In order for initiatives targeting physical activity in the school community to be effectively implemented, they need to ‘make sense’ from the school’s perspective. That is, teachers need to see their value and feel confident that implementation will result in change. Teachers also need to feel competent in doing what’s required of them to implement an initiative as intended. This study takes a mixed methods research approach (questionnaire and focus groups) to understand motivations, perceived benefits and challenges associated with implementing the ‘Active School Flag’ (ASF) initiative. Active School Flag ‘coordinators’ from Irish primary schools completed questionnaires (n = 236) and participated in focus groups (n = 19). Data were analysed using descriptive and Thematic Analysis (TA). Findings suggest that schools are both intrinsically motivated (e.g. ‘to improve the health of the children’) and extrinsically motivated (by recognition and status) to implement the ASF initiative. Results also reveal a litany of perceived benefits attributed to ASF implementation (including ‘less active children become more active’). Conversely, results indicate that implementation comes with challenges relating to ‘time’ and ‘paperwork’. Findings of this study have the potential to be used as inputs to improve the ASF implementation process and inform similar future programmes.

为了有效实施针对学校社区体育活动的举措，它们需要从学校的角度“有意义”。也就是说，教师需要看到他们的价值，并相信实施会带来改变。教师还需要感到有能力按照他们的要求执行一项计划。本研究采用混合方法研究方法（问卷调查和焦点小组）来了解与实施“积极学校旗帜”（ASF）计划相关的动机、感知收益和挑战。来自爱尔兰小学的活跃校旗“协调员”完成了问卷调查（n  = 236）并参加了焦点小组（n = 19)。使用描述性和主题分析（TA）分析数据。调查结果表明，学校既有内在动机（例如“改善儿童健康”），也有外在动机（通过认可和地位）来实施 ASF 倡议。结果还揭示了 ASF 实施带来的一系列好处（包括“不太活跃的儿童变得更加活跃”）。相反，结果表明实施伴随着与“时间”和“文书工作”相关的挑战。这项研究的结果有可能被用作改进 ASF 实施过程的输入，并为类似的未来计划提供信息。