Revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum

Revised Elementary Health and Physical Education Curriculum
Posted on 08/21/2019

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the Ontario Ministry of Education issued its revised elementary health and physical education (HPE) curriculum. This approach will take effect starting in the 2019-2020 school year.

The revised curriculum includes updates in areas including sexual health, consent, mental health, online safety, bullying, cannabis, concussions, and healthy body image. It also introduces further learning about online safety and concussion prevention in Kindergarten. 

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board welcomes the release of the new curriculum as we prepare for the new school year. The topics addressed are critical to the health and safety of students and will develop skills that can improve their lives.

“We are committed to promoting a safe and caring community in our schools and beyond, which prioritizes equity, dignity, and respect. Health and physical education are vital to this effort,” said Camille Williams-Taylor, Director of Education. “We are eager to work closely with teachers, parents and the broader community to smoothly implement these lessons over the coming year.”

For those parents who feel they would like to approach this learning outside of the classroom, the government has also issued a policy/program memorandum that requires school boards to develop a policy/procedure allowing parents to exempt their child from instruction of the human development and sexual health education component of the elementary Health and Physical Education curriculum. The OCDSB will review the new curriculum and collaborate with parents, teachers, and students as we develop this procedure.

Further details of the changes and links to the revised curriculum can be found here:  https://www.ontario.ca/page/health-and-physical-education-ontario#section-2 

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