‘a health promoting school can be - te kete...

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The Health Promoting Schools Process 2Establishing and sustaining Health Promoting Schools 2Steps to becoming a Health Promoting School (HPS) 3Recommended Steps to Follow 4The Health Promoting Schools Process in Action 5-10

‘A Health Promoting School can becharacterised as a school that isconstantly strengthened by itscapacity as a healthy setting forliving, learning and working.’

(World Health Organization)

Contents

This booklet is to provide information for school personnel(Principals, Board of Trustees members and teaching staff).

The HPS Process 6/15/06 1:16 PM

The Health Promoting Schools ProcessA Health Promoting School’s ‘way of working’ is an ongoing process that is part of the school’s everyday business rather than a ‘programme’ that ends after a defined period of time. