Federal Minister Bridget McKenzie lobbies for sport and physical literacy to be compulsory school subject

SPORT would be mandatory in schools under a radical plan to produce smarter and healthier kids by Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie.

Senator Bridget McKenzie says physical literacy is a key element to education and just as important as maths and English.

SPORT would be made mandatory in schools under a radical plan to produce smarter and healthier kids.

Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie has revealed plans to lobby the state education and sports ministers to make sport and physical literacy mandatory.

She said it would help students get better results.

Sports Minister Senator Bridget McKenzie is pushing for mandatory “physical literacy” in Australian schools. Picture Kym Smith

Underscoring her push for reform, the Nationals deputy leader said the cost of sport was becoming unaffordable for some families, making compulsory lessons and activity even more important.

She said it was ridiculous that not every child learned to swim in primary school.

Currently, states decide what is compulsory in schools.

While the national curriculum states that students should participate in physical activities, the Federal Government cannot mandate how states do that in their schools.

Senator McKenzie said there were more benefits to sport than keeping healthy and that a growing amount of research linked physical activity and better learning.

“Sport is a powerful platform for a whole lot of things, not just for the fun of it (and) I want to use the power of sport whenever I can,’’ Senator McKenzie said.

“Physical literacy is a key element to education and is just as important to a child’s development as maths and English.

“There’s a whole body of research on that. We got the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to put a submission to the Gonski 2.0 (review).”

She said she knew health and physical education was not compulsory but hoped that would change.

“That is a big thing I’d like to talk to my state counterparts in education and sport about,” she said. “Even learning to swim in a national like this – there are only two states where it is compulsory in primary schools. Our kids need to graduate primary school knowing how to swim.”

Senator McKenzie said it was even more pertinent given the cost of living pressures families were facing.

“Swimming lessons are about $780 per child per year,” she said.

The ASC submission to the recent Gonski review said developing the physical capabilities of children and young people was proven to enhance performance in other academic pursuits.

Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said Senator McKenzie should start by talking with her colleague Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham.

“If Senator Birmingham believes this is important, he can put it on the agenda for the next Education Council meeting,” she said. “The Federal Sports Minister may also like to have a word to her state-based LNP colleagues, who’ve been calling for a less cluttered curriculum in Queensland.”

Ms Grace said Queensland senior students were encouraged to choose subjects they enjoyed and which supported their preferred post-school pathway, whether it was work, training or tertiary study.

State LNP leader Deb Frecklington said standards needed to be lifted across all Queensland schools. She said physical education was essential for healthy lifestyles, team work and mental health.