Help pupils’ to stay active in their daily lives — overcoming barriers and negative influences.
"Health education in primary starts with the benefits and importance of physical activity [—] schools should emphasise the relationships between physical health and mental wellbeing, and the benefits of physical activity and time spent outdoors. [At secondary level,] teaching should build on primary content, supporting pupils to understand their changing bodies [and] how to protect their own health and wellbeing”.
Department for Education’s 2025 statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE)
Current national data on health behaviours and outcomes show some concerning trends in children and young people’s physical activity levels.
For example:
Only 47.8% of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity every day, meaning over half of children are not meeting this benchmark.
2.2 million 5–16-year-olds do not get 30 mins of activity a day.
Children who were ages 4-9 when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020 have been particularly disadvantaged in terms of their relationship with sport and physical activity. They are less likely to have positive attitudes towards activity, with a lower sense of opportunity, meaning that, ‘significant and sustained action [is] required.’
In the academic year 2023-24, obesity rates for reception-aged children increased to 9.6%, and for 10-11-year-olds in England the figure stands at 21.1%, with children in the most deprived areas being nearly twice as likely to measure as obese compared to children in the least deprived areas.
Education is an essential contributor to supporting children and young people to be physically active and tackle these national health concerns.
These lessons focus on supporting pupils to recognise the benefits of an active lifestyle, but also on developing the skills and attributes they need to manage barriers and negative influences, so they can make healthier choices in relation to physical activity.
Learning objective |
Learning outcomes |
Programme of Study |
DfE statutory guidance |
|
Key stage 1 To learn how being active every day helps people to feel good and stay healthy. |
Pupils will be able to:
|
Physical activity and nutrition (1) what being healthy means and how physical activity helps people to stay healthy Online life and safety (7) […]; why it’s important to limit time on, and take breaks from, digital devices |
By the end of primary school, pupils should know: Physical health and fitness (1) The characteristics and mental and physical benefits of an active lifestyle. (2) The importance of building regular physical activity into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this; for example, walking or cycling to school, a daily active mile or other forms of regular, moderate and/or vigorous physical activity. (3) The risks associated with an inactive lifestyle, including obesity. (4) How and when to seek support including which adults to speak to in school if they are worried about their health. Wellbeing online (3) The benefits of limiting time spent online, the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices and the impact of positive and negative content online on their own and others’ mental and physical wellbeing.
|
|
Key stage 2 To learn about the importance of regular physical activity. |
Pupils will be able to:
|
Physical activity and nutrition (8) what good physical health means; the characteristics of a balanced, healthy lifestyle (9) the benefits of regular physical activity for mental and physical health; how to build moderate and vigorous exercise into daily/weekly routines (10) about choices that support a healthy lifestyle and what might influence these; risks associated with an inactive lifestyle, such as unhealthy weight gain Online life and safety (17) about the benefits of limiting time spent online and choosing online activities carefully; how to assess the impact of online content, behaviours and habits on their feelings and wellbeing |
Learning objective |
Learning outcomes |
Programme of Study |
DfE statutory guidance |
|
Key stage 3 To learn about the benefits of physical activity, and how to maintain an active lifestyle. |
Pupils will be able to:
|
Healthy lifestyles (1) the characteristics of a healthy lifestyle, what is meant by a healthy weight and that this can vary (2) the benefits of physical activity and exercise for health and wellbeing (3) to recognise positive and negative influences on, and barriers to, physical activity; strategies to reduce the impact of barriers and respond to influences |
By the end of secondary school, pupils should know: Physical health and fitness (1) The characteristics of a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight, including the links between an inactive lifestyle and ill-health, including cardiovascular ill-health. (2) Factual information about the prevalence and characteristics of more serious health conditions. (3) That physical activity can promote wellbeing and combat stress. Wellbeing online (2) The similarities and differences between the online world and the physical world, including: the impact of unhealthy or obsessive comparison with others online (including through setting unrealistic expectations for body image); how people may curate a specific image of their life online… (5) How advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online, understanding the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation online, including conspiracy theories. |
|
Key stage 4 To learn how to make informed choices about physical activity |
Pupils will be able to:
|
Healthy lifestyles (7) how physical activity and time outdoors can support mental health and wellbeing, including boosting mood (8) to make informed choices about physical activity, including the consequences of an inactive lifestyle, such as cardiovascular ill-health (10) how to manage influences and maintain a balanced perspective on health and weight, body shape and size |
Join the PSHE Association to unlock a range of exclusive member benefits: