01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

GETTING THE FOUNDATION RIGHTExcellence in Personal Development,Health and Physical EducationBotany Public School received a Director-General’s School Achievement Award forits excellent Personal Development,Health and Physical Education programs.❝The student outcomes in this KLA havebeen achieved through balancedcomprehensive programs that havegenerated much pupil excitement over along period of time.❞Participation Rates in ProgramsRelated to the Olympic 2000Schools Strategy1996 1997Pierre de CoubertinAwards 185 214Network of FriendshipPrograms 330 369‘Adopt an Athlete’Program 82 96Teacher developmentcourses 23 87620 766School SportThe Sport Policy was revised inlight of significant changes thathave occurred since its release in1986. New guidelines will bereleased in Semester 1, 1998.The sport participation program hascontributed to an increase in thequantity and quality of sportactivities available to studentsthrough:• implementation of the ActiveYouth Program as acomponent of the SchoolSport 2000 Foundation. Thisprogram assisted schools topromote active and healthylifestyles for Years 7-10students• working with externalproviders of sport programs,including the Department ofSport and Recreation.The School Sport 2000 Foundationpromoted and supported avariety of DSE school sportprograms, ranging from elite staterepresentative teams through tograssroots participation. A total of141 schools received grants in 1997totalling $156,000. Grants of up to$2,000 were allocated to schoolsthroughout NSW to implement adiversity of fitness and healthinitiatives.The NSW Primary Schools SportsAssociation (PSSA) programprovides students with theopportunity to compete at threelevels. Throughout the year, theNSWPSSA conducted 20 statecarnivals involving more than5000 students. At the completionof each of these carnivals aNSWPSSA team was selected tocompete in the Australian SchoolsSports Council Exchange program.The NSWPSSA also conducted 15statewide knockout competitionswhich attracted more than 3500team entries in 1997.The NSW Combined High SchoolsSports Association (CHSSA)program provides students with theopportunity to compete in schoolbased knockout competitions, statecarnivals, state championships, allschool matches, Australianchampionships and internationalexchanges and visits.Over 600 primary schools andnearly all central and high schoolsparticipate in statewide interschoolsport competitions. Participationin all primary school carnivalsand knockout events has increased.Participation in competitions forsecondary schools has remainedfairly constant over the past fouryears.Special SwimmingSchemeThe $1.7m Special SwimmingScheme caters for students whoare unable to swim 25 metresconfidently and unaided in deepwater. In 1996-97 a total of 104,000students from 1150 primaryschools, special schools andIntensive Language Centresparticipated in the scheme.A pre and post test of studentsinvolved in the program revealedthat 80 per cent of complete nonswimmersat the beginning of thecourse progressed to be able toswim one to five metres by the endof the course. Of students in the 11to 20 metres group, 99 per centprogressed beyond 25 metres bythe end of the program. Noticeableimprovements were also evident instudents who could swim greaterdistances than five metres at thebeginning of the course.The School Sport Unit worked withAUSTSWIM (NSW) to developtraining initiatives for classroomteachers who assist in theswimming scheme. These programswill be in place for the 1999 season.26 DSE Annual Report 1997