What can schools do?
Schools, working in close partnership with their communities and other agencies, have an important role in contributing to improvements in health and education. The Scottish Executive expects all schools to become health promoting schools by 2007.
This is not something schools are being asked to address on their own, but in partnership with other local authority services, NHS boards and the wider community, including parents.
Challenges faced by schools
It is recognised that positive health and wellbeing is vital for learning and helping children’s chances of success. The challenges to schools are:
- raising pupil awareness of health issues to an extent they take action, i.e. getting them to live out the messages they are taught in school
- encouraging children to be more active, especially as they get older
- ensuring a suitable school environment and ethos in which pupils are at ease and feel secure
- taking account of the fact that children in different contexts have different health and wellbeing needs
- recognising when home situations are a cause of anxiety in children and being able to deal with related issues sensitively
- raising awareness of parents and educating them
- involving parents in supporting healthy lifestyles for their children
- developing partnerships with pupils, parents and other agencies, ensuring a coordinated service is in place.
Please note: Extensive guidance for practitioners in relation to developing health promoting schools can be found on the Health Promoting Schools website.
Information and advice is given on the following points:
- Eating for health
- Emotional wellbeing
- Physical activity
- National guidance
- Learning and teaching
- Environment
- School ethos
- Making it happen
- Partnership working
- Sharing practice.
The site also provides extensive links to support materials, websites and examples of good practice.
Benefits of working with parents
- If schools involve parents this can encourage similar messages regarding health and wellbeing at home and in the school.
- Involving parents can send positive messages to young people that their parents value their well being.
- Parents can learn about up-to-date health issues which can encourage healthy lifestyles in the home.
- Consulting parents can provide teachers with support when dealing with sensitive issues such as drugs and sexual health and relationships.
- Schools can develop a better understanding of the home environment and some of the health-related issues faced by families of children in the school.
What schools can do to involve parents
- Seek parents’ views when carrying out a health promoting schools’ audit and provide them with feedback which indicates you have taken account of their views
- If you have a health promoting group or committee invite some parents to be part of it.
- Invite parent helpers to work on school grounds projects.
- Consult with parents on healthy food policies in school, for example, what is available in the tuck shop.
- Organise workshops for parents to advise them about what is being taught in school, e.g. in relation to drugs education.
- Organise learning events which involve parents and children taking part in activities together, for example, exercise classes, making healthy snacks.
- Involve partner organisations in such learning events for example, Active Schools co-ordinator, community health practitioners.
- Send home relevant health-promoting materials to support what is being taught in school (either school produced or from partner agencies).
- Encourage parents to let the school know about any concerns they have about their children’s health and wellbeing (see materials on sharing information).
- Ensure that the school is welcoming and has facilities for parents where they can feel at ease.
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