Health and PE Resources for Primary Schools

Through our range of health and physical education (PE) resources, Essential Resources helps teachers guide students along their journey in search of wellbeing. In this way, our titles challenge the assumption that health and PE are just about sport. 

Instead, we see health and PE as a way to nurture wellbeing, promote safety and foster healthy lifestyles. The practical tasks in our primary school resources are designed with this in mind. 

Health and Physical Education for All has become an invaluable guide for promoting good health beyond the classroom. Emotional Literacy builds resilience, emotional competence and empathy. Explore these titles and more today.  

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Why are health and physical education important? 

Health and physical education (PE) are important because they align with school curriculum and national schooling aims that strive for a future healthy society. The goal is for a healthy future for students, regardless of their family and social situation. 

An example of this can be seen in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008, p. 13) which says an Australian curriculum “will also enable students to build social and emotional intelligence, and nurture student wellbeing through health and physical education in particular.”  

Additionally, the health and PE curriculum supports students in developing skills in health literacy. This is the ability to access health information, evaluate sources of information and communicate health messages. In doing so, students can take health-promoting actions. 

Health and PE are central for supporting personal growth because they encourage the student to: 

  • support the wellbeing of others and see issues from different perspectives 
  • be resilient and develop self-efficacy to deal with challenges 
  • understand attitudes and values that impact wellbeing, such as respect and compassion. 

PE in primary school allows Australian children to experience movement, learn the forms of movements and benefit from movement. These experiences promote lifelong participation in physical activity. Furthermore, they show children how to manage their bodies and the joy and challenges that come from physical activity.  

What are examples of health teaching resources? 

Essential Resources has many examples of health teaching resources. Some of our health books for schools include: 

Emotional Literacy by Jane Adams 

Author Jane Adams provides 45 health lesson plans for developing emotional competence in children. These include ideas for discussions, worksheets for each lesson and games. 

The topics covered are talking about feelings, developing empathy, managing feelings and behaviours and developing social skills. 

Making Safe and Healthy Choices by Judith Drysdale 

This series of health teaching resources is designed to support the requirements of the Australian curriculum.  

Central to these books is engaging students in higher-level thinking skills. The activities offer a set of choices and invite students to make a critical decision. The approach encourages them to justify their decisions and actions related to playing, eating, and caring for themselves and others.  

Thinking About Me and Us by Sue Costelloe 

With links to both the health and English curriculum, these books prompt students to explore issues like personal identity, goals and relating to others. The emphasis is on inquiry learning, where students think creatively, critically and reflectively.