Ophea.net :: Daily Physical Activity

Overview

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On October 6, 2005, The Ministry of Education announced that every elementary student will take part in a minimum of 20 minutes of Daily Physical Activity (DPA) as part of the government's Healthy Schools Program.

Ophea worked in partnership with the Ministry of Education to develop a variety of guides for teachers, administrators and school boards to support DPA. Ophea is committed to supporting the implementation of DPA and has taken the next step by offering, for the second year, the DPA Training & Support Services subscription to school boards across Ontario.

Twenty minutes of Daily Physical Activity is critical to making schools healthier places to learn and to improving student achievement. This step in the government’s Healthy Schools Plan will ensure that elementary students have a minimum of 20 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity each school day.

Daily Physical Activity Quick Facts:

DPA must consist of at least 20 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity daily.
DPA must be scheduled during instructional time (not during lunch, recess, or breaks).
DPA can occur in a variety of locations, including classrooms, the outdoors, the gymnasium, and multipurpose rooms.
20 minutes of Daily Physical Activity is only one component of a quality health and physical education program and should not replace existing physical education programs.
The 20 minutes is for Grades 1-8 however Kindergarten teachers are encouraged to implement this initiative as well.
All activities must be adapted, as appropriate, to ensure that students with special needs can participate. Such adaptations must be consistent with the accommodations and/or modifications that are typically found in a student's Individual Education Plan.
Since individual classes may be at different stages of implementation, daily physical activity may initially occur in several short sessions (a minimum of ten minutes each) over the course of the school day.
Elementary school principals should make their best effort to ensure that students are receiving at least twenty minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous daily physical activity during instructional time as soon as possible, and will meet this objective by the end of the 2005–2006 school year.