Health & Physical Education

Learning Area: Health and Physical Education

There are a number of ways that West Leederville Primary School supports the social and emotional wellbeing of students. Using the Bounceback! program, coping skills and values are explicitly taught and practised. Buddy classes encourage students to establish relationships and provide older students with an opportunity to mentor. The role of the Chaplain and School Psychologist are key in involving students in lunchtime and after school activities. Teachers also promote social and emotional wellbeing within their classrooms, the playground and spontaneous opportunities if they arise.

Resilience data is gathered annually, through the administration of two student surveys to Years 1-6 students: PRASE (Protective Resilient Attitudes and Skills Evaluation) and SPOCC (Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Connectedness). The data is collated and presented to the whole staff annually. It is used to reflect on classroom practice and teacher characteristics (SPOCC especially) and to inform planning which targets the specific needs of the students.

The whole-school phys-ed plan focusses on the development of fundamental movement skills and fitness practices in order to maximise the health and wellbeing of our students, enabling life-long involvement in physical activity. These are explicitly taught using ‘Steps Resources’ and associated assessment tools.

Given the school’s limited physical space, an innovative phys-ed program has been developed. This involves the use of local sporting and recreation facilities, paid providers, Sporting Schools coaches and funding, and parent and teacher volunteers. A number of extra-curricular opportunities are provided to students including athletics coaching, surfing lessons, a before school swimming club and on-site, before-school tennis lessons.