Active Kids is a Wyndham City initiative designed to encourage healthy eating habits and increased physical activity in children aged 8 to 10 years (Grades 3 & 4).  Active Kids aims to support schools and teachers with a simple and flexible curriculum-based program that leads to positive behaviour change for all participating students and families.

 

School Expression of Interest

Please refer to the updated Information Sheet for an overview of the 2025 Active Kids Program, including curriculum outline, delivery methods, resources and school requirements.

If your school is interested in being a part of this exciting program, please complete the online Expression of Interest Form.

If you have any questions regarding the 2024 Active Kids program, please feel free to contact Camilla Briggs, Inclusion & Participation Officer at camilla.briggs@wyndham.vic.gov.au or on 8734 0219.

Why the Active Kids program?

25% of Wyndham’s population is under the age of 14, which is significantly higher than Greater Melbourne. Wyndham City is prioritising children’s physical activity to establish behaviours which support lifelong participation as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Attending Primary school is an important time for children, where they learn and begin to lay foundations for positive habits and a healthy and active lifestyle. Council wants to support schools and their communities to generate and connect with physical activity participation opportunities.

The Active Kids program was designed by Wyndham City to support Wyndham Primary schools to encourage more 8 to 10 year old children (grade 3 and 4) to be physically active and eat healthily through an 8-week program that aligns to the school curriculum.

Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Guidelines

The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines outline that children (age 5 to 17 years) should aim to accumulate 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. This includes playing organised sport, leisure activities such as dance and skateboarding, as well as informal activities such as walking/ running at the park.

In addition, the Guidelines recommend that children (age 5 to 17 years) limit sedentary behaviour (sitting and lying down outside of sleep), and limit use of recreational electronic screens (TV, Tablets, Phones) to two-hours per day.

Current activity and lifestyle statistics

Most Australian children are not active enough and spend too much time in front of screens, with a quarter of children above a healthy weight(AIHW 2018).

Pre-Covid research found:

  • 3 out of 4 (74%) children aged 5 to 12 do not achieve the 60 minute daily physical activity guideline (AIHW 2012)
  • 2 out of 3 (65%) children aged 5 to 12 exceed the recommended daily maximum 2 hours sedentary screen-based behaviour (AIHW 2018).
  • 4 out of 10 children aged between five and 14 years do not participate in organised physical activity outside of school (Australian Sports Commission 2017).
  • As children get older their physical activity decreases and screen-time increases:
    • From 32% of 5 to 9 year olds achieving the physical activity guidelines to 15% of 10 to 14 year olds
    •  From 61% of 5 to 9 year olds exceeding Screen-time guidelines to 74% of 10 to 14 year olds)  (AIHW 2020)

Research demonstrates the link between low active lifestyles, an unbalanced diet and obesity leading to longterm health issues. Establishing active lifestyles and healthy eating patterns at a young age can help to protect our children against disease and provide a better quality of life.

We know that recent years have significantly affected physical activity, screen time and eating habits and that children and families need support and prompts to create a better balance.

For more information go to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Australia’s Children Report 2020.

Current Australian obesity, activity and diet research shows that we need to take action:

Victorian adult obesity rates have increased by 40 per cent in the last 20 years; today two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. (DHHS 2015) Almost one in four Victorian children are overweight or obese. (ABS 2019)

The combined impact of poor diet and being overweight or obese is one of Victoria’s greatest health challenges.(OPC 2017)

Overweight and obesity, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are avoidable risk factors for chronic health conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several cancers.

Victorian children consume almost 40 per cent of their total daily energy intake from discretionary foods (ABS 2012) - foods and drinks that are not considered part of a healthy diet such as sugary drinks, highly processed snack foods, sweet biscuits and confectionery (NHMRC 2013) reducing  their intake of healthy nutritious foods.

