Physical Education P romoting healthy lifestyles President: Ms. Tricia Robertson Executive Director: Ms. Mary Wilson ACHPER Office:

Support for Physical Education School and community programs that promote regular physical activity among young people could be among the most effective strategies for reducing the public health burden of chronic diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles. (US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1997)

Physical Education is the process through which young people develop the skills, knowledge, experience and positive attitude to lead a healthy lifestyle

Why is Physical Education Essential? l School-based physical education provides significant advantages including – an ongoing, long-term and achievable means to promote healthy living – providing almost all children with regular access to experiences that promote healthy living in a supportive educational environment – equitable access for groups who have been disadvantaged in receiving experiences that promote healthy living, including » girls » people with a disability » people from low socio-economic backgrounds » people from culturally & linguistically diverse backgrounds » people from less well resourced communities

Some Good News l State Governments have: » Established Minimum Time Allocations for Physical and Sport Education in Government Schools – Years P - 3: minutes physical education per day – Years 4 - 6:180 minutes per week, with at least 50 percent allocated to physical education – Years :a minimum of 100 minutes physical education and a minimum of 100 minutes of sport » Provided funding and resources to support the training of 20,000 teachers of physical education

Some Challenges for PA in Schools l Physical Activity – is an important part of the approach to teaching Physical Education » it is not a replacement for physical education – Schools provide an education to young people » Education is based currently on the Curriculum and Standards Framework II (CSF II) » HPE is a Key Learning Area in the CSF II l HPE includes 3 strands; 1 PE strands (Movement & PA) l Physical activity is embedded at each level of the PE strand in the CSFII

Some Challenges for PA in Schools l Crowded Curriculum – CSF I (22 Learning Outcomes), CSF II (12 Learning Outcomes) – Curriculum Analysis » Crowded Curriculum and Lack of Flexibility l A New Role for Schools – Local Responsibility, Local Decisions, Local Control l Ministerial Meetings, Briefings & Press Releases – Minister for Education – Minister for Sport & Recreation – Minister for Health

Moving Forward Revitalise Policy on Compulsory Time Allocation for Physical Education Annual State-wide Report of Implementation of this Policy by Schools Target: 95% of schools implementing policy by the end of 2004 Schools School CouncilPrinicpalStaffSchool Community Role: Install and support Physical Education as a core component of curriclum Physical Education Coordinator Role: Develop and implement Physical Education experiences that promote healthy living EquityCross Subject Links Initiatives Community Links (All Students)(Science, Numeracy) (WSB, Active Yard Duty) (Sport)

Our Challenge ? Ninety-five percent of all schools meeting the time requirements for physical and sport education by 2004