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Valuing the role of the Primary School HPE Curriculum Lead in Aotearoa New Zealand

Valuing the role of the Primary School HPE Curriculum Lead in Aotearoa New Zealand

Date: 25 Aug 2026

Across Aotearoa New Zealand, schools are increasingly recognising the importance of movement, wellbeing, engagement, belonging, and inclusive learning. At the centre of this work sits Health and Physical Education (HPE), the learning area that explicitly develops understanding of movement, identity, relationships, environments, and connections to society through lived experience.

If schools want quality HPE programmes that genuinely improve outcomes for tamariki, the role of the HPE Curriculum Lead must be prioritised. This includes adequate release time for dedicated curriculum leadership, planning and development, professional learning and development (PLD), resourcing, and appropriate professional recognition.

Why HPE Leadership Matters

Physical Education is far more than organised sport or physical activity. It is the structured teaching and learning of movement that develops confidence, capability, wellbeing, identity, relationships, and critical understanding through movement.

Quality HPE does not happen accidentally. It requires intentional curriculum design, inclusive teaching practices, culturally responsive pedagogy, and a deep understanding of how learning occurs in, through, and about movement.

This requires leadership.

An effective HPE Curriculum Lead:

  • is a curriculum and pedagogy leader
  • leads and grows a vision for HPE teaching and learning within their school
  • supports teachers to deliver quality, curriculum-driven programmes
  • leads professional learning and curriculum development
  • promotes inclusive and culturally responsive practice
  • helps staff understand the difference between activity and learning
  • strengthens student engagement and wellbeing
  • builds coherent school-wide progression in movement learning
  • connects HPE with school priorities around attendance, hauora, inclusion, and achievement.

HPE Curriculum Lead vs Sports Coordinator: Understanding the Difference

One of the biggest challenges in schools is that the role of the HPE Curriculum Lead is often combined with that of a Sports Coordinator. While both roles are valuable, they are not the same. The time demands of both roles often make successful outcomes imbalanced / impossible when combined with a full time teaching role. PENZ acknowledges the value that both roles hold within a school and recommends the roles be separated and held by different individuals.

The HPE Curriculum Lead

Their focus is on:

  • teaching and learning
  • curriculum design and progression
  • inclusive practice
  • culturally responsive pedagogy
  • assessment and learning intentions
  • teacher capability building
  • student wellbeing and hauora
  • ensuring all learners experience success through movement

Their work sits within the New Zealand Curriculum and contributes directly to educational outcomes.

The Sports Coordinator

The Sports Coordinator primarily manages extracurricular sport and school sport systems.Their responsibilities may include:

  • organising teams and competitions
  • coordinating draws and registrations
  • communicating with sporting bodies
  • arranging uniforms, transport, and volunteers
  • overseeing sports events and logistics

This role is operational and participation-focused rather than curriculum-focused.

Why Support and Release Time Are Essential

In many schools, HPE leadership is added onto a full classroom teaching load with little or no release time. This creates an expectation that significant curriculum leadership can happen “on the side” of already demanding responsibilities.

We would not expect this of literacy, mathematics, or assessment leadership. HPE deserves the same professional recognition.

If schools value:

  • student wellbeing
  • inclusive practice
  • culturally sustaining pedagogy
  • engagement through movement
  • confidence and belonging
  • healthy active learners

then they must also value the leadership that enables it.

Release time allows HPE leaders to:

  • observe and support teaching practice
  • mentor colleagues
  • lead curriculum review and planning
  • build progression across year levels
  • develop inclusive programmes
  • engage with current research and curriculum updates
  • connect with local communities and movement opportunities
  • lead meaningful PLD

Without time and support, leadership becomes reactive rather than strategic.

The Importance of Professional Learning and Prestige

HPE leadership requires specialised knowledge. Quality Physical Education involves understanding pedagogy, movement learning, hauora, inclusion, culture, challenge, and learner development. Professional learning is therefore essential, not optional.

Schools should actively support HPE leaders to:

  • engage in curriculum PLD
  • participate in professional networks
  • stay informed about research and emerging practice
  • build capability in culturally responsive and inclusive teaching

Equally important is the professional status attached to the role. When HPE leadership is viewed as secondary to “academic” learning areas, schools unintentionally communicate that wellbeing, identity, movement, and hauora matter less. Yet we know these areas strongly influence engagement, attendance, confidence, relationships, and readiness to learn. “The challenge ahead is not to justify physical education, but to ensure every ākonga experiences its full potential.” That challenge cannot be met without strong curriculum leadership.

A Call to School Leaders and Boards

Boards and senior leadership teams have significant influence over whether HPE is marginal or meaningful within a school.

Supporting the HPE Curriculum Lead is an investment in:

  • learner wellbeing
  • inclusive education
  • teacher capability
  • culturally responsive practice
  • student engagement
  • lifelong participation in movement and physical activity

Schools should consider:

  • allocating dedicated leadership release time
  • clearly separating curriculum leadership from sports administration
  • funding ongoing PLD and professional memberships
  • including HPE leadership within strategic planning priorities
  • recognising HPE leadership as equal in importance to other curriculum leadership roles

Every child in Aotearoa deserves access to quality Health and Physical Education. Every school deserves leaders who are equipped and supported to make this possible.

When schools invest in HPE leadership, they invest in the wellbeing, confidence, belonging, and future of their tamariki.



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