Evaluate your impact
Use our evaluation forms to guide and support your practice in assessing the impact of signing up to the RCGP Active Practice Charter. These evaluation templates can help you assess how you deliver the Active Practice Charter whilst also assisting you, colleagues or trainees in appraisal and portfolio requirements.
Completing the forms will help you understand how your practice is delivering the Active Practice initiative and subsequently improve what you offer to patients and staff.
If you have a GP registrar in the practice they are well placed to lead this kind of project.
The evaluation contains three parts. It has been designed to offer options based upon need and interest, with part one being the easiest to perform. All parts can be performed independently or sequentially.
Please contact us at activepractice@rcgp.org.uk if you have any questions.
Active Practice Charter evaluation: a guide to quality improvement in general practice
The Active Practice Charter is an initiative developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in partnership with Sport England to encourage and celebrate general practices in the UK that take active steps to promote physical activity among patients and staff. The charter focuses on reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing activity levels, recognizing the crucial role of physical activity in preventing and managing health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and mental health disorders.
Why you should evaluate your practice’s implementation of the Active Practice Charter
To ensure that your practice is successfully embedding the principles of the Active Practice Charter, we have developed this template evaluation form. It serves as a structured tool to:
- Assess the impact of adopting the Active Practice Charter in your practice.
- Identify areas for improvement and support evidence-based decision-making.
- Facilitate Quality Improvement (QI) projects, making it easier to track progress and implement meaningful changes.
- Provide documented evidence to meet appraisal and portfolio requirements for GPs and GP trainees (GPSTs).
How this evaluation supports the quality improvement (QI) cycle
Quality Improvement (QI) is a systematic approach used in healthcare to enhance patient care and practice efficiency. Find out more in the NHS England report, ‘An Introduction to Quality Improvement in General Practice’ (External PDF). It follows an ongoing cycle of four steps:
- Step 1: Diagnosis. Identifying an area for improvement- e.g. promoting physical activity in line with the Active Practice Charter.
- Step 2: Plan and Test. Measuring current performance – gathering baseline data through this evaluation.
- Step 3: Implement and Embed. Use insights from the evaluation to make targeted improvements.
- Step 4: Sustain and Spread. Embedding successful strategies into routine practice.
- Return to Step 1 to measure impact and adjust – assessing whether changes lead to better patient and staff engagement with physical activity initiatives.
This evaluation template aligns with the QI cycle, making it a valuable tool for both experienced GPs and GP trainees. If you have a GP trainee in your practice, this could serve as an ideal QI project for their training portfolio and appraisals.
Evaluation structure
This evaluation consists of three forms, each designed to provide varying levels of detail based on your practice’s needs and interests. The forms can be completed independently or sequentially depending on the depth of evaluation desired.
Form 1: Demographics and Delivery
Collects baseline information on your practice’s demographics and how the Active Practice Charter is being implemented.
Form 2: Staff Questionnaire
Gathers feedback from practice staff regarding their awareness, engagement, and perception of the initiative.
Form 3: Evaluation of Physical Activity Coding
Assesses how well physical activity is being recorded and coded in patient records, ensuring accurate documentation and tracking of progress.
How this evaluation supports your practice, staff, and patients
By completing this evaluation, your practice will gain clear insights into how well the Active Practice Charter is being integrated and what steps can be taken to enhance its impact. We hope this evaluation tool supports your practice in delivering the Active Practice Charter effectively and enhances the well-being of both staff and patients.