#179 There Are No Bad Foods: Rethinking Nutrition in K-6 PDHPE

#179 There Are No Bad Foods: Rethinking Nutrition in K-6 PDHPE

Still teaching food with red, orange and green? There might be a better way. This week on The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast, we are rethinking how we teach food and nutrition in our primary classrooms, and why the language we use matters more than we think. Kate McGill is back, and this time we are talking food. We get into the trouble with the traffic light system, why good and bad food labels inject shame into eating, and how to help your students build a peaceful relationship with all foods. In this episode: * There are no bad foods, only foods with different functions * The trouble with sometimes foods and moralistic language * Teaching food as fuel, fun, celebration and connection * The RAVES model, focusing on the how, not just the what * What to say when you hear disordered food talk in your classroom If you teach K-6 PDHPE, or primary generally, this conversation will change the way you talk about food with your students.

#178 The Missed Opportunity in Every HMS and CAFS Classroom

The Missed Opportunity in Every HMS and CAFS Classroom There is one task sitting in both your HMS and CAFS courses that quietly decides how ready your students are for Year 12. Most of us are wasting it. It is the big student-led research task: the Collaborative Investigation in HMS, the Independent Research Project in CAFS. We hand students total freedom too early, they pick a topic that sounds exciting but goes nowhere, and a whole term of research skill-building lands on content they will never be assessed on. In this episode, Kelly shares the 5-point test for a topic that actually works, one that sits firmly in the syllabus, generates real data and bridges straight into Year 12 thinking. HMS teachers, if you are looking for resources that bring this to life, join us inside The HMS Membership at thelearnnet.com/hms [http://thelearnnet.com/hms]. CAFS teachers, find your resources and community at thelearnnet.com/collective [http://thelearnnet.com/collective].

#177 4 Health & Movement Science Mistakes That Are Quietly Costing Your Kids

Some of the most common things we do in Health and Movement Science look like solid teaching, but they're quietly costing our kids marks. In this episode I'm walking you through the four biggest culprits I see again and again: teaching content without bringing it to life, death by PowerPoint, examples that are too generic and the one hurting kids most in year one of the new syllabus, not knowing the difference between the key words. Here's the thing. These aren't lazy-teacher mistakes. They're busy-teacher mistakes. Every one of them happens when you're stretched thin and reaching for what's quick, and every one of them is fixable. With 2026 being the first HSC under the new Health and Movement Science syllabus and no past papers to lean on, the margin for error is smaller than ever. So let's name what's getting in the way, then sort out how to fix it. Explore The HMS Membership: thelearnnet.com/hms [http://thelearnnet.com/hms] Join us at The HMS Summit: thelearnnet.com/summit [http://thelearnnet.com/summit]

#176 Teaching Body Image Well in K-6 PDHPE and 7-10 PDHPE

Body image is not just a high school issue. It starts younger than most of us realise. This week on The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast, Kelly Bell sits down with Kate McGill, accredited practising dietitian, body image coach and presenter with the Butterfly Foundation. Kate brings warmth, lived experience and real expertise to a conversation that matters for every classroom, from Kindergarten right through to Year 12. We talk about how to open up positive, age appropriate conversations about bodies with our youngest students. We unpack why the language we use as teachers matters so much, the everyday phrases that can do quiet harm and how to shift the focus from appearance to what our bodies let us do every day. You'll hear about: * How body image develops far earlier than we think and why early conversations matter * The language traps teachers fall into without meaning to, and how to reframe them * Why body dissatisfaction affects boys and girls, in the city and the country * How the new NSW K to 10 PDHPE syllabus gives us common language to teach this well * Whether you're a primary teacher or a high school PDHPE teacher juggling welfare and wellbeing, this episode will leave you better equipped to support the whole child.

#175 Beyond Scare Tactics: Evidence-Based Vaping Prevention for 7-10 PDHPE Teachers

Drug education is in your 7-10 PDHPE program. But what does the evidence actually say works with Stage 4 and 5 students? Kelly sits down with Associate Professor Emily Stockings from the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney to talk about vaping, prevention and what PDHPE teachers can do right now in their 7-10 PDHPE classroom. They unpack why vaping spread so rapidly through NSW schools, why scare tactics consistently fall flat with teenagers and what evidence-based prevention actually looks like in practice. Emily also walks through the free Our Futures Vaping Prevention program for Years 7 and 8, already in over 1,000 schools across Australia. Practical, research-backed and directly relevant to your PDHPE program. Resources mentioned: Our Futures Institute: ourfuturesinstitute.org.au [http://ourfuturesinstitute.org.au] The 7-10 PDHPE Membership: thelearnnet.com/secondary [http://thelearnnet.com/secondary]