Very few Victorian children or adults meet the Australian Dietary Guidelines’ recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption. Only 5 per cent of Victorian adults and 6.5 per cent of Victorian children meet both the recommended serves of fruit and of vegetables. (ABS 2019)

This information and more can be found at: ‘A Healthier Start for Victorians – Healthy Eating and Active Living Roundtable’

Overweight or obese children are more likely to remain overweight or obese as teens and adults. (Better Health Channel)

If people are active as young children, they’re more likely to stay active throughout childhood and develop good habits to support becoming healthier adolescents and adults. (Department of Health and Ageing 2009, Get Up & Grow)

Factors causing children to become overweight and obese include:

  • Unhealthy food consumption – foods high in fat, salt and sugar
  • Lack of physical activity – most children don’t do the daily 60 minute minimum
  • Spending a lot of time on sedentary pursuits – on average children spend 2½ hours watching television a day, as well as spending time on computers and electronic games; replacing active pursuits
  • Overweight parents – a family’s eating patterns can influence a child’s weight, it can be hard to recognise that a child is overweight
  • Genetics – some rare gene disorders cause severe childhood obesity. In some people, particular genes acting together may make some children more susceptible to weight gain. A family tendency to be overweight, may mean the whole family needs to increase awareness of making healthy food choices

This information and more can be found at Better Health Channel.

Ultimately to help our children grow up into healthy and happy adults we need to encourage both organised sports and physical activities (ie clubs and lessons), informal activities (ie active play, skateboarding, etc), active travel - swapping car journeys where feasible and healthier food choices and habits. This may sound simple, but relies on creating an active environment where we encourage kids to enjoy being active, simple things like what kids wear, having equipment to use at break times, building activity breaks into lessons, encouraging links to external activities, providing the foundation blocks/ skill sets to physical activity at school and building confidence all help to increase an active mindset. Combined with reducing access to high sugar/ high fat foods so that they are seen as sometimes foods and not part of a daily habit and increasing the perception of healthy balanced meals and snacks as ‘normal’.

The Active Kids program is designed to address factors negatively impacting physical activity and healthy eating in 8 to 10 year olds, while providing opportunities for children and their families to establish positive habits and embed ongoing physical activity and healthy eating into their lifestyle.

Why get involved?

Children need to do at least 60 minutes of physical activity which gets their hearts beating faster and breathing faster each day – 3 in 4 children do not achieve this. 2 out of 3 children exceed the guideline of a maximum of 2 hours screen time a day.

Increased screen time and lower physical activity levels result in reduced confidence, social competence, physical literacy, strength and fitness. Many families are making less healthy snack and food choices whilst every social occasion whether family, sport, school or community based has increased unhealthy food options. Equipping children with the knowledge to make healthier choices to navigate these occasions is important.

Active Kids allows you to bring a positive healthy lifestyle focus through creation of easily achieved healthy habits. Evidence shows us that healthy and active kids concentrate better in the classroom, are more engaged and motivated, are less stressed, more resilient and play better with others.

Active Kids can be used to incorporate other learning goals and can also contribute to the Department of Education’s Active Schools program and Framework.

What does Active Kids cover?

The Active Kids curriculum covers key healthy eating and physical activity themes for children, weekly themes include:

  1. What is Physical Fitness?
  2. Healthy Eating Habits
  3. Move & Play Everyday
  4. Fruit and Vegetables
  5. Active Families
  6. Sometimes Foods
  7. Staying Active
  8. Healthy Meals

School Student Surveys

Student Survey for all participating primary schools.

If you have any issue accessing either survey please feel free to contact Camilla Briggs, Inclusion & Participation Officer at camilla.briggs@wyndham.vic.gov.au or on 8734 0219.

Weekly Activities – At School & At Home

Wyndham City’s Sport and Recreation team has put together some additional weekly activities to help support Active Kids through the 8-week program both at school and at home.

Week 1 – ‘What is Physical Fitness’ - Information & Activities

Week 2 – ‘Healthy Eating Habits - Information & Activities

Week 3 – ‘Move and Play Everyday’ - Information & Activities

Week 4 – ‘Fruit and Vegetables’ - Information & Activities

Week 5 – ‘Active Families’ - Information & Activities

Week 6 – ‘Sometimes Foods’ - Information & Activities

Week 7 – ‘Staying Active’ - Information & Activities

Week 8 – ‘Healthy Meals’ - Information & Activities

School ‘Active Kids’ Day

A school Active Kids Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight all the hard work students have been doing through the program, and a chance for them to showcase their learning about how to get active. Best of all it is a chance for the whole family to get active!

A template Active Kids Day involves students, teachers and classes organising and coordinating an after-school event to engage parents and guardians to join in and get active.

