The real PE podcast

MP3 - Ep3 - The Well HQ series - Empowered Women, Empowered Girls: Designing PE That Works for Every Girl

Episode 3 — Empowered Women, Empowered Girls: Designing PE That Works for Every Girl
The third and final episode of the series turns its focus entirely to schools and physical education — and begins with a moment of real, uncomfortable honesty. The same reports have been published for years. Girls are dropping out at the same rates. The statistics barely shift. Something has to change — not in what we know, but in what we are willing to do.
Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat explore what girls-first design in PE actually looks like, from the earliest years through to the persistent dropout of the secondary school years. The roots of that dropout, they argue, are laid long before a girl reaches secondary school — in the shoes she is expected to wear, in who dominates the playground, in the subtle daily message that rough-and-tumble play is for boys and stillness is for girls. John Parsons shares striking physical literacy data confirming that on every single measure — meaning, value, enjoyment, movement, connection, positive experiences — girls score consistently lower than boys, with the gap widening as they get older.
The episode's most powerful and resonant argument, however, is about teachers. Baz Moffat makes a compelling case that you cannot be an authentic advocate for girls' health if your own health has never been supported. A teacher who has spent a career being told to endure period pain in silence cannot authentically tell a girl her period is a vital sign of her wellbeing. A teacher with a complicated, unsupported relationship with food cannot credibly model healthy fuelling for the girls in her care. Empowered women empower girls — and right now, too many of the women at the heart of PE and school sport are not being empowered themselves.
Ronnie Heath shares real PE's emerging vision to invest directly in the health and wellbeing of the women teachers at the core of the real PE community — and The Well HQ's response is immediate: we are all in. It is the perfect note on which to end a series that has moved, throughout, from the scale of the problem to the urgency of the solution — and landed, finally, on the quiet conviction that change is not only possible, but already underway.
About The Well HQ
Founded in 2021 by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith, and Dr Emma Ross, The Well HQ is a women’s health and wellness consultancy rooted in scientific evidence, real-life experience, and decades of expertise. The Well HQ turns science into practical action through bespoke educational resources, training programmes and strategic plans that help organisations create lasting, impactful change.
Learn more at thewell-hq.com. 
Baz Moffat - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baz Moffat is the CEO and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. Drawing from her experience as a former Team GB rower and coach, she saw firsthand how a lack of female-specific training and support limits women’s potential. With over 20 years of experience in health, fitness, and high-performance environments, Baz is a prominent voice in the women’s health movement and advocates for closing the gender gap and creating meaningful change for women in sport and beyond.
Dr Emma Ross - Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Emma Ross is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. With a career as a scientist, researcher, and practitioner, Emma was involved in the development of several breakthrough initiatives around women’s physiology and psychology in sports. She was the Head of Physiology of the English Institute of Sport for ten years, and led the sports scientists supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Rio 2016.
 
 

Episode 3 - The Well HQ series — Empowered Women, Empowered Girls: Designing PE That Works for Every Girl

real PE podcast: The Well HQ series 
Episode 3 — Empowered Women, Empowered Girls: Designing PE That Works for Every Girl
The third and final episode of the series turns its focus entirely to schools and physical education — and begins with a moment of real, uncomfortable honesty. The same reports have been published for years. Girls are dropping out at the same rates. The statistics barely shift. Something has to change — not in what we know, but in what we are willing to do.
Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat explore what girls-first design in PE actually looks like, from the earliest years through to the persistent dropout of the secondary school years. The roots of that dropout, they argue, are laid long before a girl reaches secondary school — in the shoes she is expected to wear, in who dominates the playground, in the subtle daily message that rough-and-tumble play is for boys and stillness is for girls. John Parsons shares striking physical literacy data confirming that on every single measure — meaning, value, enjoyment, movement, connection, positive experiences — girls score consistently lower than boys, with the gap widening as they get older.
The episode's most powerful and resonant argument, however, is about teachers. Baz Moffat makes a compelling case that you cannot be an authentic advocate for girls' health if your own health has never been supported. A teacher who has spent a career being told to endure period pain in silence cannot authentically tell a girl her period is a vital sign of her wellbeing. A teacher with a complicated, unsupported relationship with food cannot credibly model healthy fuelling for the girls in her care. Empowered women empower girls — and right now, too many of the women at the heart of PE and school sport are not being empowered themselves.
Ronnie Heath shares real PE's emerging vision to invest directly in the health and wellbeing of the women teachers at the core of the real PE community — and The Well HQ's response is immediate: we are all in. It is the perfect note on which to end a series that has moved, throughout, from the scale of the problem to the urgency of the solution — and landed, finally, on the quiet conviction that change is not only possible, but already underway.
 
