PDHPE (Personal Development, Health and Physical Education) is critical in primary schools for several key reasons. It promotes healthy and active lifestyles by encouraging physical activity and nutrition. This helps students develop physically and gain self-awareness and social values. PDHPE also helps students build lifelong skills like decision making, problem solving, and communication. It supports students to lead responsible and productive roles in society. While many children are overweight and inactive, PDHPE can help address this by making health and physical education an important part of school.

1. Personal development,
Health & physical
Education
Why PDHPE is critical
in primary schools?

2. Benefits of PDHPE
‘The aim of PD-H-PE is to develop in students the
knowledge and understanding, skills and values and
attitudes needed to lead healthy, active and fulfilling
lives.’ (PD-H-PE K-6 syllabus p.8)
It is proven that “Students who are well nourished and
physically active are better able to reach their academic
potential and exhibit positive behaviours in the classroom”
(NSW Auditor-General's Report Physical activity in
government)

3. Holistic Being
PDHPE advocates and encourages a healthy and active
lifestyle. It promotes and encourages physical activity while
focusing on the importance of healthy eating and nutrition.
It does not only help their skeletal development; students
also gain awareness of themselves, and others, and develop
key values which will continue throughout their life.
PDHPE implores Teaching Games For Learning TGFU
Model (Bunker & Thorper 1982) It provides a learning
approach that puts the need and abilities of the participants
over the importance of game.

4. PDHPE Syllabus
The New South Wales PDHPE syllabus helps to develop lifelong skills in:
Decision making
Problem-solving
Communicating
Interacting
Moving
So that they can lead responsible and productive role in
society!
PDHPE will help each student develop their knowledge and
understanding in a variety of aspects including: Active lifestyle,
dance, games and sports, growth and development,
gymnastics, interpersonal relationships, personal and health
choices and safe living!

5. Our responsibility
Parents, Teachers and Educating system plays an
important role in our children’s lives; lets work together to
bring about change and make PDHPE an important part of
our children’s schooling lives!
Statistics
NSW Department of Health’s 2010 Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition
Survey shows that an estimated 22 million children under the age of five
are overweight
31% of children are not meeting the requirement of 60 minutes of
moderate and vigorous physical activity each day.
Physical activity and education is declining in schools worldwide

6. References
Bunker, D., & Thorpe, R. (2007). A model for the teaching of games. Bulletin of
Physical Education, 10, 9-16.
PD-H-PE K-6, (1999) Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
(PDHPE) K-6 PDHPE Syllabus, www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au
NSW Department of Health’s 2010 Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition
Survey (SPANS)
NSW Auditor-General's Report Physical activity in government primary schools,
cited in:
www.audit.nsw.gov.au/.../05_PAB_Physical_Activity_Introduction.pdf.au

7. References
Bunker, D., & Thorpe, R. (2007). A model for the teaching of games. Bulletin of
Physical Education, 10, 9-16.
PD-H-PE K-6, (1999) Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
(PDHPE) K-6 PDHPE Syllabus, www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au
NSW Department of Health’s 2010 Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition
Survey (SPANS)
NSW Auditor-General's Report Physical activity in government primary schools,
cited in:
www.audit.nsw.gov.au/.../05_PAB_Physical_Activity_Introduction.pdf.au