Rationale

The Health and Physical Education domain provides students with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable them to achieve a degree of autonomy in developing and maintaining their physical, mental, social and emotional health. This domain focuses on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and physical activity in the lives of individuals and groups in our society.

Purpose

• To actively encourage and promote children’s positive attitudes towards themselves, others and the environment, and to develop their understanding of their responsibilities with regard to health knowledge, health attitudes and health practices.
• To teach children skills which will enable them to be safe in their home, the school and the community.
• To focus the attention of the whole school community on the concept of good nutrition, personal hygiene and well-being.
• To teach the skills necessary for effective, safe performance in games, sport, athletics, aquatics and dance using appropriate child orientated equipment in a non-threatening environment.
• To encourage the development of socially desirable attitudes and values and the pursuit of worthwhile, leisure-time activities.
• To encourage participation in physical activities as an enjoyable experience and to promote health through regular, vigorous physical activity.

Implementation

• All children will receive a balanced program based upon the framework provided by the Health and Physical Education document.
• Department of Education guidelines concerning suggested time to be spent at each grade level on Physical Education / Health will be observed.
• Fundamental motor skills will be acquired over seven years of schooling. A focus on these and other Physical Education skills will be taught as determined by each department.
• Health is linked to both Physical Education and Integrated Studies curriculum areas. Many aspects of Health are dealt with incidentally, but to ensure all Victorian Curriculum Standards are covered, some aspects are taught in a more formal way.
• A term planner is developed within each department based on a yearly events calendar, and Integrated Studies grid and the Victorian Curriculum.
• Conduct of outdoor Physical Education activities will be consistent with the SunSmart Policy.
• The Physical Education / Health Program budget will provide for equipment, affiliation fees and teacher professional development, managed by a Physical Education / Health Co-ordinator.
• Through liaison with the Sandhurst Division Physical Education Committee and community organisations/facilities, children will participate in clinics and programs to increase and support their physical development.
• Involvement of interested and suitably qualified parents in the Physical Education Sports program will be encouraged. These parents will be expected to be conversant with the Aussie Sports Code of Behaviour Manual for parents, coaches and officials and must have ‘Working with Children Check’.

The selection of school representative teams is merit-based. A trial process will provide all appropriate age level students with the chance to be considered, taking into account equal opportunity issues, an ongoing interest displayed in the sport, safety issues, the guidelines laid down by various sporting groups whilst also allowing for children who have special abilities in this area. Students in the higher grade level (i.e. Grade 6), will have priority if students display similar abilities. Student behaviour and work habits will also be a factor when determining team selections. Any child who displays continual inappropriate behaviour, as determined by the Principal, will not be considered for team selection.

School teams will be coached by an allocated staff member. Where appropriate, a parent or member of the community with the appropriate level of expertise may assist. Sporting teams will travel by bus to events.

Throughout the year there are a number of occasions where we have small groups of students who perform at a high enough standard to merit their entering selected sports programs, such as State Trials. As we do not always have the staff to take students to these events it is proposed that:

1. We encourage and support high performing students to participate in such events.
2. We assist in coordinating their entries.
3. We seek interested responsible parents to take these children to and from the events, as well as to provide supervision for the students during the time they are at the event.
4. Supervisors will be required to provide “Working with Children Check”.