  • Students plan a session with a variety of sport/ fitness activities for their parents to participate in during the event.
  • The session can either be delivered by the students (with Teacher assistance), teacher led, or organised through an external Active Kids Partner – see full list below.
  • Sessions can involve all participating classes, or individual classes depending on space and equipment capacity.
  • This is a chance for students to showcase the sports/ fitness activities they enjoy doing and inform parents and guardians about the benefits of getting active.

It is noted that a number of factors will impact individual schools’ ability to deliver an Active Kids Day, so please contact Camilla Briggs on 8734 0219 or Camilla.briggs@wyndham.vic.gov.au to discuss your schools ideas and questions.

Disclaimer

The information contained on the Active Kids webpage is general in nature and does not take into account your/ your child’s particular circumstances.  You are entirely responsible for deciding whether the information on this webpage is suitable for your/ your child’s needs and you use this webpage at your own risk. 

Council recommends that you seek medical advice for your child’s individual nutritional and/ or physical activity requirements.  Children should be supervised by an adult when undertaking physical activity.

Council makes no guarantee about the quality, reliability, accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this webpage or in any of the third party websites that this webpage provides links to.

To the extent permitted by law, Council accepts no liability for any injury, loss, costs or damage whatsoever suffered or incurred in connection with your use of this webpage and the available resources, or for the content of any third party websites to which this webpage provides links to.

How do schools deliver Active Kids?

The Active Kids program can be delivered across any term in 2023, however the full suite of resources supports delivery primarily across terms 2, 3 and 4.

Active Kids has the flexibility to be delivered in different formats that align best to the school curriculum. The key components include a weekly classroom activity (delivered by classroom teacher or PE teacher) and/ or a weekly homework-based task.

*If the school would like to explore other program delivery options or requires further information please contact to discuss.

School Requirements – What does the school need to do to deliver Active Kids?

  1. Submit an Expression of Interest by Friday 8 December 2023 – this can be done by completing the online form, or emailing the completed form below.
  2. Identify an Active Kids School Coordinator – this person will act as the main contact between Council, School and any Providers.
  3. Create an Active Kids team – who will deliver the Active Kids program across the year group(s). You may already have a team focused on student health and wellbeing, incorporating the program into the school’s vision will help to strengthen the program and link it into other school policies and initiatives.
  4. Attend the Active Kids Information Meeting at the end of Term 1 2024 to pick up program resources and discuss the implementation of Active Kids, and further opportunities/ support available from Council and Partners.
  5. Deliver Active Kids Program including:
    • Weekly activities based on program themes
    • Distribute student resources including Passports, Stickers, Reward Vouchers & Certificates.
  6. Administer the online pre and post student survey (incorporating these into your lessons works best)
  7. Liaise with Active Kids Providers to arrange free in-school activity sessions
  8. Complete teachers survey.
  9. Distribute Active Kids information to parents through school newsletters and other appropriate methods.

Please note for those schools who signed up to deliver programs in 2023

The Active Kids Classroom posters were designed to be re-usable from year to year to save on printing, please hold onto these, they won’t be automatically printed again for you.

For more information or clarification of any questions you might have, please contact:

Camilla Briggs

Inclusion & Participation Officer

Ph: 03 8734 0219

E: camilla.briggs@wyndham.vic.gov.au

Get Active - Videos and More

Looking for some fun interactive videos you can follow at home or at school? Check out these activities from some Active Kids Partners that you can follow anytime and will get you moving.

Werribee Football Club – interACTIVE Community Classes:
Online videos from 15 to 20 minutes teaching core Football skills and drills.

Wyndham Basketball Association – Aussie Hoops Player Skill Videos

Super quick videos to learn and master Basketball basics:

Week 1 Ball Handling Skills (1min) 

Week 2 Ball Handling Skills (1:29min) 

Week 3 Ball Handling Skills (1:38min)

Week 4 Passing Skills (1:16min)

Week 5 Agility Skills (0:54min) 

WBA have over 150 videosfor Beginners to advanced, from key skills to strength and speed work.

WynActive Fitness Workouts

Get moving with these 6 to 20 minute workouts designed just for kids

Active Kids Workout 1 (19:55min) 

Active Kids Workout 2 (12:37min) 

Active Kids Workout 3 (6:56min) 

Active Kids Workout 4 (15:40min) 

Active Kids Stretching (21:22min)

See more WynActive videos from yoga to workouts for younger and older kids here.

