No equipment for your HPE program? Here are some things to try!

Jan 23, 2024

Image cover for blog post.
Profile image of Kas

Kas

Anyone who has taught P.E. in a few different school settings would have experienced teaching with minimal space and with minimal/not game-appropriate equipment. Whilst frustrating at times, this is not always a bad thing, and as a P.E. teacher for many years now I believe this is also part of the development process in becoming a quality educator. A lack of resources (to an extent…nothing outrageous) forces you to think creatively and understand what is needed to teach specific things and what is not required to be an effective lesson. You become very resourceful and creative. It forces you along with your students to see how their bodies can move in different spaces and how equipment can be used in different ways to achieve different goals. Allowing students to modify games to meet the constraints of your learning space. These are not only critical skills but also are scattered outcomes in the HPE curriculum across many year levels.

If… it gets to a stage where it’s impacting lesson outcomes, increasing your workload and generally making your teaching life hard - the cons outweigh the benefits. Schools have to spread funding across many areas and generally, HPE is the subject area where we think just having an outside space and a couple of balls is sufficient….

If you’ve already-

  • Understood and researched how to use GLO’s (Games of Low Organisation) 
  • Small Sided games and modified games 
  • Changing outdoor games to indoor games (Modifying equipment and rules) 

Then you’re probably wondering what are some practical ways to get equipment now?! 

Here are some things that I have done/accessed when I needed equipment with literally no budget. 

Funding

If you teach in Australia then you will have access to Sporting Schools funding. Sporting’s School’s objectives as of 2024 are as follows:

-Engage primary school students in free, high-quality sports programs at school 

-Engage secondary school students (Years 7-8) in free, high-quality sports programs at school, particularly inactive students, girls, and students attending schools in disadvantaged areas

Funding and the amount of funding are awarded to schools based on the economic area, student numbers, and needs of the site. Grants are provided each term so there are many opportunities to apply for this funding and the funding can be used not only for equipment but also for programs both in and outside of school. There are opportunities for teacher-run programs where staff members can run programs outside of school hours and be paid a coaching fee from the sporting schools funding.

(If you need more clarification or support on how to better utilize this, please feel free to contact me). 

For the majority of my career, most of my budget for resources and programs came from Sporting Schools Funding. Due to the socioeconomic area of my school and the large number of students, we received a sufficient amount of funding. If used diligently (and with a long-term vision in mind) all it takes is a few key purchases over 1-2 years of resourcing for your program to be set up for years to come.

Then you can start purchasing for future years and making adjustments to cater for the needs of your students, staff and community!

It also is a great benefit to your school as it allows the school to conserve its budget for other school needs. It also gives you some bargaining power down the track when additional funds are needed for resources or carnival/events! (As you have been somewhat self-funded).

Sporting Schools is invaluable. 

Lending and Borrowing

Contact surrounding schools in your area, build relationships with other HPE teachers, lend and borrow equipment to support your programs. I have been fortunate to work in a cluster of schools where all the P.E. teachers meet regularly, create carnivals for our students, and support each other through the sharing of ideas, general support, teaching resources and equipment. If you both have limited budgets, each school can purchase a set of sport-specific equipment and then rotate it from term to term. Allowing you to have the equipment you need for multiple units with only needing to purchase one set of sport-specific equipment. 

This is something I have done and continue to do. It’s a great way to network and build helpful relationships, especially as specialist teachers typically work on their own or in small teams. 

**Accessing sporting Clubs for last season’s equipment **

One of the biggest issues for any school but especially in a big school with tons of students who love P.E. is lost and damaged equipment. If you’re a P.E. teacher you would have felt the pain of looking in a container, sports bin, or shed and seeing a whole bunch of equipment not there and missing. You would have experienced equipment being stolen, kicked over the fence, and of course… the favourite…on the roof. 

Over a year of general wear and tear, equipment regardless of how high quality it is takes a beating- and most likely needs to be replaced in a year or two. 

During the 2019-2020 pandemic, our school had to drastically cut budget lines to support the running of the school. During this time, we had issues accessing grants for a range of reasons and had no money to spend for that year. We also had a whole bunch of equipment that needed to be replaced as it was unusable.   

I was able to roll up my sleeves and go online in search of second-hand equipment. I also contacted sporting clubs directly from all over my area and asked if I could -have, purchase, or borrow old equipment or equipment they wanted to dispose of.

When these agencies realized I was from a school, they kindly helped me out or directed me to someone who could. Whilst the equipment wasn’t perfect, it did the job for the time being. It also helped me build relationships with sporting clubs and in turn, I was able to advertise their programs in my school community. 

What was originally a negative situation became a mutually positive situation that benefited our local sporting community as a whole.  

It’s surprising what can be achieved when you lean on the network around you.

Also! Remember a school for many outside sports providers is a marketing gold mine. Use it to your advantage and leverage your newsletters and notice boards in turn for opportunities for your students. Everyone wins!!

Helpful Resources: