NZC – Health and Physical Education Phases 1–4 (Years 0–10)

He oranga ngākau, he pikinga waiora Positive feelings in your heart will raise your sense of self-worth.

Purpose Statement

The Health and Physical Education learning area equips students with the knowledge, practices, and competencies necessary to thrive physically, mentally, and socially. Students are taught essential health and movement concepts that enable them to participate confidently in a wide range of physical activities and manage their own health in an informed way. 

Through the study of Health, students learn how to navigate the complexities of modern life as confident individuals, connected members of their communities, and informed citizens. They are taught concepts that support their understanding of relationships, resilience, identity, and decision-making. 

Through the study of Physical Education, students learn about specific movement patterns, activities, games, and sports. They are taught knowledge and practices to make informed decisions about their own healthy involvement in sport and physical activity. 

As students progress through Health and Physical Education, they deepen their understanding of personal and collective wellbeing and learn how to embrace active and balanced lifestyles and cultivate habits that support long-term health. This provides students with a foundation for living well, thinking critically, and contributing positively to the world around them. 
 

Learning Area Structure

The year-by-year teaching sequence lays out the knowledge and practices to be taught each year. In Health and Physical Education, the teaching sequence for Years 0–10 is organised into two Knowledge Strands: 

• Health Education: Focuses on physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. It develops students’ understanding of identity, body, emotions, relationships, safety, and health-related choices across personal, community, and societal contexts.
• Physical Education: Focuses on movement skills and principles. It develops students’ understanding of locomotor, non-locomotor, and object control skills, game structures, tactical thinking, outdoor activity practices, and aquatic safety through repeated practice in selected movement contexts.

The year-by-year teaching sequence, organised through Knowledge Strands and elements, sets out what is to be taught. Its enactment is shaped by teachers, who design learning in response to their learners, adjusting the order and emphasis, and adding appropriate contexts and content.

Introduction

Across Years 0–10, Health and Physical Education takes students on a rich and evolving journey of discovery. It begins with understanding their bodies and emotions and grows into developing the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage wellbeing and participate fully in life. HPE is not just about movement or healthy practices; it builds a foundation for lifelong wellbeing through purposeful teaching, reflection, and connection. As students progress, they explore increasingly complex ideas about themselves, others, and the world around them. They learn how to care for their bodies, navigate relationships, and make informed decisions. Movement experiences develop coordination, cooperation, increasingly complex movement skills and outdoor education experiences.

In Years 0–3, teaching introduces foundational health and movement concepts that help students begin to understand how their bodies function and what supports wellbeing. Instruction focuses on everyday health practices, such as rest, hydration, hygiene, and movement, and how these contribute to growth and participation. Movement teaching centres on developing movement skills (MS) including balancing, running, and throwing. These are taught as discrete skills, allowing teachers to baseline knowledge and focus on accuracy and efficiency rather than sport-specific outcomes. Teachers also support students to notice and name emotions, linking feelings to behaviours. These years establish HPE as a learning area grounded in explicit knowledge, purposeful practice, and developmental progression.

In Years 4–6, teaching helps students connect everyday health practices with how their bodies function and change. Students learn that nutrition, hydration, rest, and movement contribute to growth and development, and that these needs evolve over time. Teaching introduces puberty, early learning about relationships and emotions, and decision-making that supports emotional wellbeing. Once MS are secure, movement teaching provides sufficient practice through discrete instruction and repetition in activities to enable more complex content. Students begin applying skills in games and sports across varied physical settings. Water safety, fair play, and preparation for outdoor activities are taught as essential knowledge for safe and confident participation.

In Years 7–10, teaching builds deeper knowledge about how bodies change and how health decisions influence physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Students develop understanding of topics such as nutrition, substance use, sexual health, and media influence, and are supported to evaluate information and consider consequences. Movement instruction becomes more specialised, with students applying skills in different roles, environments, and physical activities, and learning how training and preparation affect performance. Across these years, teaching supports students to connect what they know with how they act, building the confidence and understanding needed to manage wellbeing and participate fully.

The Health and Physical Education learning area prepares students with the knowledge and practices to access related curriculum subjects for Years 11–13, such as Health Education and Physical Education.

Links to Health and Physical Education supports and resources: