A whole school approach to health promotion

Health promoting schools involve all pupils, staff, parents and members of the wider community in a whole school approach to health education and promotion.

Health promoting schools develop an ethos where all members of the school community:

• care for themselves and others
• develop values of wisdom, compassion, integrity, justice and peace
• acquire skills and attitudes that encourage healthy behaviour
• can access information that supports healthy choices.

The policies of a health promoting school

Health promoting schools are committed to improving the health and well-being of the whole school population. They work hard to identify and respond to the health needs of the pupils, staff, parents and the wider community.

Many schools have developed creative ways of engaging the school community, some schools run groups and forums, others have conducted needs assessments and some have compiled school health profiles in order to identify priorities.

Partnership working is a key feature of health promoting schools. Many schools have established very effective links with a wide range of individuals, services and agencies to support them in the delivery of health education and promotion programmes.

Health promoting schools are encouraged to develop progressive and creative approaches to learning and teaching about health and healthy lifestyles. They use child centred approaches allowing children to gain knowledge and understanding of particular issues, as well as providing them with the opportunity to practice decision making skills and experience behavioural change.

Health promoting schools recognise the importance of a consistent message which is applicable to all pupils, parents and staff. A whole school approach is encouraged to ensure that the experience pupils have throughout the school day complements the formal learning and teaching.

An example of this type of approach is the Hungry for Success (Scottish Executive, 2003) initiative. This initiative promotes the provision of healthy eating and drinking choices in schools and includes access to drinking water, breakfast clubs, healthy tuck shops, school meals, lunchtime experiences, vending machines, after school clubs and activities.