What is a Healthy School?

A healthy school is one where school leaders, staff, students, parents/caregivers, and community partners all school administrators, teachers, parents, students and community agencies, all work together to create a safe and inclusive positive environment where students can realize their full potential.

The benefits of a healthy school include:

• A stronger greater sense of belonging and school connectedness. 
• Fewer school absences and improved academic success.
• Better mental health and well-being for students and staff.
• Increased resilience, self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Increased physical activity and decreased sedentary behaviour.
• Increased fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Lower rates of tobacco and substance use.

Healthy students are better prepared to learn, and education is a key factor in lifelong health and well-being. 

The School Health Program

Our goal is to promote optimal health, development, and learning among school-aged children and youth across Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka.

We work in partnership with local school boards, schools and communities to plan and carry-out initiatives that promote health and well-being at a whole school level using a comprehensive school health approach.

Support for School Boards 

We collaborate closely with local school boards to address health and well-being priorities.

Our support includes:

• Participating in regular meetings local school boards.
• Providing liaison support to ensure smooth and streamlined communication between the school board and our public health programs. 
• Providing tailored support for planning and implementing comprehensive school health strategies (e.g., through policies, projects, or joint initiatives).
• Offering credible information, resources, and expert consultation on a wide range of public health topics.

Support for Schools

We also partner with school leaders, educators, and staff to support school health and well-being initiatives.

Our support includes:

• Meeting to understand your school’s health and well-being goals.
• Participating as a member of Healthy Schools or Well-Being teams.
• Tailored support for planning school health initiatives, including Ophea Healthy Schools Certification and/or activities embedded with your school action plan.
• Sharing public health data, research, and recommendations to assist with:
  • Policy development
  • School action plans
  • Grant applications and health-related projects
• Sharing credible information and resources on a variety of public health topics.
• Presentations to support professional development for educators.
• Consultation and classroom resources to help educators deliver health curriculum.
• Working together to encourage student, parent and family engagement in school health initiatives.
• Facilitating access to a variety of health unit programs and services. 
• Assisting schools to navigate and connect with local community programs and services. 

Whether you are planning Healthy Schools initiatives, addressing specific health concerns, or looking to increase engagement among members of your school community, we are here to help.

What is Comprehensive School Health?

Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally recognized, evidence-based approach that improves educational outcomes by fostering healthy school environments and promoting lasting, sustainable change.

Using a comprehensive school health approach to plan and carry out school health and well-being activities involves taking action to address four key areas:

• policy
• teaching and learning
• partnerships and services
• social and physical environment  

The long-term impacts on student health, development and learning are greatest when all four of these interrelated components are addressed together.

We work with school boards, schools and school communities throughout Simcoe Muskoka to incorporate these four key components of a healthy school into their existing plans for addressing school health and well-being. We use the Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health (JCSH)’s Health Promoting Schools approach as a guide.

The Healthy Schools Approach

The Healthy Schools approach is a practical way to apply the principles of comprehensive school health in your school. It is a flexible, step-by-step process that helps schools plan and carry out health and well-being initiatives that reflect the needs and strengths of their school community. 

Here’s how it works:

• Form your team: Bring together a group of school staff, students, families, and community partners to lead the work.
• Identify goals and priorities: Use data, student voice, and feedback from your school community to choose a health goal. 
• Create your action plan: develop a plan that fits your school’s context. This could involve developing a new plan or adding activities to promote health and well-being on a plan that already exists. 
• Implement the plan: Carry out activities and strategies that promote health and well-being across the school.
• Reflect, adjust & celebrate: Monitor your progress throughout the year and make changes as needed. Celebrate your successes along the way to build momentum and keep your school community engaged.

Using a healthy schools approach helps to create meaningful, sustainable change while strengthening student health, engagement, and learning. 

We are available to work with your school in using the healthy schools approach by helping to build your team, identify priorities, and guide planning and implementation.

Helpful Resources:

• World Health Organization: Health Promoting Schools
• Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health
• Canadian Healthy School Standards and Indicators for Health Promoting Schools

Healthy Schools Week

National Healthy Schools Week occurs each year in early October. We encourage school boards and schools to use this as an opportunity to begin thinking about your health and well-being priorities for the year ahead, identify goals and activities to include in your school action plan, and to engage your school community in the process. Our School Health Program is here to help!

Healthy Schools Certification (Ophea)

Healthy Schools Certification can help give your school the tools to promote and enhance the health and well-being of students, school staff, and the broader school community.
If you are new to Healthy Schools Certification, we can help you to register and work closely with your team as you move through each step of the certification process.
If you have participated in the process before, we offer ongoing consultation and support to help you enhance existing activities and develop a revised action plan based on your school’s unique strengths and needs.

How can students, parents/families, and community partners get involved?

Student Engagement

Student engagement means empowering youth in a safe and supportive environment to speak up and act on issues that matter to them. It fosters a sense of belonging, strengthens relationships, and encourages leadership in both academic and non-academic settings.

Engaging students in a Healthy Schools approach promotes student voice by involving students meaningfully in identifying and addressing health issues at school. Giving students a meaningful role on your Healthy Schools Committee, and other school groups, recognizes their leadership and the important role they play in shaping their school community.

Helpful Resources: 

• School Mental Health Ontario: Student Engagement Toolkit
• Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions: Quality standard for youth engagement
  • The quality standard for youth engagement describes the nine principles that make up the quality standard and includes background, rationale and best practices for each statement, as well as what each one means for youth, agencies and decision makers.  

Parent and Family Engagement

When parents/caregivers and families are involved in their children's education, everyone benefits. Having opportunities to connect with the school and communicate regularly with their child’s educator is important to foster positive relationships. 

We support schools to actively engage parents, families and caregivers in identifying strengths and priorities and encourage their involvement in Healthy School committees and/or health and well-being initiatives. 

Helpful Resources: 

• Public Health Ontario: Family Engagement in Comprehensive School Health Programing 

Community Partnerships

Creating a healthy school is a shared effort, and strong community partnerships play a vital role. By inviting the local school community to be part of the healthy school approach, schools can benefit from valuable expertise, resources, and support. These collaborations help bring health and well-being initiatives to life in ways that are meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable.

Partners may include:

• Public health units (like ours), offering guidance, tools, and support from School Health Nurses
• Local health and social service agencies
• Mental health organizations
• Recreation and physical activity providers in the school community
• Cultural and Indigenous organizations
• Parent and family groups
• Municipal and regional services

These partnerships help schools address a wide range of health topics such as nutrition, physical activity, mental wellness, and substance use. They also ensure that initiatives are relevant, inclusive, and sustainable. By working together, we can build healthier school communities where every student feels supported and ready to learn.