Parents want NAPLAN to include fitness tests to counter obesity, survey by SA Association of State School Organisations finds

CLOSE to half of South Australian parents want student fitness tests included in NAPLAN as a health and anti-obesity measure.

CLOSE to half of South Australian parents want student fitness tests included in NAPLAN as a health and anti-obesity measure.

And a UniSA expert says Australia should follow Singapore’s lead and introduce mandatory fitness testing, with serious consequences for families and schools when children fail to reach benchmarks.

A survey by public school parent group the SA Association of State School Organisations found 46.5 per cent of 832 respondents backed the addition of fitness to NAPLAN literacy and numeracy tests.

Director David Knuckey said the results showed parents’ concern over children’s declining health and fitness, also evidenced by growing obesity rates and Australia’s “D” rating in the international Physical Activity Report Card.

Mr Knuckey said “physical literacy and fitness” could be assessed by measuring skills such as running, jumping, cycling, catching and throwing, and testing children’s understanding of “the role physical fitness plays in health and academic success”.

“Just as with academic literacy and numeracy, these measures are areas of ongoing development, so different levels of comprehension and mastery would be expected at the different year levels,” he said.

UniSA professor of exercise science Kevin Norton, who has worked with the Singapore government on fitness testing, said all Singaporean students faced annual tests including shuttle running and modified chin-ups. Parents of overweight children were called in to school to meet with dietitians and there were also funding penalties for underperforming schools.

“Something as significant as that is perhaps what’s required (in Australia),” he said.

“It’s like putting taxes on sugary drinks. It changes behaviour.”

The survey revealed close to half of SA parents are keen for fitness classes to be included in NAPLAN.

Prof Norton said most Singaporean children found the tests fun.

The survey found 63 per cent support for introducing “standing desks” in schools; 68 per for more fitness classes, 50 per cent for compulsory physical education up to Year 12; and 80 per cent for all schools to have a qualified PE teacher.

Nine in 10 respondents were parents and 18 per cent worked in schools.

Health and PE is compulsory to Year 10 under the Australian Curriculum. The SA Education Department recommends an average of 128 minutes per week.

Executive director of learning improvement Susan Cameron said Year 11 and 12 students could choose to study physical education as a SACE subject.

“Principals are able to determine the type of furniture they require which suits the delivery of their educational programs,” she said.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which runs NAPLAN, said there were no plans to add fitness tests. It said any changes to the scope of NAPLAN must be approved by the COAG Education Council of Australia’s nine education ministers.

Opposition education spokesman John Gardner said public schools should have more freedom to engage private sport coaches and share resources with local clubs.

Originally published as Parents want NAPLAN to include fitness tests to counter obesity, survey by SA Association of State School Organisations finds