Healthy Schools Scheme – Cynllun Ysgolion Iach
Health promoting schools are developing throughout Europe. The European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS) (now called Schools for Health in Europe) was formally inaugurated in 1992 as part of a collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Europe (CoE). It was set up to establish a group of model schools in each country that would demonstrate the impact of health promotion on the school setting and then disseminate their experience.
The Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes (WNHSS) was launched in 1999 to encourage the development of local healthy school schemes within a national framework. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises the WNHSS as playing a key role in promoting the health of children and young people, and the scheme has been rolled out across Wales since 2000.
Within the scheme, there are seven different health topics that schools need to address. These include:
- Food and Fitness
- Mental and Emotional Health and Well Being
- Personal Development and Relationships
- Substance Use and Misuse
- Environment
- Safety
- Hygiene
What is a health promoting school?
A health promoting school has been defined by the WNHSS as one which actively promotes and protects the physical, mental and social well-being of its community through positive action by such means as policy, strategic planning and staff development with regard to its curriculum, ethos, physical environment and community relations.
However you may find some of the following definitions informative too.
A health promoting school is…a happy school.
A health promoting school is…a caring community which is concerned with the health of all its members, pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff and all those who interact with it.
A health promoting school…encourages pupils to recognise that what they do counts – that we all affect one anothers lives
A health promoting school…recognises that health education is not just taught in the classroom, but is supported and re-inforced in the daily life of the school and local community
A health promoting school...provides all the information pupils require about nutrition, exercise, relationships, smoking, drugs and alcohol and encourages them to take responsibility for their own actions.
Easy ways to make lunchboxes healthier
