Explains why PDHPE is so important in Primary schools.

1. Why do we need PDHPE in
Primary schools?
By Miss Kruger

2. It has been identified that Personal Development, Health and Physical Education or
PDHPE for short, is an essential subject for your child and all Primary school students,
as it:
• Provides students with physical exercise, which is essential for their health and
fitness (Achterstraat, 2001).
• It has been identified that when students are active it supports their learning and
development in many other Key Learning Areas including maths, English (Achterstraat,
2001; Telford, Cunningham, Telford & Abhayaratna, 2012).
• When students are involved in physical activities it stimulates them to use higher
order thinking skills such as collaboration, creativity and awareness of how to move
within space (Board of Studies New South Wales, 1999; Achterstraat, 2001).
• It has been shown to extend and foster their engagement in school (Mandigo &
Holt, 2000; Achterstraat, 2001).
• PDHPE also has been shown to develop students’ ability to make positive lifestyle
choices throughout their life (Wills, 2010).

3. Through participating in PDHPE Students are provided with fundamental information and
knowledge on a wide range of key topics, issues and lifestyle choices.
This includes….
Active lifestyle – Teaches students the how, what and why they need to be
physically active, how exercise supports their bodies development and learn to be
happy and positive about themselves (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 10).
Dance – Gives students foundational skills how to move to
music and participate in a variety of dances (Board of Studies,
2007, p. 10).
Games and sports - Provides opportunities for students to learn a
variety of ways how to move their bodies, gain basic foundation skills
used for many games e.g. soccer, tennis, cricket and basketball,
swimming skills and what are the structures of games (Board of
Studies, 2007, p. 10).
Growth and development – Encourages students to think deeply about who they are and
what makes them an individual, how the body grows and changes overtime, the structure of
our bodies and our place within society (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 10).

4. Gymnastics – Teaches students how they can move and manipulate their bodies
independently, within a space and using equipment such as a balance beam (Board
of Studies, 2007, p. 10).
Interpersonal relationships - Supports students to learn how we
communicate and interact with diverse people, how our communities and
society functions and how to advocate for others (Board of Studies, 2007, p.
10).
Personal health choices – Teaches students what, when and how to make
choices in life, how food supports and affects their growing bodies, how to
be and stay healthy, how “drugs” effect their bodies and our impacts on the
“environment” (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).
Safe living - Shows students how to be safe in their community, homes and
neighbourhood, investigate why society has rules, what to do in an accident or
emergency and what to be aware of around “water, appliances and traffic”
(Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).

5. Through participating in PDHPE, students will gain many valuable skills that will support
them to be healthy, active and informed citizens. The essential skills students will learn
include:
• Communicating – expressing their own thoughts, knowledge and understandings on
many critical topics, learn to listen to others and develop key debating and analysing
skills (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).
• Decision making –how the choices can impact on their lives and others, who and what
influences their choices, explore positives and negatives of past and future choices including
smoking (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).
• Interacting – how to collaborate with others, support and advocate for inclusion, how to be
an active and involved community member, make and maintain positive “relationships” and
find out who can help them within the community (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).
• Moving – how to be active and physically fit, engage in frequent fun and interactive
games/sports, learn how to manipulate their bodies in a variety of activities including
dancing, athletics and swimming (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).
• Problem solving - investigate, ananlyse and look at issues Primary students face e.g.
bullying, how to keep safe and how best to respond in a variety of situations e.g. what to do
in an emergency (Board of Studies, 2007, p. 11).

6. Through my studies in the subject PDHPE I have discovered how essential PDHPE is for Primary
school students because:
• It gives students the knowledge and information to make informed choices and
decisions about their health e.g. food choices, smoking, relationships and behaviour.
• It provides students with basic skills in sports and physically active games, which they
can build upon to lead healthy active lives e.g. dancing, ball games, swimming.
• It provides knowledge that a happy and healthy individual includes the physical, social
and emotional qualities of a person.
• It supports students to be aware and understand others and the wider community that
they are apart of and how it shapes who they are e.g. School, neighborhood, social
groups.
• It also teaches students how to be responsible, informed and active citizens within
society.
Therefore PDHPE has a valuable and essential place in the school curriculum and daily routine,
as it supports students to develop healthy, active and responsible dispositions to their current
and future lives.

7. References
• Achterstraat, P. (2001). Physical activity in government primary schools. Sydney,
Australia: Audit Office of New South Wales, Department of Education and
Communities.
• Board of Studies New South Wales. (1999). Personal development, health and physical
education K-6 Syllabus: Introducing the PDHPE K-6 Syllabus to parents and community
members. Sydney, Australia: Board of Studies.
• Board of Studies New South Wales. (2007). Personal development, health and physical
education K-6 Syllabus. Retrieved from
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/330e5ccb-782a-432b-8ce5-
122a8c42967e/k6_pdhpe_syl.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
• Mandigo, J., & Holt, N. (2000). Putting theory into practice: How cognitive evaluation
theory can help us motivate children in physical activity environments. Journal of
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 71(1), 44-49.
• Telford, R. D., Cunningham, R. B., Telford, R. M., & Abhayaratna, W. P. (2012). Schools
with fitter children achieve better literacy and numeracy results: Evidence of a school
cultural effect. Pediatric Exercise Science, 24, 45-57.
• Wills, W. (2010). Tackling obesity: Promoting physical activity and healthy eating in
schools. In P. Aggleton, C. Dennison, & I. Warwick (Eds.), Promoting health and well-
being through schools (pp. 56-68). London, UK: Routledge.
Images contained in this presentation have been obtained from Microsoft Clipart gallery.