About The Well HQ
Founded in 2021 by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith, and Dr Emma Ross, The Well HQ is a women’s health and wellness consultancy rooted in scientific evidence, real-life experience, and decades of expertise. The Well HQ turns science into practical action through bespoke educational resources, training programmes and strategic plans that help organisations create lasting, impactful change.
Learn more at thewell-hq.com. 
Baz Moffat - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baz Moffat is the CEO and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. Drawing from her experience as a former Team GB rower and coach, she saw firsthand how a lack of female-specific training and support limits women’s potential. With over 20 years of experience in health, fitness, and high-performance environments, Baz is a prominent voice in the women’s health movement and advocates for closing the gender gap and creating meaningful change for women in sport and beyond.
Dr Emma Ross - Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Emma Ross is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. With a career as a scientist, researcher, and practitioner, Emma was involved in the development of several breakthrough initiatives around women’s physiology and psychology in sports. She was the Head of Physiology of the English Institute of Sport for ten years, and led the sports scientists supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Rio 2016.

MP3 Episode 2 - The Well HQ series - Radical Common Sense: From Problem to Practice

Episode 2 — Radical Common Sense: From Problem to Practice
If episode one asks how big the problem is, episode two asks what we actually do about it — and the answer turns out to be both more straightforward and more urgent than most people expect.
Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat return with a series of vivid, real-world stories that demonstrate what change looks like in practice. A single dad coaching an under-12s girls' football team who learned, through one CPD course from The Well HQ, how to have a confident conversation with his squad about sports bras. A hockey club that changed a training night and stopped all its sixth-form players getting injured. A 14-year-old whose performance and confidence were transformed by simply wearing a sports bra that fitted properly for the first time.
The episode introduces two ideas that are already reshaping practice in elite sport and could do the same in schools and grassroots clubs everywhere. The first is The Well HQ's development wheel — a structured, stepped framework that meets organisations wherever they are and gives them a clear, achievable path towards best-in-class practice. The second is the Female Health Leader concept, modelled on the mental health first aider approach: not an expert or a clinician, but a visible, trusted person within a school or club who creates the conditions for these conversations to happen and drives change from within.
The episode also covers the Women's Super League's four-year journey to becoming the world's leading football league for female athlete health, the Wimbledon white kit debate, England Hockey's landmark shorts-or-skirts decision, and why putting a sports bra on the PE kit list is one of the simplest and most impactful changes any school can make today. As Ronnie Heath puts it perfectly by the close: the solutions sound radical for about five seconds. After that, they are just common sense.
 
About The Well HQ
Founded in 2021 by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith, and Dr Emma Ross, The Well HQ is a women’s health and wellness consultancy rooted in scientific evidence, real-life experience, and decades of expertise. The Well HQ turns science into practical action through bespoke educational resources, training programmes and strategic plans that help organisations create lasting, impactful change.
Learn more at thewell-hq.com. 
Baz Moffat - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baz Moffat is the CEO and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. Drawing from her experience as a former Team GB rower and coach, she saw firsthand how a lack of female-specific training and support limits women’s potential. With over 20 years of experience in health, fitness, and high-performance environments, Baz is a prominent voice in the women’s health movement and advocates for closing the gender gap and creating meaningful change for women in sport and beyond.
Dr Emma Ross - Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Emma Ross is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. With a career as a scientist, researcher, and practitioner, Emma was involved in the development of several breakthrough initiatives around women’s physiology and psychology in sports. She was the Head of Physiology of the English Institute of Sport for ten years, and led the sports scientists supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Rio 2016.

