All schools in NZ are required to consult with their school community every two years about their health education programmes. Health education is part of the Health and Physical Education learning area. Learning in health is guided by underlying concepts, key areas of learning and the achievement objectives. The purpose of this consultation is to outline the programmes that we are delivering, how we are delivering them and what we see the education needs are, within health, for our students. The last round of consultation was held in Term 1 2021. Since then we have also been involved in Wellbeing initiatives within our school and as part of the Whangarei Kāhui ako. 

Below are our Statement on the Delivery of the Health Curriculum 2021 and  the topics we currently cover at Ōtāika Valley School (OVS) as part of our health curriculum. 

Statement on the Delivery of the Health Curriculum at Otaika Valley School.

OVS School will implement a programme of health and physical education based on the New Zealand Curriculum, intending to make a positive difference to the well-being of students and their community. For each student the programme of learning will attempt to develop an understanding of the factors that influence the health of individuals, groups and society: lifestyle, economic, social, cultural, political and environmental factors. It will have a holistic approach, developing the ‘whole child’ including their social, physical, emotional and cultural needs. Building resilience as they strengthen their own personal identity will be of particular importance. Programmes will develop skills and understandings which will enhance relationships and promote well-being and social responsibility. The New Zealand Curriculum has four main strands for Health and PE. These strands are: 

● Personal Health and Physical Development 

● Movement Concepts and Motor Skills 

● Relationships with Other People 

● Healthy Communities and Environments 

There are seven key areas of learning: body care and physical safety, mental health, food & nutrition, sexuality education, outdoor education, physical activity and sports studies. 

Our school health programme is largely integrated into our school conceptual curriculum. Specific programmes are covered through our inquiry concepts or at a time of specific need. Units of learning may be taught in conjunction with the Police or other outside agencies. Classrooms engage in deliberate learning around the development of positive classroom communities. 

The mental health learning area fits with students learning how to be good friends, building self esteem, dealing with bullying and responding to peer pressure. Keeping ourselves safe is taught in alternate years. This is a comprehensive child protection programme in which students learn and apply a range of safety skills that they can use when interacting with others. Aspects of this programme are revisited annually if required. Road, sun and cyber safety are recognised as very important and taught annually either through an Integrated Inquiry unit of learning, or as needs arise. 

The need for cyber safety education is becoming more prevalent as our students are using devices more often both at home and school. OVS will hold/promote parent information  to keep our whanau current in this area. The strong Otaika Valley School PB4L Values programme helps to develop respect, care, concern for others and the environment and a sense of justice. Our RURU values are integrated into all learning areas. They reinforce the expectations our school community want for the OVS students. 

Sexuality education has a focus on pubertal change and is provided for students in Years 5 and 6. Key concepts of the programme include developing knowledge of the changes that come with puberty, demonstrating strategies to manage these changes and describe strategies for managing changes in relationships. Parents are notified prior to units when learning will specifically focus on any aspect of sexuality. They may request in writing that their child be excluded from specified parts of the health programme related to the Relationships and Sexuality education. Physical and outdoor education programmes allow students to develop fitness, learn new skills, participate in team situations, enjoy challenge and have a willingness to take risks within physical contexts. Health education is about enhancing students’ sense of self-worth through learning to think critically about health-related contexts. 

Students learn that well-being is a combination of the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of people’s lives. 

Topics we cover

Mental Health and Wellbeing 

Me, Family and Friends; Identity and Belonging: Culture and Heritage; Keeping Ourselves Safe; Positive behaviour and relationships: emotions, feelings, choices and actions; Kia Kaha: A bully-free zone; Developing a Growth Mindset, Zones of Regulation, 

Body Care and Physical Safety 

Keeping Ourselves Safe: including Cybersafety; Body Needs and Care: Staying Healthy; Hazards: risks, cycle safety, water safety and resuscitation. 

Food and Nutrition 

Healthy eating and drinking; Healthy Heroes, Food For Thought nutrition programme and Food and Culture. 

Sexuality Education 

Everybody is Special; Growing and Changing; Celebrating Difference; Keeping Ourselves Safe; Pubertal Change (year 6); Body Image and The Sexuality Road (family planning resource). 

Of these four health areas sexuality education is the strand, which has a degree of confusion around it. It is important to realise that sexuality education is very different to sex education. At primary school under the umbrella of sexuality education children are likely to learn about: friendships, different kinds of families, respect for each other, pubertal change and body development and body image. A brochure relating to Sexuality Education is included in the newsletter this week. 

How we deliver these programmes? 

These topics are taught in classroom contexts and are often interwoven throughout the day alongside our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) lessons, focus weeks and in a home-school partnership, e.g.Keeping Ourselves Safe. We tailor what we do to meet the needs of each class and to meet the curriculum achievement objectives. Some topics may have either a junior school and/or senior school emphasis.