Williams Landing FC Soccer Warm Up & Drills

Super short drills to sharpen up your football skills and a good warm-up to follow.

Get Active Victoria 

Register with Get Active Victoria to gain access to Free online workouts, challenges and more.

AAA Play Find an Activity

Supporting people of all ages with disabilities to find physical activity opportunities across Victoria.

Disability Online Active 

Short workouts you can do at home while introducing you to new sports.

Disclaimer

The information contained on the Active Kids webpage is general in nature and does not take into account your/ your child’s particular circumstances.  You are entirely responsible for deciding whether the information on this webpage is suitable for your/your child’s needs and you use this webpage at your own risk. 

Council recommends that you seek medical advice for your child’s individual nutritional and/ or physical activity requirements.  Children should be supervised by an adult when undertaking physical activity.

Council makes no guarantee about the quality, reliability, accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this webpage or in any of the third party websites that this webpage provides links to.

To the extent permitted by law, Council accepts no liability for any injury, loss, costs or damage whatsoever suffered or incurred in connection with your use of this webpage and the available resources, or for the content of any third party websites to which this webpage provides links to.

Where to get Active in Wyndham

Wyndham’s Recreation Facilities

Wyndham has a wide range of recreation facilities, activities and services to offer. Some of Wyndham’s main recreation facilities include: 

  • AquaPulse (Indoor swimming pools, water slides and gym including swimming lessons and fitness classes)
    80 Derrimut Road, Hoppers Crossing
    Phone: 8734 5678
  • Werribee Outdoor Pool
    80-82 Derrimut Road
    Hoppers Crossing
    Phone: 9741 3218
  • Eagle Stadium (Indoor sports courts and gym including Basketball, Table Tennis and Badminton clubs)
    35 Ballan Road, Werribee
    Phone: 8734 5677

Wyndham has a number of sporting reserves, home to clubs offering sports from beginner to elite sporting level. There are a large number of parks with bike and walking trails, walking groups, water activities and dog off lead areas.

There are many opportunities to participate in recreation in Wyndham, to gain more information regarding what is available please check out the web links identified below:

Sign up to the regular Active Wyndham Newsletter

Program Resources

All participating primary schools will be provided with a suite of program resources to assist with student learning and ongoing establishment of an active and healthy eating lifestyle.

Active Kids Student Passport  (Pre 2022 version)
Healthy & Active Classroom Daily Challenge Posters  (Pre 2022 version)
Activity Card - Recess Schoolyard Workout
Activity Card - Playground Family Workout 

Active Kids Passport

All participants receive an Active Kids Passport. The passport is used by students to keep a record (diary) of any ‘physical activity’ undertaken and to record ‘healthy eating’ habits (e.g. servings of fruit and vegetables). The passport is designed as a fun way for participants to learn more about the benefits of ‘physical activity’ and ‘healthy eating’ (e.g. health information, activity and eating diary etc).

Healthy & Active Classroom Daily Challenge Posters

Individual Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Classroom posters have been designed to reinforce positive daily messages in the classroom. Each class participating in Active Kids receives both posters which prescribe a small and simple daily task for each student to complete during the 8-week program. These easy daily tasks support students and families to identify opportunities to embed physical activity and healthy eating in lifestyles beyond the Active Kids program.

Participant Rewards

At the end of each week, all students who participated in the weekly classroom activity and filled in their Active Kids Diary, receive a sticker for their passport. Families are also emailed Reward vouchers for students to try activities for free at local physical activity providers. At the end of the program all students who participated in the program also receive a Certificate of Participation.

School Activity Sessions

Wyndham City engages Program Partners to deliver free School Activity sessions to participating schools. The School Activity sessions are designed to provide new experiences for participants and promote local junior sport and physical activity programs run by a variety of Wyndham organisations such as sports clubs, fitness businesses and martial arts studios.

Active Kids Program Partners offering school activity sessions and children’s rewards for 2024 include:

  • Altona Hockey Club
  • Cricket Victoria and Melbourne Renegades Cricket Team
  • Hockey Victoria (Hockey Club Melbourne)
  • Hoppers Crossing Karate School
  • Hoppers Crossing Netball Association
  • NRL Victoria
  • PointCookDance
  • Rocketstars Academy 
  • Sport Star Academy (cricket)
  • Veg Education
  • Werribee Football Club
  • Werribee Hockey Club
  • Western Leisure Services (WynActive)
  • Western United Football Club
  • Wyndham Basketball Association
  • Wyndham Netball Association

Wyndham City appreciate the effort of all Active Kids Partners in 2024 for offering opportunities to Wyndham’s children.