Well HQ series - Episode 2 — Radical Common Sense: From Problem to Practice

Episode 2 — Radical Common Sense: From Problem to Practice
If episode one asks how big the problem is, episode two asks what we actually do about it — and the answer turns out to be both more straightforward and more urgent than most people expect.
Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat return with a series of vivid, real-world stories that demonstrate what change looks like in practice. A single dad coaching an under-12s girls' football team who learned, through one CPD course from The Well HQ, how to have a confident conversation with his squad about sports bras. A hockey club that changed a training night and stopped all its sixth-form players getting injured. A 14-year-old whose performance and confidence were transformed by simply wearing a sports bra that fitted properly for the first time.
The episode introduces two ideas that are already reshaping practice in elite sport and could do the same in schools and grassroots clubs everywhere. The first is The Well HQ's development wheel — a structured, stepped framework that meets organisations wherever they are and gives them a clear, achievable path towards best-in-class practice. The second is the Female Health Leader concept, modelled on the mental health first aider approach: not an expert or a clinician, but a visible, trusted person within a school or club who creates the conditions for these conversations to happen and drives change from within.
The episode also covers the Women's Super League's four-year journey to becoming the world's leading football league for female athlete health, the Wimbledon white kit debate, England Hockey's landmark shorts-or-skirts decision, and why putting a sports bra on the PE kit list is one of the simplest and most impactful changes any school can make today. As Ronnie Heath puts it perfectly by the close: the solutions sound radical for about five seconds. After that, they are just common sense.

MP3 - The Well HQ series - Episode 1 - The Female Fundamentals: Why PE and Sport is failing Women and Girls

The Well HQ series:
Episode 1 — The Female Fundamentals: Why PE and Sport is Failing Women and Girls
We know girls are dropping out of sport. We have the reports. We have the statistics. What we have been slower to confront is why — and what it tells us about a system that was never designed with girls in mind.
In the first episode of the series, Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat lay out the scale of the challenge with extraordinary clarity. Sixty-four per cent of girls who identified as sporty in primary school have dropped out of sport entirely by the time they leave secondary school. Only four per cent of women take part in organised sport. Just six per cent of sport and exercise science research has been conducted exclusively on women — meaning most of what coaches and teachers know about training, nutrition, recovery and injury is based on male bodies and applied wholesale to female ones.
Dr Emma Ross introduces what The Well HQ calls the female health fundamentals — breast health, menstrual health, pelvic health, nutrition and the psychological experience of growing up female in sporting environments — and explains why these are not fringe topics but the very foundations on which female participation stands or falls. Baz Moffat brings the story to life from her own years as an elite rower, where the marginal gains era had coaches obsessing over feathers in pillows and protein timing — while not a single sports bra made it into the kit bag.
The episode also explores why this knowledge has been so absent from coaching qualifications, PE degrees and teacher training — and the deeply entrenched societal discomfort around female bodies that keeps it that way. By the end, the picture is stark. But both guests make clear from the outset: the problem is well understood. What comes next is far more interesting.
About The Well HQ
Founded in 2021 by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith, and Dr Emma Ross, The Well HQ is a women’s health and wellness consultancy rooted in scientific evidence, real-life experience, and decades of expertise. The Well HQ turns science into practical action through bespoke educational resources, training programmes and strategic plans that help organisations create lasting, impactful change.
Learn more at thewell-hq.com. 
Baz Moffat - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baz Moffat is the CEO and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. Drawing from her experience as a former Team GB rower and coach, she saw firsthand how a lack of female-specific training and support limits women’s potential. With over 20 years of experience in health, fitness, and high-performance environments, Baz is a prominent voice in the women’s health movement and advocates for closing the gender gap and creating meaningful change for women in sport and beyond.
Dr Emma Ross - Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Emma Ross is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. With a career as a scientist, researcher, and practitioner, Emma was involved in the development of several breakthrough initiatives around women’s physiology and psychology in sports. She was the Head of Physiology of the English Institute of Sport for ten years, and led the sports scientists supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Rio 2016.

