July 2026

Professor Dawn Penney, LMACHPER

The Snow Skills Program is a curriculum-aligned, off-snow physical literacy program, delivered through two resources:

Freestyle Ninja Circuit for Years 5-6

Freestyle Park Circuit for Years 7-8

The program includes clear activity posters to guide students at each station, alongside detailed lesson plans and high quality support videos- making it easy for teachers to deliver with confidence. The program is free through the Snow Australia website!

Click below for further information and to register your interest in delivering this program.

AUSactive, with support from the Australian Sports Commission, is inviting schools across Australia to join Million Moves 2026, a free, nationwide 21-day physical activity challenge running from 1 September 2026.

The concept is simple: 1 minute of movement = 1 move. Every move counts, and every student can participate, whether through HPE lessons, active classroom breaks, lunchtime programs, school sport, before-school activities, or whole-school challenges.

Why get involved?

• Over 2,000 school students took part in last year’s pilot campaign.
• It is free for schools, classes, staff teams, year levels, sports houses, and whole-school communities.
• Schools receive ready-to-use resources, movement guides, tracking tools, activities and promotional materials.
• Individual and school prizes are available throughout the campaign.
• It supports student wellbeing, positive school culture and healthier movement habits.

Million Moves is designed to be flexible and easy to implement, allowing teachers to bring movement into the school day in a way that works for their timetable, students, and school setting.

By joining the challenge, schools can help students build confidence, have fun, and contribute to a national movement encouraging Australians to be more active.

At a time when many young Australians are not achieving recommended physical activity levels, this is a practical and positive way for schools to make daily movement more visible, accessible, and engaging.

Register your class, school, or community as a TEAM today and help Australia achieve millions of moves together.

Then simply promote Million Moves across your networks and encourage participation by using ready-to-use campaign resources. When participants SIGN UP to Million Moves, they will be able to follow the prompts to join your team

Every minute counts, every move matters.

The ACHPER Board is pleased to advise that the ACHPER Health Promoting Schools Committee is seeking two additional members to assist in strengthening ACHPER’s engagement within the national health education ecosystem.

Dr Melisa Chong is the current chair of the HPSC. Meetings are held on-line four times per year. Further details on the role and remit of the HPSC are provided in the HPSC Charter. For a copy of the charter, please email Dr Melisa Chong on melisa.chong@unisq.edu.au.

You can read more about the current committee members and their work here: https://achper.org.au/about-us/our-people/

The ACHPER Board is now calling for formal expressions of interest from current ACHPER members to join the HPSC for a period of two years.

Expressions of interest, with the following headings, should be emailed to ceo@achper.org.au by 5.00pm AEST on 1 September 2026. 

Name:  

Place of employment:

Statement of interest in joining the HPSC: Why does membership of the AHSC appeal to you? What would you most like to see it achieve?

Your prospective contribution to the AHSC: Please outline the skills and experience you offer that align with the AHSC’s role and remit.

ACHPER Membership current:    ☐ Yes                        ☐ No

Signature:

Date:

Sport is about much more than participation numbers and medal tallies. Its real value comes from the differences it makes to individuals, communities and across society.

To better understand and explain the value of sport, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and the Office for Sport (OFS) are developing a clear and practical way to identify and measure its impact.

HPE teachers know the impact of meaningful and inclusive sport better than anyone and we invite you to get the message from educators into the data!

The survey wants to know what you think are the most important outcomes of sport - both positive and negative. Your insights will help build a shared understanding of how sport makes a difference and ensures the voices of those involved in sport are part of the process. 

Combined with findings from broader research, your input will help create a clear and trusted way to show the value of sport across Australia. Thanks for being part of this work.  



Is "playtime" in PE actually just disguised work?

Play is everywhere in early years PE curricula but what does it actually look like in the gym hall? A new study of Norwegian primary schools (grades 1–4) suggests that much of what teachers call "play" may not be play at all.

Researchers observed 26 PE lessons and interviewed 16 teachers across four schools, using philosopher John Dewey's ideas on play, work and growth to dig beneath the surface. What they found were three distinct pedagogical forms of play, ranging from teacher-led to fully student-led:

• Camouflaged work — play in name only, tightly steered by teacher goals
• Facilitated play — a guided middle ground, used surprisingly rarely
• Free play — genuine student autonomy and exploration

The twist? Camouflaged work dominated PE classrooms, while true free play was rare, but found to be what gave students the richest opportunities for autonomy and exploration. But there was a catch: teachers frequently struggled to explain how these free-play moments connected to any wider learning goals.

So is your classroom's "play" really play — or is it work in disguise? This study offers a framework to help teachers tell the difference, and to think more intentionally about where play fits in the PE curriculum.

The program is almost complete for our two Tasmanian conferences, aligned with the South and North pupil free days on the 23rd and 30th of October. Join us for 14+ interactive and hands-on workshops with local and national experts over three parallel sessions of Movement, Curriculum & Assessment, and Health & Well-Being! With keynotes, curriculum authority experts, practitioners and professional learning leaders, you will come away from the conference with the latest understandings of curriculum implementation, assessment expectations, whole school and community approaches to health and wellbeing, new games and lesson plans and much more! Try out great new curriculum products from Tennis Australia and Netball for Schools and chat to our exhibitors! With no casual teacher relief fees to pay, this is the most cost effective way to get HPE-targeted PL for you and your staff!

Contribute to the Review of AITSL's Teaching Standards

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) would like to invite you to take part in a survey as part of the Review of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Review). 

What is the purpose of the Review?

The Review will consider the extent to which the Teacher Standards remain relevant, evidence-informed and aligned with an understanding of effective practice. This includes identifying areas where the Teacher Standards may be strengthened or improved to ensure they remain fit for purpose, and providing recommendations on revisions needed.

You can find out more about the Review on our website.

This survey is open to anyone aged 18 or over who would like to share their views on the Teacher Standards. It will take around 20 minutes to complete, depending on your experience and responses, and must be completed in one sitting.

More information about this survey is available in the Participant Information Sheet, including information about data collection and privacy. 

If you would like any more information, please get in touch with AITSL at StandardsReview@aitsl.edu.au

State Events Calendar and Membership for 2026

ACHPER Australia is proud to nationally partner with Tennis Australia, the Australian Sports Commission as a Play Well Affiliate and with Netball Schools.

As always, free to share the ACHPER Advocate with your networks. We welcome new members, readers and supporters at any time.

ACHPER Australia recognises the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which we live and work and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, especially within our ACHPER membership, schools and HPE communities, partners and staff.

ACHPER Inc | www.achper.org.au