Planning, programming and assessing PDHPE 11–12
Resources to help you plan, program and assess PDHPE from Years 11–12 within supportive learning environments, department policies and best practice approaches.
New syllabuses to be taught from 2025:
Implementation information, including key features and resources, is available on the PDHPE Stage 6 syllabus development page (NESA).
Health and Movement Science 11–12 Syllabus (2023)
The Year 11 and 12 course is structured to provide students with opportunities to develop and apply their knowledge, understanding and skills of health and movement concepts.
These tools and resources can be used to plan and deliver depth studies across Years 11 and 12 Health and Movement Science.
Year 11
These tools, samples and resources are designed to be used in full, adapted or model how the curriculum could be implemented.
These documents assist with the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching and learning practice for Stage 6.
- What are young people’s meanings of health? – sample program (DOCX 5.18 MB)
- Biomechanics – sample learning program (DOCX 159 KB)
- Teaching the principles of conducting an investigation – sample program (DOCX 180.4 KB)
- Collaborative Investigation Core 1 – Technology and young people – sample program (DOCX 4.84 MB)
- Collaborative Investigation Core 2 – Immediate physiological responses to aerobic training – sample program (DOCX 5.05 MB)
The collaborative investigation provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge and skills to support their own and others’ health and movement. It allows students to manage their own learning and to become flexible, critical thinkers, problem-solvers and decision-makers.
Note: Sample collaborative investigations for Core 1 and Core 2 can be found in the Sample programs section above. These provide opportunities for students to practice the skills and build and extend their subject knowledge to be able to conduct a collaborative investigation.
Year 12
These tools, samples and resources are designed to be used in full, adapted or model how the curriculum could be implemented.
These documents assist with the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching and learning practice for Stage 6.
PDHPE Stage 6 Syllabus (2012)
Personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) Stage 6 syllabuses and course descriptions are on the NESA website. Each syllabus provides support materials including a sample assessment grid, HSC exam specifications, sample questions, and examination rubrics. Browse our catalogue of Stage 6 PDHPE resources.
Community and Family Studies syllabus (2016)
Community and Family Studies (CAFS) Stage 6 Syllabus (2016) and course descriptions are on the NESA website. Each syllabus provides support materials including a sample assessment grid, HSC exam specifications, sample questions, and examination rubrics. Browse our catalogue of Stage 6 PDHPE resources.
Physical activity
Schools are encouraged to provide students in Years 11 and 12 weekly access to a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate with some vigorous physical activity and sport.
Year 11 to Year 12 pathways
In Stage 6, there are a number of pathways for students to extend their learning in the PDHPE key learning area. Learn about the pathways and find recommended resources.
Community and family studies (CAFS) aims to develop in each student an ability to manage resources and take action to support the needs of individuals, groups, families, and communities in Australian society.
Resources
CAFS toolkit to boost success in the HSC examination (DOCX 78KB) – Strategies and resources that students can use to support their own success in CAFS examinations.
Glossary of key terms – analyse
- supports students to build their understanding of the glossary words
- uses sample responses with guided support to show the language of the glossary of key terms to respond effectively to marking criteria.
NESA CAFS support document clarifies the requirements of the syllabus and illustrates these through a number of scope and sequence models and two sample units of work.
Resources, advice, and professional learning to support teachers delivering the Stage 6 CAFS course can be accessed through the department's PDHPE statewide staffroom (staff only).
Personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) aims to develop in each student a capacity to think critically about key issues related to health and physical activity in order to make informed decisions that support and contribute to healthy, active lifestyles and communities.
Resources
Use the following resources to assist with planning, delivery and assessment in Stage 6 PDHPE.
Blood through the circulatory system (DOCX 530 KB)
This activity is designed for preliminary PDHPE. It uses enriching experiences by allowing students to move through the system like a drop of blood, seeing the process from a different lens to support understanding.
Promoting critical thinking through HSC resources
Core 1 Health priorities in Australia graphs (DOCX 2.1 MB)
This activity focuses on graphs, building students’ ability to interpret information and analyse data and trends. It is designed to fit within an existing teaching program or be used as a revision exercise on the conclusion of the Core.
Core 2 Factors affecting performance physiological adaptations (DOCX 74 KB)
Students will apply their knowledge and understanding to a case study to examine how reversibility can affect the physiological adaptations for the athlete. The activity is designed to fit within an existing teaching program or be used as a revision exercise on the conclusion of the Core.
Core 2 Factors affecting performance principles of training (DOCX 73KB)
This activity uses a case study approach to encourage students to apply their understanding of the principles of training to real-life scenarios. It is designed to fit within an existing teaching program or be used as a revision exercise on the conclusion of the Core.
Core 2 Factors affecting performance psychology (DOCX 77KB)
This activity uses the population health-based decision to apply social distancing and remove crowds from sporting venues and activities. Students will examine the impact on athlete motivation. It is designed to fit within an existing teaching program or be used as a revision exercise on the conclusion of the Core.
Breaking down the HSC exam (DOCX 74KB)
An overview of the HSC exam for PDHPE and what it takes to excel in the exam, to guide student revision and understanding of the HSC examination
Resources, advice, and professional learning to support teachers delivering the Stage 6 PDHPE course can be accessed through the department's PDHPE statewide staffroom (staff only).
Sport, lifestyle and recreation studies (SLR) is a NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Content Endorsed Course featuring a highly practical focus: physical activity being both an area of study and a medium for learning.
Exploring early childhood (EEC) is a NESA Content Endorsed Course which aims to develop understanding, skills and strategies to enable students to support and foster positive growth and development in the young children with whom they interact through the provision of safe, nurturing and challenging environments.
Life skills courses – Community and family studies and PDHPE.
Life ready is a mandatory 25-hour course designed to prepare and support senior students as they encounter situations related to health and safety as they become more independent and gain more responsibilities. It focuses on offering opportunities for students to build functional knowledge and skills for life post school.
The importance of critical thinking for success in PDHPE and CAFS
Critical thinking means being able to present evidence for our ideas, analysing the way we think instead of simply learning facts without ever questioning them. In the PDHPE key learning area and in life, it is essential we inquire critically and question to ensure our opinions, our behaviours, our values, and our ideas are supported by evidence.
Critical thinking:
- improves our ability to express ideas – the ability to think logically has a huge impact not only on how students understand ideas but on how they express them
- makes learning more interactive – adds relevance and can increase engagement as students link learning to their own lives and lived experiences
- will prepare students to learn, adapt and keep up to date with relevant changes in their fields of study, whatever they may be
- will allow students to ensure their decisions are based on facts and logic.
Critical thinking is considered a key skill alongside problem-solving for an uncertain future, especially considering how remote work is increasingly popular and accessible. Our ability to adapt will be an important skill in an uncertain future. Keeping an open mind, being able to self-direct, self-discipline and self-monitor are what will allow this generation to succeed no matter what happens next.
Join the PDHPE statewide staffroom (staff only) to access the PDHPE 11–12 channel and the CAFS channel for support, professional learning, resources and collaboration.