Rationale
In an increasingly complex, sedentary and rapidly changing world it is critical for every young Australian to not only be able to cope with life’s challenges but also to flourish as healthy, safe and active citizens in the 21st century. This is a strong investment in the future of the Australian population.Aims
The Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (F–10) aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to enable students to:access, evaluate and synthesise information to take positive action to protect, enhance and advocate for their own and others’ health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity participation across their lifespan
Key ideas
Health and Physical Education propositionsThe Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education has been shaped by five interrelated propositions that are informed by a strong and diverse research base for a futures-oriented curriculum:
Focus on educative purposes
Structure
Strands, sub-strands and threadsThe Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education is organised into two content strands: personal, social and community health and movement and physical activity. Each strand contains content descriptions which are organised under three sub-strands.
PDF documents
Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education are available as PDF documents.Health and Physical Education: Sequence of content
Health and Physical Education: Sequence of achievement
Health and …
Glossary
Years 3 and 4
Years 3 and 4 Band Description
The Year 3 and 4 curriculum further develops students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to their health, wellbeing, safety and participation in physical activity. In these years, students begin to explore personal and social factors that support and contribute to their identities and emotional responses in varying situations. They also develop a further understanding of how their bodies grow and change as they get older.
The content explores knowledge, understanding and skills that supports students to build and maintain respectful relationships, make health-enhancing and safe decisions, and interpret health messages from different sources to take action to enhance their own health and wellbeing.
The curriculum in Years 3 and 4 builds on previous learning in movement to help students develop greater proficiency across the range of fundamental movement skills. Students combine movements to create more complicated movement patterns and sequences. Through participation in a variety of physical activities, students further develop their knowledge about movement and how the body moves. They do this as they explore the features of activities that meet their needs and interests and learn about the benefits of regular physical activity.
The Year 3 and 4 curriculum also gives students opportunities to develop through movement personal and social skills such as leadership, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, persistence and decision-making.
Focus areas to be addressed in Years 3 and 4 include:
- alcohol and other drugs (AD)
- food and nutrition (FN)
- health benefits of physical activity (HBPA)
- mental health and wellbeing (MH)
- relationships and sexuality (RS)
- safety (S)
- active play and minor games (AP)
- challenge and adventure activities (CA)
- fundamental movement skills (FMS)
- games and sports (GS)
- lifelong physical activities (LLPA)
- rhythmic and expressive movement activities (RE).
Years 3 and 4 Content Descriptions
Being healthy, safe and active
Communicating and interacting for health and wellbeing
Contributing to healthy and active communities
Moving our body
Understanding movement
Learning through movement
Years 3 and 4 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 4, students recognise strategies for managing change. They identify influences that strengthen identities. They investigate how emotional responses vary and understand how to interact positively with others in a variety of situations. Students interpret health messages and discuss the influences on healthy and safe choices. They understand the benefits of being healthy and physically active. They describe the connections they have to their community and identify local resources to support their health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity.
Students apply strategies for working cooperatively and apply rules fairly. They use decision-making and problem-solving skills to select and demonstrate strategies that help them stay safe, healthy and active. They refine fundamental movement skills and apply movement concepts and strategies in a variety of physical activities and to solve movement challenges. They create and perform movement sequences using fundamental movement skills and the elements of movement.
Years 3 and 4 Work Sample Portfolios
Years 5 and 6
Years 5 and 6 Band Description
The Year 5 and 6 curriculum supports students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills to create opportunities and take action to enhance their own and others' health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity participation. Students develop skills to manage their emotions, understand the physical and social changes that are occurring for them and examine how the nature of their relationships changes over time.
The content provides opportunities for students to contribute to building a positive school environment that supports healthy, safe and active choices for everyone. Students also explore a range of factors and behaviours that can influence health, safety and wellbeing.
Students refine and further develop a wide range of fundamental movement skills in more complex movement patterns and situations. They also apply their understanding of movement strategies and concepts when composing and creating movement sequences and participating in games and sport. Students in Years 5 and 6 further develop their understanding about movement as they learn to monitor how their body responds to different types of physical activity. In addition, they continue to learn to apply rules fairly and behave ethically when participating in different physical activities. Students also learn to effectively communicate and problem-solve in teams or groups in movement settings.
Focus areas to be addressed in Years 5 and 6 include:
- alcohol and other drugs (AD)
- food and nutrition (FN)
- health benefits of physical activity (HBPA)
- mental health and wellbeing (MH)
- relationships and sexuality (RS)
- safety (S)
- challenge and adventure activities (CA)
- fundamental movement skills (FMS)
- games and sports (GS)
- lifelong physical activities (LLPA)
- rhythmic and expressive movement activities (RE).
Years 5 and 6 Content Descriptions
Being healthy, safe and active
Communicating and interacting for health and wellbeing
Contributing to healthy and active communities
Moving our body
Understanding movement
Learning through movement
Years 5 and 6 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 6, students investigate developmental changes and transitions. They explain the influence of people and places on identities. They recognise the influence of emotions on behaviours and discuss factors that influence how people interact. They describe their own and others’ contributions to health, physical activity, safety and wellbeing. They describe the key features of health-related fitness and the significance of physical activity participation to health and wellbeing. They examine how physical activity, celebrating diversity and connecting to the environment support community wellbeing and cultural understanding.
Students demonstrate fair play and skills to work collaboratively. They access and interpret health information and apply decision-making and problem-solving skills to enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing. They perform specialised movement skills and sequences and propose and combine movement concepts and strategies to achieve movement outcomes and solve movement challenges. They apply the elements of movement when composing and performing movement sequences.