CONTENTSOn this page
Draft curriculum content
This page is based on the draft Year 2 content for Health and Physical Education. For more information, see the draft curriculum.
In Year 2, your child will learn about caring for the body as it grows, nutrition, self-care, and relationships with self and others, as well as boundaries and staying safe. They will continue to explore foundational movement skills, such as balancing, running, and throwing, learn to play simple games, and develop basic skills for safely enjoying water and the outdoors.
Health education#
Bodies | Minds#
With your child, you could:
- explain that children their age need around 10 hours of sleep each night, and the best way to get a good sleep is to follow a regular bedtime routine, for example, going to bed at the same time each night, and getting ready with a familiar set of habits like bath, drink, brush teeth, toilet, story, goodnight kiss, and lights out, and talk about your family’s bedtime routines and whether everyone is doing what they need to get a good sleep
- share meals at the table and discuss what’s in the food and if it helps children grow, gives them energy, or keeps them healthy
- check that all household medicines, cleaning products and other items are stored safely, and discuss why these need to be out of reach or locked away and why it’s risky to eat anything that isn’t food. If your child isn’t sure what something is or whether it’s safe, they need to ask a trusted adult for help.
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 the year, your child may be able to:
- identify some of the factors that contribute to good health; for example, sleep, healthy eating, physical activity, and time outdoors
- understand that people need food, water, rest, and sleep, and these needs can change based on age, lifestyle, and personal experience
- recognise that even small changes in a person’s emotions, like feeling shy or confident, and their daily habits can affect their physical wellbeing and how they think, feel, and cope
- practise using calming strategies, like slow breathing or talking to someone, to help cope with difficult moments
- understand why it’s important to read labels on medicine and cleaning products and use them correctly
- understand that a person’s self-image (what they think and feel about who they are) is affected by their self-talk (how they talk to themselves).
Relationships#
With your child, you could:
- talk about people you know, what makes them the same and what makes them different, and how each of us is unique, and we all need and deserve kindness and respect. Ask your child how we can show these qualities to others
- present a familiar (but not actual) situation in which your child has to cope with problems with friends (for example, 5 children want to play a game that is only for 4 people), and talk about the different feelings and emotions people might have in this situation and how they can manage them
- help your child design a card and write a note (or similar) to a friend or family member, saying how they value them
- help your child practise being assertive in the right situations (for example, when someone wants them to do something they know is wrong or they are unsure about):
- encourage them to practise saying ‘no’
- explain the importance of giving a reason for asking the other person to change their behaviour, and use appropriate tone of voice and body language
- help them understand what to do after making their assertive statement for the wellbeing of everyone involved.
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 the year, your child may be able to:
- appreciate that people are different in how they look, move, sound, and act, and that everyone deserves kindness and respect
- practise using kind words, sharing, taking turns, and listening to others to build friendships and work well with others
- take part in roleplays where they practise saying ‘no’ and asking for help in difficult situations
- recognise the hurt caused by unkind behaviour, like excluding someone or gossiping about them, and take action to show kindness and support.
Physical education#
Movement skills#
With your child, you could:
- set mini challenges when you are out and about, for example, walk heel to toe along a line, walk forwards, backwards, and sideways, skip, hop and jump
- play hopscotch
- set a challenge to see how long they can hold a pose on 1 leg, curled up in a ball, or with their arms stretched above their heads
- play ball games like piggy in the middle
- play a game where you try to keep a balloon in the air, using hands or a rolled-up newspaper, and see how long you can keep it up together.
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 develop these skills as they take part in invasion games (for example, mini football), net and ball games (for example, padder tennis), and striking and fielding games (for example, T-ball), and learn to swim.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- maintain their posture when balancing
- use different body parts and levels (low, medium, high) when holding a balance pose, and transition smoothly between poses
- carry out a gymnastic sequence that includes balancing and travelling movement, like rolls and jumps, and has a clear start and finish
- apply some of the techniques of the game they are playing, for example, adjusting the strength of a pass based upon the distance, tracking the flight of a ball and moving towards it, coordinating hands and feet when running, striking, or throwing
- apply some of the tactics of the game they are playing, for example, deciding where to stand when defending, attacking, or fielding
- perform basic swimming and water safety skills.
Outdoor education#
With your child, you could:
- pause to look outside or check the weather and discuss what clothing would be best for the conditions before leaving the house for an outdoor activity, like going to the park, walking to the shops, or playing in the garden
- check for litter before leaving an outdoor area, like a park, picnic table, garden, or public footpath, and discuss where you can dispose of it safely and responsibly.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on what your child needs to understand and do to safely enjoy outdoor activities.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- apply respectful and sustainable practices when in the outdoors, like removing rubbish
- identify the clothing and footwear that are appropriate for different outdoor activities.