The Well HQ series - Episode 1: The Female Fundamentals: Why PE & Sport is Failing Women and Girls

The Well HQ series:
Episode 1 — The Female Fundamentals: Why PE and Sport is Failing Women and Girls
We know girls are dropping out of sport. We have the reports. We have the statistics. What we have been slower to confront is why — and what it tells us about a system that was never designed with girls in mind.
In the first episode of the series, Dr Emma Ross and Baz Moffat lay out the scale of the challenge with extraordinary clarity. Sixty-four per cent of girls who identified as sporty in primary school have dropped out of sport entirely by the time they leave secondary school. Only four per cent of women take part in organised sport. Just six per cent of sport and exercise science research has been conducted exclusively on women — meaning most of what coaches and teachers know about training, nutrition, recovery and injury is based on male bodies and applied wholesale to female ones.
Dr Emma Ross introduces what The Well HQ calls the female health fundamentals — breast health, menstrual health, pelvic health, nutrition and the psychological experience of growing up female in sporting environments — and explains why these are not fringe topics but the very foundations on which female participation stands or falls. Baz Moffat brings the story to life from her own years as an elite rower, where the marginal gains era had coaches obsessing over feathers in pillows and protein timing — while not a single sports bra made it into the kit bag.
The episode also explores why this knowledge has been so absent from coaching qualifications, PE degrees and teacher training — and the deeply entrenched societal discomfort around female bodies that keeps it that way. By the end, the picture is stark. But both guests make clear from the outset: the problem is well understood. What comes next is far more interesting.
About The Well HQ
Founded in 2021 by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith, and Dr Emma Ross, The Well HQ is a women’s health and wellness consultancy rooted in scientific evidence, real-life experience, and decades of expertise. The Well HQ turns science into practical action through bespoke educational resources, training programmes and strategic plans that help organisations create lasting, impactful change.
Learn more at thewell-hq.com. 
Baz Moffat - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baz Moffat is the CEO and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. Drawing from her experience as a former Team GB rower and coach, she saw firsthand how a lack of female-specific training and support limits women’s potential. With over 20 years of experience in health, fitness, and high-performance environments, Baz is a prominent voice in the women’s health movement and advocates for closing the gender gap and creating meaningful change for women in sport and beyond.
Dr Emma Ross - Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Emma Ross is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of The Well HQ, a consultancy dedicated to changing the system around women and girls in sport, fitness and wellness. With a career as a scientist, researcher, and practitioner, Emma was involved in the development of several breakthrough initiatives around women’s physiology and psychology in sports. She was the Head of Physiology of the English Institute of Sport for ten years, and led the sports scientists supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Rio 2016.

real nonsense episode 15: Breaking the Norm: Why Accepting 'Sensible' Physical Activity Targets Is the real Nonsense that's Failing Our Children

In this thought-provoking episode of real Nonsense, Ronnie Heath (CEO of Create Development) and John Parsons (Director of Innovation at real PE) tackle a critical issue in physical education: the dangerous acceptance of low ambition targets.
The conversation centres on a startling reality - when children start formal schooling, the recommended physical activity drops from three hours to just one hour per day. Why? Not because it's what children need, but because it's deemed "achievable" within current constraints.
John and Ronnie explore how accepting these lowered expectations creates a cascade of problems:
Post-COVID data showing children are three years behind in fundamental movement skills
The shifting of "normal" that accepts declining physical competency
How low ambitions affect not just PE, but cognitive functioning, concentration, and overall development
The duo shares powerful examples of how expectations shape outcomes, from maths setting errors to basketball coaching breakthroughs, demonstrating that our beliefs about what's possible directly impact children's achievements.
Most importantly, they offer solutions: identifying children needing support earlier, embedding movement throughout the school day, and crucially, making physical activity joyful and developmentally appropriate. The message is clear - we must state ambitious goals, celebrate progress towards them, and never accept that "average" is good enough when average means our children are falling behind.

