Active recreation

Active recreation makes physical activity fun. Schools can provide a range of opportunities for students to undertake unstructured, leisure-based physical activity.

What makes active recreation

Active recreation includes active play and recreation before, during and after school (inclusive of recess and lunch), outdoor learning, incursions, excursions and school camps.

Unstructured, leisure-based physical activity is vital to children and young people's daily activity levels. Providing access to a range of developmentally appropriate, fun and non-competitive active recreation options allows all children and young people to find activities they enjoy.

Schools can support active recreation by:

encouraging outdoor play and recreation to help students develop fundamental movement skills and physical strength whilst being adventurous and having fun
using outdoor learning to increase physical activity by connecting classroom-based learning with field-based experiences
offering and promoting active recreation options to students who are disinterested in traditional organised school sports
appropriate provision of free time and unstructured lunch and recess breaks.

Strategies and approaches

These strategies and resources provide suggestions for how schools can support active recreation.

Policy and leadership

Strategies

Support active recreation in your school
Have sufficient recess and lunch breaks to support active play and recreation
Advocate for physically challenging active play by allowing activities such as climbing, jumping/landing, running, hanging
Ensure that students are outdoors during recess and lunchtime with the exception of extreme or inclement weather (opportunities for physical activity must be provided if indoors)
Plan and endorsing an age-appropriate outdoor education and school camp program for all year levels
Provide age-appropriate spaces including well-maintained and safe equipment for play and recreation
Provide students with access to school grounds and playground equipment before and after school for active recreation during supervised hours
Provide students with a range of equipment and resources to encourage active recreation during recess, lunch, before and after school
Consider a school uniform policy that allows students to wear a uniform which supports physical activity
Appoint an out-of-school-hours care provider that values and prioritises active play and recreation.

Resources

School camps may be organised through the Department of Education and Training Residential Schools, which provide education outdoors for P–12 students, or via one of the three School for Student Leadership campuses; Alpine school, Snowy River, and Gnurad-Gundedj
Play Australia provides the 'play in schools today' white paper that gives guidance for quality play opportunities
Action for Healthy Kids provides ideas for hosting open gym at your school to allow a safe space for physical activity before and after school and strategies to keep students moving during indoor recess time due to poor weather.

Teaching and learning

Strategies

Encourage students to engage in active recreation
Offer outdoor education experiences to develop a love of being active in the outdoors
Conduct regular 'house sporting days' that are less focused on competition, and more focused on social interactions and active play opportunities
Provide teachers with opportunities to increase their knowledge regarding how to promote students' active recreation
Incorporate active play and recreation into learning activities
Develop peer programs whereby older students facilitate recess and lunchtime activities for younger students.

Resources

Learning through play, from The Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) provides some classroom examples
The importance of play-based learning paper from the Western Australian Department of Education and Training provides examples of how to support student's learning through play
Play Australia provides a range of resources and professional development opportunities to promote play every day, including the Loose Parts Play toolkit.

Community

Strategies

Consider local providers for excursions (particularly those which include active aspects to their learning) where students are able to walk or take public transport to the location
Utilise local outdoor education and/or before and after school providers.

Resources

Parks Victoria offer a range of outdoor and nature-based resources and excursions.

Environment

Strategies

Re-purposing school grounds that are currently unusable, to increase space for students to engage in active play and recreation
Reviewing the school grounds to determine if there are ways to increase opportunities for students of all ages and genders to engage in active play and recreation in the natural environment. Even low-cost improvements to the school grounds, such as line markings, can make a big difference. It is important to involve the students in this process, so their views and needs are considered
When designing new schools or upgrading existing spaces, place lockers and homerooms away from the central area of the school to encourage secondary school students to walk across campus throughout the day
Providing sufficient undercover and shaded areas to encourage active play in in all weather conditions.

Resources

This article in The Conversation discusses why the physical environment is important to help facilitate physical activity during the transition to secondary school
This brochure from the University of Western Australia summarises playground characteristics most enjoyed by young children
Nature Play is a webpage with information about the benefits of nature play including a link to the Play Space Guide
These School-News Australia articles describe the importance of and the process in designing a nature play space in schools
This Teacher Magazine article provides an overview of challenging and enjoyable playground spaces for children.