results

Physical activity and active transport levels are relatively low. Sedentary behavior is high amongst older children. There are signs of a Government response, but intentions need to be implemented and can be developed further.

Conclusion

Based on current evidence, physical activity levels amongst Guernsey’s young people are low but islands like Guernsey have a golden opportunity to address this through a coordinated response.

Table of Grades: