The Importance of PDHPE in

Primary Schools

PDHPE Rationale
Miss D Rouggos 6R
To ensure that children are educated in important issues surrounding
physical activity, healthy lifestyles, team building and safety.
PDHPE: 1/6 Key Learning Area
PDHPE makes a unique contribution to the total school curriculum
in that it is directly concerned with supporting the development of
the student as a whole person. - [NSW K-6 PDHPE Syllabus]
PDHPE is not just about sport (though that is an important area of
PDHPE). It covers areas such as:
Active Lifestyle Promoting wellbeing
Dance Communicate & express themselves through movement
Games & Sports Develops competence & confidence
Growth & Development Physical, social, cognitive and emotional development
Gymnastics Exploring the way the body can move
Interpersonal Relationships Understanding the nature of relationships
Personal Health Choices Making lifestyle decisions and putting them into practice
Safe Living Promotion of safe environments and practices
Statistics what are they?
Active children are more likely to mature into physically active
adults.
Children aged 5 12 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of
moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity every day. - [The
Department of Health]
The 2007-2008 NSW Population Health Survey found that only about a quarter of children and
young people aged between 5 - 15 years had at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
activity every day.
Referring to Figure 1
What this graph make obvious is that prevalence for overweight and
obesity has more recently stabilized and continues to now in 2014.
Overweight and obesity in school children has doubled since 1985
It has stabilized in recent years in recent year (22.8% in 2004 and 2010)
Higher among boys than girls

Personal, Development & Health
Encourages student to make informed lifestyle decisions:
Related to health
Develop positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle
Inform students about:
Issues that affect their health
Promoting positive lifestyle attitudes and choices
Creating positive relationships which are essential for wellbeing
Interpersonal skills are essential as it provides students with a sense of belonging

Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity provides a range of benefits and has an important
role in the wellbeing of individuals.
Improved fitness strength, flexibility and coordination
Improved general health and helps assist in weight management
Development of motor skills
Healthy growth and development of childrens:
Cardiorespiratory system
Bones
Muscles
Establishing healthy behaviours that young people will carry throughout their lives
Children who exercise regularly have higher levels of self- esteem
Promotes positive mental health
In a world of sedentary distraction, PDHPE is a great way to get kids
active.

Fun Fact Time
When individuals live a healthy lifestyle they live in a way that
allows them the greatest chance of achieving and maintaining:
Mental
Physical
Social
Spiritual Wellbeing
Individuals who are well informed on health issues and make good
decisions are more likely to experience:
Positive Relationships
Improved Quality of Life
Less Illness

More time for PDHPE
In a society that is facing serious health issues, the importance of
physical education (PE) in primary schools is often neglected.
PE is mandated to make up 6- 10% of curriculum time, but tis time is
rarely met.
According to My Schools a heavy emphasis on improving
numeracy and literacy has been placed on improving
numeracy and literacy and this will continue while
teachers strive to meet the needs of the new National
curriculum
With this pressure placed on students, teachers are left
placing a less focus on PE
In a recent study of primary teachers, it was found that
many were unable to fit in the mandatory hours across
all subject areas, with most participants admitting that
PE was the first to suffer (Morgan & Hansen, 2008:511)
There is a range of factors impacting on teachers:
Lack of confidence to teach PE
Lack of time
Poor facilities
Inadequate resources
Low levels of interest in PE in general