 

Additional Resources for Schools

Transform Us

Designed and tested by Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) the program combines strategies across classroom, schools and home to get students moving more and sitting less. Transform-Us! is available to all Victorian Primary schools.

Complete a short 20-30 minute online training to gain free access to Health lesson plans, ideas to incorporate Active Breaks and Active Lessons, Active Homework, posters and more

Active Schools

The Department of Education’s Active Schools program, launched in 2021, aims to provide support and resources for schools to get kids moving. The Active Schools Framework uses a holistic approach to support students to be active through six priority areas:

  • Quality physical education
  • Quality school sport
  • Active Classrooms
  • Active Travel
  • Active Recreation
  • Supportive School Environment

The online Active Schools Toolkit provides guidance, strategies and resources that school leaders and teachers can use to become an Active School.

Wyndham’s Active Kids program can support schools on their journey to becoming an Active School.

Playing for Life (Sport Australia)

Looking for some inspiration for school lessons and activities? These game-based activity cards for all primary school year groups are aligned with the Australian Curriculum and Australian Physical Literacy Framework. They have been designed with the objective to develop a love of movement and physical activity that will encourage children to play for life.

Sports Ability (Sport Australia)

Inclusive activity cards for all levels of ability, designed to develop children’s skills, confidence and motivation for sports-based activities.

Nestle for Healthier Kids School Program (Australian Institute of Sport)

A free teaching resource presenting an overarching design challenge – to design an Athlete’s Village - supported by a range of differentiated physical and inquiry-based activities for K-6 students. All of the activities are linked to the Australian curriculum, can be used independently or as part of a Health and Physical Education unit of work and explored at their own pace.

Youth Sports Trust Free Resources

YST is the UK’s leading charity for education and development through sport and play. They have created and collated 3 pages of Top tips and resources for lessons and for families, including 60 second challenges, game cards, ethnicity and faith resources, inclusion and leadership.

Physical Literacy for Schools

Physical Activity & Healthy Eating Tips

Physical Activity

Healthy Eating

Disclaimer

The information contained on the Active Kids webpage is general in nature and does not take into account your/ your child’s particular circumstances.  You are entirely responsible for deciding whether the information on this webpage is suitable for your/ your child’s needs and you use this webpage at your own risk. 

Council recommends that you seek medical advice for your child’s individual nutritional and/ or physical activity requirements.  Children should be supervised by an adult when undertaking physical activity.

Council makes no guarantee about the quality, reliability, accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this webpage or in any of the third party websites that this webpage provides links to.

To the extent permitted by law, Council accepts no liability for any injury, loss, costs or damage whatsoever suffered or incurred in connection with your use of this webpage and the available resources, or for the content of any third party websites to which this webpage provides links to.

Fun Stuff

The Active Kids Program promotes the importance of engaging in fun activities and eating yummy healthy food, so that a healthy active lifestyle is achieved.

Below are some fun filled websites with ideas for fun games, activities, recipes and quizzes. So check out the web links for ideas of how to be healthy and get active.

Fun Games and Activities

Websites with fun games and activities for kids to try!

Kids In The Kitchen

To find fun recipes and activities involving cooking for kids, try the following web links for ideas:

Join a Wyndham Recreation/Sporting Club

Find groups and clubs on our Active Wyndham Map

Find free and low cost activities on our Active Wyndham Calendar

Want to know more about healthy living? Check out LiveLighter’s page for families.

The information contained on the Active Kids webpage is general in nature and does not take into account your/ your child’s particular circumstances.  You are entirely responsible for deciding whether the information on this webpage is suitable for your/ your child’s needs and you use this webpage at your own risk. 

Council recommends that you seek medical advice for your child’s individual nutritional and/ or physical activity requirements.  Children should be supervised by an adult when undertaking physical activity.

Council makes no guarantee about the quality, reliability, accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this webpage or in any of the third party websites that this webpage provides links to.

To the extent permitted by law, Council accepts no liability for any injury, loss, costs or damage whatsoever suffered or incurred in connection with your use of this webpage and the available resources, or for the content of any third party websites to which this webpage provides links to.

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