Daily Physical Activity Initiative

Alberta Education is committed to helping students develop positive daily physical activity habits and recognizes the contribution of teachers, schools and school authorities in implementing the Daily Physical Activity initiative. Already, this initiative has shown positive results and will continue to make a notable contribution to the health and well-being of our students and to all citizens of our province.

Goal
The goal of Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is to increase students' physical activity levels. DPA is based on the belief that healthy students are better able to learn and that school communities provide supportive environments for students to develop positive habits needed for a healthy, active lifestyle.

Policy
School authorities shall ensure that all students in grades 1 to 9 are physically active for a minimum of 30 minutes daily through activities that are organized by the school.

Guiding Principles
Schools have the responsibility of creating and nurturing a learning environment for students that supports the development of the lifelong habit of daily physical activity and that supports healthy lifestyles.

Daily physical activities should:

• vary in form and intensity
• take into account each student's ability
• consider resources available within the school and the larger community
• allow for student choice.

Procedures
School authorities have the flexibility to use instructional and/or non-instructional hours to implement DPA.

• Physical education classes are an appropriate strategy to meet the DPA requirement.
• DPA should be offered in as large a block of time as possible but can be offered in time segments adding up to the minimum 30 minutes per day; e.g., two 15-minute blocks of time for a total of 30 minutes.
• DPA can be incorporated throughout the day and integrated into other subject areas.

Resources and Support

• Daily Physical Activity Survey Report, 2008 
• Executive Summary
• CFLRI Pedometer Study: Objective Measures of Physical Activity Levels of Alberta Children and Youth, 2007
• Daily Physical Activity: A Handbook for Grades 1-9 Schools, 2006
  DPA Tip Booklet:  Take Action
• Daily Physical Activity for Children and Youth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature, 2006
• Video - Daily Physical Activity Initiative: Creating a Desire to Participate

Additional resources to help support the DPA initiative can be found on the Alberta Education Physical Education Web page.

DPA workshops are available through the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC) and from Schools Come Alive. For more information, contact the ARPDC directly at http://www.arpdc.ab.ca/ or Schools Come Alive at http://www.schoolscomealive.org/.

Contacts
Call the Team Leader, Wellness Education, Alberta Education, telephone 780–427–2984 (toll free within Alberta by dialling 310–0000 followed by the area code and telephone number).

For information on French resources for DPA, please contact the French Language Services Branch at 780–427–2940.