TOWARDS HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS
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HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS - extracted text
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SDA-RF-CH-2.1
TOWARDS
HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS
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Regional Office for South-East Asia,
New Delhi
Health and Education
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"The benefits ofpromoting the health ofschool
children extendfar beyond meeting their immediate
needsfor improving healthfor better learning.
Tomorrow’s communities are in the making today.
Empowering school children with the knowledge and
skills to promote their health and well-being, the
health of theirfamilies and their communities, should
communities. But the foundations of such
synergy are largely set at school.
be the primary concern of everybody. Promoting
health through schools is a singular innovative
approach to respond to the needs ofschool children,
school personnel and communities. ’
Dr. Uton Muchtar Rafei
Regional Director
Good health supports successful learning
as much as successful learning supports
health. Research again indicates that healthy
children:
• have higher daily school attendance;
• learn better;
• take full advantage of every opportunity to
' |~j' ducation and health are two sides of the
T / same coin. The critical synergistic
learn and thus achieve higher academic
relationship between education and health
• tend to maximize social relationships and
interactions at school and at home, tl^B^
status is widely recognized. With a higher
excellence;
level of education, the chances for better jobs
improving their chances of balanced
and access to facilities and services which
development.
promote health, are greatly increased.
Research indicates that literate women tend
Education increases children's opportunities
to keep healthy. Acquisition of health-related
to:
knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices
• marry later;
empower children to:
• exercise better control over their fertility;
• protect their own health and that of their
children;
• adopt better breastfeeding practices and
immunize their children.
• pursue a healthy life, now and in the future;
• work as agents of change for the improved
health for their families and communities.
• gain self-reliance, develop positive selfesteem and self-assertiveness which enable
Educated people are better able to respond
them to cope with the pressures of a socio
to health needs of their families and
culturally diverse and highly competitive
contribute to the well-being of their
world;
Also :
• families benefit by the vast pool of health
• communities gain by acquiring increased
information and skills that the child brings
awareness of health problems and their
home from school, which can be used to
solutions through their involvement
and
in school activities and community health
improve knowledge, practices
conditions at home;
T
projects.
he concept of health promoting schools
is about helping schools to build and use
their entire organizational capacity to
improve health among the pupils, staff,
families and community members.
What is a health promoting school?
for and requires commitment to the provision
A health promoting school is described as a
of a safe and health-enhancing social,
school constantly strengthening its capacity
physical and psycho-social environment.
as a healthy setting for living, learning and
'O^king. It focuses on creating health
How can you know a health
and preventing important causes of death,
promoting school?
disease and disability by helping school
A health promoting school strives to:
children, staff, family members and
community members to:
o care for themselves;
o set clear goals and objectives for the
promotion of health and safety for the
whole school community;
o make decisions and have control over
• implement policies that enable all pupils to
circumstances that affect their health;
fulfil their physical, psycho-social and social
• create conditions that are conducive to
potential, promote their self-esteem and
health.
acknowledge good effort and personal
achievements;
Such a school aims to achieve healthy lifestyles
a promote the health of school personnel,
for the whole school population by developing
families and community members as well
supportive environments conducive to the
as students through developing a culture of
promotion of health. It offers opportunities
social responsibility for health;
• foster health and learning through good
• plan and implement a coherent school
staff-pupil and pupil-pupil relationships
health education curriculum that actively
and establishment of good and healthy
engages school children through child-
links between the school, the home and
centred approaches;
community';
• provide nutrition and food safety
• exploit available resources by maximizing
programmes, school health services,
on the services of health and education
opportunities for physical education,
officials, teachers, students, parents,
recreation, counselling, social support and
professional associations, the private sector
and community leaders and groups in
efforts to promote health;
mental health promotion;
• equip school children with the knowled^
and skills they need to make sound decisions
• provide a health promoting environment for
about their personal health and to preserve
working and learning through its buildings,
and improve a safe and healthy school
play areas, catering facilities, water and
physical environment.
sanitation facilities;
Gysdfag
feir actto
r P1 he vision of promoting health through
I schools is guided by the recommen
dations of the WHO Expert Committee on
Comprehensive School Health Education and
Promotion. These are:
• Investment in schooling must be improved
and expanded.
