Sport in school: The bold push to get students active and improve ‘physical literacy’

Sport would be compulsory in schools under a federal government push to make Australian children physically literate, healthier and performing better in class.

The government plans to lobby the states for mandatory physical education.

Federal Sports Minister Senator Bridget McKenzie said it was “hit and miss” whether public schools were offering sport as part of the curriculum.

She said physical education as a subject is compulsory in high schools, but in regional areas, schools often struggled to attract specialised teachers.

“If you’re physically literate, and all that means is you have the confidence and motivation to be active, then you’re actually going to do better academically,” she told Ross and John.

She said it was equally concerning that parents had been handballed the responsibility of organising and paying for swimming lessons.

“We have state schools, in an island nation where we love to get out and get active, where kids are graduating from primary school where they don’t know how to swim,” she said.

Click PLAY to hear more of the federal government’s plan