How can we use the Health Curriculum in schools to teach students about individual and collective wellbeing?
Dr Katie Fitzpatrick and HPE leader Kat Wells talk to Denise about Mental Health Education and Hauora – their HPE curriculum resource for NZ schools. They explain how important HPE is for building wellbeing literacy and why ‘educative’ rather than ‘interventionist approaches’ are essential in schools. They are advocates for more curriculum time for this area and more PD to build teachers’ expertise in mental health and wellbeing. Listen to find out why Katie and Kat believe that whole-school wellbeing must include curriculum time for mental health and wellbeing education.

Bio
Dr Katie Fitzpatrick is an Associate Professor in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. She specialises in health education, physical education, sexuality education, critical pedagogy. Kat Wells is Head of Health and PE at Lynfield College, Auckland.

In 2017, Katie was awarded a Beeby Fellowship (NZCER) with Kat. Together with three other authors, they produced a resource for teachers: Mental health education and hauora: Teaching interpersonal skills, resilience and wellbeing. (NZCER press, 2018). This book gives NZ educators amazing resources for teaching on a wide range of health and wellbeing topics.