• The full educational participation of girls
must be expanded.
of resources at the local, national and
international levels to support school health.
• Teachers and school staff must be properly
• Every school must provide a safe learning
valued and provided with the necessary
environment for students and a safe work
support to enable them to promote health.
place for staff.
• The community and the school must work
• Every school must enable children and
together to support health and education.
adolescents at all levels to learn critical
• School health programmes must be well
health and life skills.
• Every school must more effectively serve
as an entry point for health promotion and
as a location for health intervention.
• Policies, legislation and guidelines must be
designed, monitored and evaluated to ensure
their successful implementation and
outcomes.
• International support must be further
developed to enhance the ability of Member
developed to ensure the identification,
States, local communities and schools to
allocation, mobilization and coordination
promote health and education.
Strategies for Action
romotion and development of health
P
promoting schools involves four main
strategies:
Advocacy
For the concept of health promoting
schools to be a national priority,
advocacy but also help mobilize the necessary
advocacy to create awareness among
resources. For effective school health
policy-makers, the general population,
promotion, communities and schools should
training and academic institutions, the
necessarily be partners in this endeavour.
community, parents, schools and students is
critical.
Advocacy to achieve a common understanding
Strengthening national
and local capacity
of the concept, its strengths, strategies and
Capacity building by necessity
priority action areas is required. Consensus
should be at all levels, from the
on goals, strategies, plans of action and resources
national level to the schools in communities.
need to be built.
The capacity and capability of health
promotion advocates to promote health
through schools, is an important requirement.
Partnerships and Alliances
The multiple factors which affect
Health promoters need to be trained, among
the health status of school children,
others, in research, documentation and
as well as teachers and school
dissemination of success stories.
personnel demand an intersectoral action.
Building a sustainable partnership between the
Orientation of policy makers, training of
focal ministries of education and health and
teachers, community leaders and school
other sectors such as environment, urban and
leadership could ensure their active
town planning, finance and economic
participation in needs assessment, programme
planning, NGOs and the private sector should
planning, monitoring and evaluation.
be a priority.
Development of appropriate guidelines,
Alliances with professional bodies, unions,
manuals and tools are necessary to support
associations and private companies would not
capacity building.
only provide the necessary platform for
Research, monitoring and
Appropriate methodologies, guidelines,
evaluation
protocols and tools for situation analysis and
Effective and sensitive programmes
monitoring of planning and implementation
are built on good baseline data.
processess as well as evaluation are crucial
Programmes should be designed to have a
requirements. Evaluation and documentation
research and evaluation component that helps
of programmes should be used as tools to
in constantly monitoring and fine-tuning the
legitimize the cause of health promoting
schools.
programme.
parents, students, community members, and
Build support for health promoting
health workers.
schools
Identify a group of people who are interested
Define the role of the team which should
in health promotion, including the
management of about 10-15 schools in
include providing leadership and guidance
for the development and implementation!^
communities in the same neighbourhood.This
an action plan of health promoting schools.
group could also include local, interested
teachers, students, parents and community
Work with the team and school management
leaders.
to appoint a leader/coordinator for the dayto-day follow-up and liaison. The coordinator
Advocate the cause of health promoting
could be a teacher or volunteer from the
schools by highlighting the rationale, the
community or a student.
benefits and vision of the concept. Share ideas
on what it does, how it works and who should
be a part of it. Secure the agreement and
commitment of management and community
Form a community advisory group
A group made up of leaders from the
to develop health promoting schools.
communities in which selected schools are
situated including other sectors such as
Develop a school health team
environment, public works as well as local
industries, womens' groups, members from
Build a school health team made up of
representatives of interested teachers,
finance and health institutions, transport,
NGOs, municipal or local government,
unions and professional associations should
Develop schools' policies and plans of action
be formed. The advisory group could further
based on the identified issues with clearly
advocate for health promoting schools,
defined roles for implementation by
promote establishment of new health
stakeholders. Set appropriate target dates
promoting schools, mobilize external
for the implementation of each activity
resources and help address health and other
and indicators
evaluation.
problems that affect the health of school
for monitoring and
children, teachers and communities.
