Sierra Leone Primary School Syllabus (Class 5) - Physical & Health Education (Including SRH and Personal Hygiene)

Term 1

• The Meaning of PHE: Students will be able to state the importance of PHE and name some PHE activities (athletics, games, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, etc.).
• Fundamental Movement: Students will demonstrate gymnastic activities with or without apparatus and movements in skipping, hopping, vaulting, etc.
• Games: Students will demonstrate healthy participation and organize team games in activities such as football, chair-ball, and rounders. They will also adhere to the rules of games and other sports.
• Hygiene: Students will observe rules related to environmental sanitation and discuss clothing for body protection against bad weather.

Term 2

• Foods and Nutrition: Students will define "Nutrient," name the types and sources of nutrients, and discuss food taboos.
• Water: Students will name diseases associated with water (cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, etc.), talk about vectors and pests, and discuss their control (flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, etc.).
• Accidents/First Aid: Students will define first aid, discuss its importance and first aid kits, and discuss first aid for animal bites, snake bites, insect bites and stings, fever, and fainting.
• Athletics: Students will demonstrate skills in long jump and high jump, illustrate their facilities and sectors, and demonstrate skills in relay races (e.g., baton exchange).

Term 3

• The Human Body: Students will name and label body parts, discuss the functions of body parts and organs, and discuss postural defects and correct sitting and standing positions.
• Drugs: Students will name the types of drugs (useful and harmful), discuss categories of drug use (drug misuse, drug abuse, etc.), and discuss how to control drug use.
• Rest and Sleep: Students will discuss exercise and fatigue and the importance of rest and sleep after exercise.
• HIV/AIDS Education: Students will explain how to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV and STIs and understand that HIV affects not just the person living with it but their family and loved ones too.
• Puberty: Students will learn about personal space and privacy, differentiate between good and bad touch, understand feelings and self-esteem, and learn about the role of traditional practices and initiation ceremonies (including FGM) in relation to puberty. They will also identify changes in male and female bodies throughout life, define puberty, describe the process of puberty for boys and girls, identify the key dimensions of puberty (physical, emotional, social, cognitive), acknowledge the internal and external effects of puberty, recognize challenges related to puberty (especially for those with disabilities or intersex), resist teasing or stigmatizing others, challenge shaming related to puberty, identify social rituals and rites that mark sexual maturity, and recognize traditions that may be harmful.