CONTENTSOn this page
Draft curriculum content
This page is based on the draft Year 1 content for Health and Physical Education. For more information, see the draft curriculum.
In their first year of school, your child will learn:
- how growing bodies change
- how food choices support health
- hygiene practices
- how to manage feelings
- how to build good relationships
- how to maintain personal boundaries
- how to stay safe in different situations.
Your child will explore foundational movement skills, such as balancing, running, and throwing, and learn basic skills for safely enjoying water and the outdoors.
Health education#
Bodies | Minds#
With your child, you could:
- talk about the different ways people’s bodies change as they grow, and how everyone is different
- when grocery shopping, ask your child to help with the selection of food – encourage them to pick a mix of fruit and vegetables and to include whole grain and protein foods
- encourage them to practise handwashing before meals and after toileting and discuss why it is important that everyone does this.
Find helpful information at Healthify.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child’s understanding of what helps them to stay healthy. For example, by the end of Year 1, your child may be able to:
- recognise many of the ways a person’s body changes as they grow
- talk about the sorts of foods that help people grow, give them energy, and keep them well
- understand the importance of rest and sleep
- keep themselves comfortable by knowing when to remove or add layers of clothing
- understand the practices that are part of a daily hygiene routine, for example, washing and brushing teeth
- identify and express feelings
- talk about people’s strengths and the things they enjoy
- understand that mistakes are part of life.
Relationships#
With your child, you could:
- listen to the Ready to Read story, 'One at a Time' – discuss what the story is about and what your child could do in similar situations when they need to take turns
- read the story or listen to the audio of the Pacific dual language book, 'Finding Mum' – discuss with your child what they would do if they got lost in the supermarket or a situation like the character in the story. This book is available in Gagana Sāmoa, Te Gagana Tokelau, Lea Faka-Tonga, Te Reo Māori Kūki ’Āirani, and Vagahau Niue.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on what your child needs to understand and do to maintain healthy relationships and stay safe. For example, by the end of Year 1, your child may be able to:
- use storytelling, interviews, and visual maps, like family trees, to explore different types of families
- use roleplays to explore how to build and maintain friendships and solve disagreements, and practise skills like sharing, taking turns, active listening, and using kind words
- recognise people’s boundaries and understand what it means to give permission
- recognise situations where people might be unsafe and know who to ask for help.
With your child, you could play these fun activities to build balance, strength, and confidence:
- play the statue game, play music and freeze in shapes like a star, straddle, or small ball
- create an obstacle course using cushions and chairs, crawl under and over them, or balance on top without wobbling
- move in different ways: hop, skip, tiptoe, or move backwards – do this when you call out colours, like in a traffic light game
- dance together to favourite songs and freeze when the music stops
- have races moving like animals, jump over chalk lines, or practise skipping
- throw rolled-up socks into a bucket, roll a ball to knock down bottles, or kick a soft ball at a target
- build water confidence by:
- practising blowing bubbles in the water
- floating on the back or tummy with support
- holding the pool edge and kicking gently
- talking about always asking an adult before going near water.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on what your child needs to understand and do to develop balance, strength, and flexibility. Your child will build these skills as they develop sequences of movement, take part in relays and games, including target games like beanbag toss and learn to swim.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- balance using large body parts (like their front or back), small body parts (like their hands or feet), and on different surfaces
- maintain spatial awareness (awareness of where they are in space)
- form a range of body shapes (for example, small, tall, wide, flat) that show flexibility (like reaching or bending) and different kinds of movement (like lunges or bridges)
- move in a variety of ways (like hopping, skipping), at different speeds, and along different pathways (such as forwards, backwards)
- move to music with a partner
- walk, jog, and run with good technique, for example, changing speed when appropriate
- jump, hop, and skip with good technique, for example, using their arms to push forward, landing with bent knees
- aim, strike, or send objects towards a target
- perform underarm throws, rolls, and kicks using different equipment, such as bean bags and balls
- do warm-up and cool-down exercises
- perform basic swimming and water safety skills.
Outdoor education#
With your child, you could:
- go on a nature scavenger hunt together in your local area
- go to the local park together, support your child as they try new activities
- encourage your child to try and take risks by participating in safe, slightly challenging activities, for example, climbing a low, stable park rock or a playground structure, or balancing on a step
- talk about how to cross the road safely
- define safe boundaries in your child’s play areas, for example, the edge of the garden, fence lines in the park.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on what your child needs to understand and do to enjoy outdoor activities safely. By the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- show interest and curiosity in the outdoors
- follow agreed rules to explore the outdoors safely and with enjoyment.