Develop mechanisms for resource mobiliza
£arry out situation analysis
tion such as school concerts, sale of school
Find out the disease burden in the community,
prepared products such as crafts, toiletries and
actions taken, existing health laws, regulations,
mementos; sponsorship by individuals,
policies and resources for health. Assess the
companies, groups and parents' contributions.
current school efforts in school health as well
as the disease burden, environmental and social
Identify mechanisms for collaboration and
factors which affect the health of school
institute reporting systems.
children.
Implement, monitor and evaluate
The health knowledge of teachers and school
Develop appropriate teaching/learning
children should be documented. The level of
resource materials and carry out relevant
involvement of parents, community leaders,
training and orientation programmes.
groups and NGOs in school health should
also be documented. Possible resources for
Identify out-of-classroom learning situations,
jpealth promoting schools, both local and
activities and projects, which could actively
external should be identified.
engage school children, parents, communities,
other sectors and stakeholders together for
Identify an entry point
action. Monitor progress through regular
Identify health promotion issues, which are the
review meetings, share information with
stakeholders. Evaluate after the end of target
need of the majority of school children, staff,
parents and community. This could be
date, disseminate results as widely as possible,
deworming of school children, providing mid
and replan.
day meals, safe drinking water, building toilets,
improving parent-teacher relationships,
Develop a local network
preventing tobacco and alcohol use, improving
Advocate for networking among participating
out-of-school learning situations, preventing
schools. Share information on the benefits
accidents and violence reduction, etc.
of networking. Develop collectively the
responsibilities and criteria for participation
Develop a Plan of Action
Develop clear aims for the promotion ofhealth
in the network as well as strategies for helping
other schools become health promoting
and safety for the whole school community.
schools.
Health promoting schools should be seen as the beginning of healthy living,
not only for school children but for the entire community. Investing in school
health is a very sound investment with everlasting returns.
For more information phase contact WHO country offices
BANGLADESH
MALDIVES
WHO Representative
House No. 12, Road No. 7
Dhanmondi Residential Area,
Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh
WHO Representative
G. Antares (Ground Floor), Husnuheenaa
Fax: 863247, Tel: 864653-55,
Fax: 324210, Tel: 327519(WR)
BHUTAN
MYANMAR
WHO Representative
Social Ministry Secretariat
WHO Representative
Magu, Opp. NE Corner of Postal Building
Male, Republic of Maldives
|
39, Shwe Taung Gyar Road,
Yangon, Myanmar
Fax: 511078, Tel: 511076(WR)
Above Telephone Exchange
Thimphu, Bhutan
Fax: 23319, Tel: 22864, 22940
NEPAL
WHO Representative
UN Building, Pulchowk, Lalitpur
Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: 527756, Tel: 523993
DPR KOREA
WHO National Programme Officer
The Ministry of Public Health
Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
Pyongyang, DPR Korea
SRI LANKA
Fax: 3814416, Tel: 380288
WHO Representative
No. 135, Bauddhaloka Mawatha
Colombo-4, Sri Lanka
Fax: 502845, Tel: 502319(WR)
INDIA
WHO Representative
Room 533-35, A’ Wing Nirman Bhawan
New Delhi-110011, India
Fax: 3012450(WR),
Tel: 3018988 (Ext. 2507)
THAILAND
WHO Representative
Ministry of Public Health
Soi Bamrasnaradoon, Tiwanond Road,
INDONESIA
Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
Fax: 5918199, Tel: 5918198
WHO Representative
UN Building, No. 14, Jalan M.H. Thamrin
Jakarta 10013, Indonesia
Fax: 323827, Tel: 3141308
M948
Ft 998
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
HEALTH FOR ALL: ALL FOR HEALTH
1998
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