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Schools & Child Care

The School Health Program

The School Health program promotes optimal health, developmental potential and learning among school-aged children and youth in Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka. Our staff work in close collaboration with local school board partners, school staff and administrators, students, families, and community partners to make school communities a healthy place for all.

Our approach is evidence based and aligns closely with the Ministry of Education’s Foundations for a Healthy School. We promote and support a range of topics and priorities related to school health and well-being.

A healthy school is one where everyone - school administrators, teachers, parents, students and community agencies, all work together to create an environment that will have a positive impact on a student’s health, learning and well-being.

Using a comprehensive Healthy School approach helps school communities come together to create an environment where health and well-being are valued and promoted. The benefits include:
  • Increased mental well-being and staff well-being
  • Increased resilience, self-esteem and self-confidence
  • Increased physical activity and decreased sedentary behaviour
  • Increased vegetable and fruit consumption
  • Decreased tobacco and substance use
  • Grounding in and appreciation of one’s environment
  • Improved cultural safety in learning environments
  • A greater sense of belonging, engagement and deeper connection to the school community; decreased bullying
  • Increased internalized values such as responsibility and empathy
  • Fewer school absences and improved academic success

For more information, refer to:

Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally recognized, evidence-based approach for building healthy school communities. It is widely acknowledged that healthy students are better prepared to learn, and that education is a key determinant of health and well-being. CSH helps to improve educational outcomes and enables schools to create healthy school environments that promote and support well-being. It involves collaboration with the whole school community, including administrators, educators, families, students, and community partners. When all these key stakeholders are engaged through partnership and collaboration, using this best practice approach can create long-lasting, sustainable change.


We offer:

School Health nurses work with schools using a Comprehensive School Health-Healthy Schools process.

We can share resources, tips and ideas to support your school’s health-related goals, facilitate referrals to health unit services and help make connections to other health unit and community supports and resources.

Our team of Public Health Nurses and Registered Dietitians also work together with local school boards and schools to:

  • consult on the development of board and/or school improvement plans
  • consult on the development and/or implementation of health policies
  • participate on Healthy Schools (and other) committees
  • engage students, staff, parents as change-makers
  • identify health-related strengths, assess and prioritize needs, and use best practice approaches to address these needs
  • plan and implement health promotion strategies and activities to address a variety of topics (e.g., mental health promotion, healthy eating, physical activity, etc.)
  • assist with writing funding applications to support health and well-being initiatives
  • provide curriculum consultation and support
  • promote and support asset-based approaches and initiatives (e.g., Developmental Assets)
  • promote opportunities for skill development for staff and students
  • facilitate connections to other health unit or community resources, programs and services .

Contact

Call 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 or email [email protected] to book an appointment with your local School Health representative.

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