real nonsense episode 15: Breaking the Norm: Why Accepting 'Sensible' Physical Activity Targets Is the real Nonsense that's Failing Our Children

In this thought-provoking episode of real Nonsense, Ronnie Heath (CEO of Create Development) and John Parsons (Director of Innovation at real PE) tackle a critical issue in physical education: the dangerous acceptance of low ambition targets.
The conversation centres on a startling reality - when children start formal schooling, the recommended physical activity drops from three hours to just one hour per day. Why? Not because it's what children need, but because it's deemed "achievable" within current constraints.
John and Ronnie explore how accepting these lowered expectations creates a cascade of problems:
Post-COVID data showing children are three years behind in fundamental movement skills
The shifting of "normal" that accepts declining physical competency
How low ambitions affect not just PE, but cognitive functioning, concentration, and overall development
The duo shares powerful examples of how expectations shape outcomes, from maths setting errors to basketball coaching breakthroughs, demonstrating that our beliefs about what's possible directly impact children's achievements.
Most importantly, they offer solutions: identifying children needing support earlier, embedding movement throughout the school day, and crucially, making physical activity joyful and developmentally appropriate. The message is clear - we must state ambitious goals, celebrate progress towards them, and never accept that "average" is good enough when average means our children are falling behind.

real PE podcast - Physical literacy part 2: Where Physical Literacy Meets Practical Implementation: the real PE approach

In this special edition of the real PE podcast, CEO Ronnie Heath interviews John Parsons, Director of Innovation at real PE, about implementing physical literacy in primary school curricula. They explore how the award-winning real PE platform transforms physical education from a performance-focused subject to an inclusive, child-centred approach that develops the whole person.
John unpacks the 'cogs' framework, diving deep into personal and social development as foundational elements of physical literacy. From helping young children cope with small failures to building collaborative learning cultures, this episode provides practical insights for teachers and coaches looking to create positive, inclusive environments where every child can thrive.
Drawing on over 15 years of curriculum development and examples from elite sport (including insights from the All Blacks), the conversation demonstrates how focusing on personal resilience, social skills, and emotional development creates stronger foundations for lifelong physical activity than traditional PE approaches.
Perfect for primary teachers, PE specialists, early years practitioners, and anyone interested in creating more inclusive approaches to physical education and sport.
Key topics covered:
Understanding physical literacy beyond just physical skills
The personal cog: Building resilience, perseverance and learning behaviours
The social cog: Developing collaboration, peer support and leadership
Creating environments where every child feels valued
Practical implementation strategies for busy teachers
Why the best teachers and coaches focus on how children feel, not just what they can do

real PE podcast - Physical literacy part 2: Where Physical Literacy Meets Practical Implementation: the real PE approach

In this special edition of the real PE podcast, CEO Ronnie Heath interviews John Parsons, Director of Innovation at real PE, about implementing physical literacy in primary school curricula. They explore how the award-winning real PE platform transforms physical education from a performance-focused subject to an inclusive, child-centred approach that develops the whole person.
John unpacks the 'cogs' framework, diving deep into personal and social development as foundational elements of physical literacy. From helping young children cope with small failures to building collaborative learning cultures, this episode provides practical insights for teachers and coaches looking to create positive, inclusive environments where every child can thrive.
Drawing on over 15 years of curriculum development and examples from elite sport (including insights from the All Blacks), the conversation demonstrates how focusing on personal resilience, social skills, and emotional development creates stronger foundations for lifelong physical activity than traditional PE approaches.
Perfect for primary teachers, PE specialists, early years practitioners, and anyone interested in creating more inclusive approaches to physical education and sport.
Key topics covered:
Understanding physical literacy beyond just physical skills
The personal cog: Building resilience, perseverance and learning behaviours
The social cog: Developing collaboration, peer support and leadership
Creating environments where every child feels valued
Practical implementation strategies for busy teachers
Why the best teachers and coaches focus on how children feel, not just what they can do