Food and wellbeing: Health and Physical Education

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Health and Physical Education

Food and nutrition is one of the focus areas in the Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum and includes developing knowledge, understanding and skills that will support students to make healthier choices. Students learn about food and nutrition by exploring the influences on these choices and developing skills to access and assess nutritional information to support healthy choices. In HPE, students learn about different stages of life and take increasing responsibility for their own growth and development by exploring and learning how to manage the many factors that influence their identities. They also develop a practical understanding of how connections to friends, family, other people, culture and society influence what we eat and drink.

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Year 7 and 8

Personal, social and community health

Being healthy, safe and active

Content descriptions with elaborations

Investigate the impact of transition and change on identities (ACPPS070)

  • examining the impact of physical changes on gender, cultural and sexual identities
  • investigating how changing feelings and attractions are part of developing sexual identities
  • identifying feelings and emotions associated with transitions, and practising self-talk and help-seeking strategies to manage these transitions and associated responsibilities
  • examining how traditions and cultural practices influence personal and cultural identities
  • examining online profiles and identities and developing strategies to promote safety in online environments

Evaluate strategies to manage personal, physical and social changes that occur as they grow older (ACPPS071)

  • accessing and assessing health information and services that support young people to effectively manage changes and transitions as they grow older
  • investigating the changing nature of peer and family relationships and proposing strategies to manage these changes
  • analysing how roles and responsibilities change and evaluating strategies for managing these increasing responsibilities
  • evaluating and practising coping, communication and problem-solving skills to manage changes and emotions associated with puberty and getting older
  • developing and evaluating strategies on use of social media, phones and the internet to remain safe and protect and respect the privacy of self and others

Practise and apply strategies to seek help for themselves or others (ACPPS072)

  • examining scenarios to highlight how emotions, dispositions and decision-making can affect outcomes
  • collaborating with peers to suggest strategies they could use in emergencies
  • practising different communication techniques to persuade someone to seek help
  • exploring help-seeking scenarios young people encounter and sharing strategies for dealing with each situation
  • discussing emotional responses to interactions within relationships, and proposing strategies to seek help

Investigate and select strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing (ACPPS073)

  • researching a variety of snack and lunch options, and evaluating nutritional value, value for money and sustainability impacts to create a weekly menu plan

Communicating and interacting for health and wellbeing

Content descriptions with elaborations

Investigate the benefits of relationships and examine their impact on their own and others’ health and wellbeing (ACPPS074)

  • examining how individuals, family and peer groups influence people’s behaviours, decisions and actions
  • understanding and applying online and social protocols to enhance relationships with others and protect their own wellbeing, including recognising and responding to inappropriate online content
  • analysing how their relationships influence behaviours and actions
  • analysing how behaviours, actions, and responses to situations can change depending on whether they are by themselves, with friends or with family
  • recognising the impact bullying and harassment can have on relationships, including online relationships
  • exploring skills and strategies needed to communicate and engage in relationships in respectful ways

Analyse factors that influence emotions and develop strategies to demonstrate empathy and sensitivity (ACPPS075)

  • investigating personal, social and cultural factors that influence the way individuals respond emotionally to different situations
  • exploring different viewpoints, practising being empathetic and considering alternative ways to respond
  • recognising and interpreting emotional responses to stressful situations and proposing strategies for managing these responses
  • exploring the impact of different ways of communicating, how these impact on emotions and can show respect (or not) for self and others

Contributing to healthy and active communities

Content descriptions with elaborations

Evaluate health information and communicate their own and others’ health concerns (ACPPS076)

  • analysing the credibility of health messages conveyed by different sources in terms of bias, reliability and validity and applying credible information to health-related decisions
  • practising ways to communicate concerns about their health to a variety of support people
  • proposing ways to support others who are going through a challenging time

Plan and use health practices, behaviours and resources to enhance health, safety and wellbeing of their communities (ACPPS077)

  • investigating preventive health practices relevant to young people, and designing and implementing health promotion activities targeting these practices
  • investigating food-serving recommendations from The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and producing a guide to help students make healthy choices when buying food from the school canteen
  • examining how different cultures value the contribution of the mind-body-spirit connection to health and wellbeing

Investigate the benefits to individuals and communities of valuing diversity and promoting inclusivity (ACPPS079)

  • exploring how kinship and extended-family structures in different cultures support and enhance health and wellbeing
  • investigating how respecting diversity and challenging racism, sexism, disability discrimination and homophobia influence individual and community health and wellbeing
  • examining values and beliefs about cultural and social issues such as gender, race, violence, sexuality and ability and how resisting stereotypes can help students be themselves
  • researching how stereotypes and prejudice are challenged in local, national and global contexts
  • developing strategies to challenge narrow views of gender, race, violence, sexuality, gender diversity and ability, to contribute to inclusive communities