PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders

Learn about the PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) – what has changed and where to get further support.

The Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K–6 Syllabus (2024) replaces content in the PDHPE K–10 Syllabus (2018). Planning and preparation will commence from 2024 with implementation in 2027.

The syllabus recognises the importance of developing young people’s ability to critically respond to changing health contexts and evolving physical activity options in an increasingly complex, sedentary and rapidly changing world.

Learning in PDHPE equips students with the knowledge and skills to promote and advocate for the health, wellbeing and safety of others in online and offline environments.

Students explore how to build connections and conduct respectful relationships. Health literacy skills are developed, allowing students to critically examine attitudes, behaviours and contextual influences and explore health-related resources.

What you need to know

  • In 2025 and 2026, teachers engage with the syllabus, and plan and prepare for implementation of the syllabus.
  • Schools are required to enact the new syllabus from 2027.
  • There is an expectation that the total time allocated to PDHPE is evenly distributed between Personal Development and Health (PDH) and Physical Education (PE).
  • NESA will continue to add teaching advice and support materials to Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K–6 Syllabus webpages.

The PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) includes:

  • explicit teaching of fundamental movement skills, with complementary content to support students with a physical disability, focusing on ability
  • explicit teaching of respectful relationships and age-appropriate consent from Early Stage 1
  • knowledge and skills to build students’ capacity to be safe in offline and online environments
  • broadening students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in personal and community health, physical activity, safety and wellbeing
  • explicit content addressing road, water, fire and sun safety, providing multiple opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate their understanding
  • content addressing learning in nature and the outdoors and the benefits to health and wellbeing
  • the development of self-management and interpersonal skills enabling students to build connections and manage respectful relationships in online and offline environments
  • using subject-specific vocabulary to express and communicate students’ understanding of health, safety and wellbeing through Creating Written texts (CWT) which
    • focuses on students using vocabulary and language to communicate in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1
    • is embedded within PDHPE content in Stage 2
    • is an assessable outcome in Stage 3
  • making connections through related content in other key learning areas
  • removing duplication of dance content, now represented in the Creative Arts K–6 Syllabus
  • access content points for students with significant intellectual disability (K–6).

The following diagram shows the organisation of the outcomes and content for the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K–6 Syllabus (2024).

A vertical list of boxes shows the 4 focus areas of Movement skill and physical activity, Respectful relationships and safety, Identity, health and wellbeing, and Self-management and interpersonal skills. Two boxes above the focus areas show the elements Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education which connect all 4 focus areas. Surrounding the focus areas is a line labelled Applying knowledge, understanding and skills through interrelated practices. A vertical list of boxes shows the 4 focus areas of Movement skill and physical activity, Respectful relationships and safety, Identity, health and wellbeing, and Self-management and interpersonal skills. Two boxes above the focus areas show the elements Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education which connect all 4 focus areas. Surrounding the focus areas is a line labelled Applying knowledge, understanding and skills through interrelated practices.
Image: Figure 1: The organisation of PDHPE K–6

Prior to implementing the PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024), leaders will need to consider the following:

  • The complexities for staff working towards the familiarisation and implementation of four new syllabuses, Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE and Science and Technology.
  • Supporting teachers’ understanding of
  • Resource and budget implications including
    • equipment, facilities and resources for practical application
    • time for staff to engage with syllabus features, content and expectations
    • professional learning to build staff capacity, including explicit teaching and Curriculum planning K–12 to optimise learning for all students in PDHPE.

The syllabus for PDHPE K–6 (2024) is based on evidence highlighting that:

  • physical activity is vitally important for children’s health, wellbeing, development and learning (OECD, 2019)
  • the development of essential movement skills competency during childhood lays the foundation for an active lifestyle during adolescence and into adult life (Pill and Harvey, 2019)
  • the development of self-management and interpersonal skills support success in learning (Opstoel et al. 2019)
  • respectful relationship education works best when it is a school-wide approach with age-appropriate content that supports students in understanding, developing and maintaining respectful relationships (Our Watch, 2021).

The full evidence base can be found in 'Bibliography: PDHPE K–6, NESA, 2024' within NESA's Teaching and learning support.

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K–6 Syllabus (2024) © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.

  • To what extent do staff understand the PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) and the evidence underpinning the new syllabus?
  • How will the PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) affect classroom practice? What is in place to support and evaluate this practice?
  • What school practices and systems are in place to support teacher professional learning? How are these evaluated to maximise support for teachers?
  • What resources are required to commence PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) implementation and meet planning, programming, assessing, and reporting requirements? How is this embedded into the Strategic Improvement Plan?
  • How will the school’s plan for PDHPE K–6 Syllabus (2024) implementation be evaluated? How might this evaluation inform the implementation of other syllabuses?

Further support

Category:

  • Teaching and learning

Business Unit:

  • Curriculum and Reform
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