Page 1272 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
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The ride or walk to school program was developed by the Health Directorate in 2012. Since its inception the number of schools participating has increased, with over 80 schools now registered in the program. Ride or walk is designed to promote an active travel culture change within school communities. The program is designed to drive a cultural change within the school community to make riding and walking to school the norm for children.
It also provides accredited teacher professional learning and Australian curriculum aligned resources to help in the classroom. Schools participating in the program can access lesson plans, curriculum resources, bikes and equipment to deliver safe cycling lessons, tailored route maps, bike maintenance workshops and a range of resources to promote active travel throughout the school community. I might need some of those for my cycling efforts.
The program is a free service which is delivered in schools by the Physical Activity Foundation, on behalf of the ACT government. An evaluation of the ride or walk to school program found that students at schools participating in the program were more likely to use active travel as their usual mode of travel. Teachers reported increased confidence in students undertaking active travel as a result of the program.
Another example is the it’s your move program, which is an innovative student-led health promotion initiative implemented in ACT high schools. Again, Mr Rattenbury outlined some of these things in some of my local schools. It encourages students to develop creative solutions to improve school health, supported by seed funding from the Health Directorate and guidance from local business mentors. This cutting-edge program sees students as innovators. It uses a problem-solving approach called design thinking used in a range of entrepreneurial and technology-focused careers.
Being active and healthy in schools, playing sport or just being recreational is a very important part of all school curriculums. I encourage more students, teachers and community members to be involved in their local school community, particularly in the ride or walk to school programs. They are a great way to keep children active and enhance their ability to be safe and confident when undertaking riding to school.
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (12.12): I thank Mr Milligan for his support and the other members for their contributions to my motion. I note Ms Berry’s amendment and thank her for outlining some of the other initiatives that the government has embarked on in relation to sport, but there are some aspects of it, especially when it comes to funding, as Mr Milligan has already pointed out, that do not actually go directly to school sport and physical education in schools.
Ms Berry also said that schools cannot be solely responsible for the health of our children. Of course that is right, but that is not what my motion is calling for. As both Ms Berry and Mr Rattenbury have acknowledged, an important aspect to consider is the instilling of good habits when it comes to physical education and activity. To establish physical literacy, as Mr Rattenbury put it, is important. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to do it in the formative years, while our children spend a lot of their time at school.
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