Health Education

Updated: 4 March 2024

Update: Term 3, 2023

This term, teams will be using the ‘Our Kids Online’ teaching resources. Teachers will pick and choose appropriate teaching content from the themes, which they think is relevant to their ākonga. Whānau are encouraged to get involved with the learning themes that their tamariki will be exploring over the term. See below for themes that different year groups will explore. Any questions/worries can be directed to the classroom teacher. This resource is also being used by other schools in the Central Taranaki Kahui Ako.

Whānau can also head to the Our Kids Online Website, under the ‘For Parents’ tab, and enrol in ‘The Big Reconnect’, which is an online Cyber Safety Course for Parents/Caregivers. Click here for further details.

Purpose:

At least once every two years, the Board are required to produce a written statement about how the school will implement Health Education. The legislation requires schools to:

• Inform the school community (parents, whānau and caregivers) about the content of the Health Education components of the curriculum.
• Consult with members of the school community regarding the way in which the school should implement Health Education
• Describe, in broad terms, the Health Education needs of the school’s students.

Guidelines:

1. The Stratford School Board has delegated this responsibility to the Principal. 
2. The Principal may use any method of consultation that they consider will best achieve the purpose as described above. A statement on the delivery of Health Education may not be adopted until the Principal has:

• Prepared a statement in draft.
• Given members of the school community adequate opportunity to comment on the draft statement.
• Considered any comments it receives.

Question: Can parents, whānau or caregivers exclude their child from any part of the Health Education Programme?

1. Individual parents of students enrolled in any state school can write to the Principal to request that their child/children be excluded from specified parts of the health programme related to Sexuality Education.
2. The Principal is required to ensure that the student is excluded from the relevant tuition and that the student is supervised during that time. This requirement does not extend to exclusion at any other time when a teacher deals with a question raised by another student that relates to Sexuality Education.

Health Education Statement: 2022 – 2023

New Zealand Curriculum: In Health and Physical Education, the focus is on the well-being of the students themselves, of other people, and of society through learning in health-related and movement contexts.

Four underlying and interdependent concepts are at the heart of this learning area:

• Hauora – a Māori philosophy of well-being that includes the dimensions taha wairua (meaning and purpose to life), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), taha tinana (physical wellbeing), and taha whānau (social well being), each one influencing and supporting the other.
• Attitudes and values – a positive, responsible attitude on the part of students to their own well-being; respect, care, and concern for other people and the environment; and a sense of social justice.
• The socio-ecological perspective – a way of viewing and understanding the relationships that exist between the individual, others, and society.
• Health promotion – a process that helps develop and maintain supportive physical and emotional environments which involves students in personal and collective actions.

Why study Health and Physical Education?

Through learning and by accepting challenges in health-related and movement contexts, students reflect on the nature of well-being and how to promote it. As they develop resilience and a sense of personal and social responsibility, they are increasingly able to take responsibility for themselves and contribute to the well-being of those around them, of their communities, of their environments (including natural environments), and of the wider society. This learning area makes a significant contribution to the well-being of students beyond the classroom, particularly when it is supported by school policies and procedures and by the actions of all people in the school community.

Learning area structure?
The learning activities in Health and Physical Education arise from the integration of the four concepts noted above. The following four strands and their achievement objectives, as well as seven key areas of learning also form part of Health Education in the New Zealand Curriculum.

The four strands are:
Personal Health and Physical Development, in which students develop knowledge, understandings, skills, and attitudes that they need in order to maintain and enhance their personal well-being and physical development.

Movement concepts and motor skills, in which students develop motor skills, knowledge and understandings about movement, and positive attitudes towards physical activity.

Relationships with other people, in which students develop understandings, skills, and attitudes that enhance their interactions and relationships with others.

Healthy communities and environments, in which students contribute to healthy communities and environments by taking responsible and critical action.

The seven key areas of learning are:

• Mental Health
• Sexuality Education
• Food and Nutrition
• Body Care and Physical Safety
• Physical Activity
• Sport Studies
• Outdoor Education.

All seven areas are to be included in teaching and learning programmes at both primary and secondary levels.

Stratford Primary School Health Education Plan for 2022 – 2023

Last consultation with the community: November 2021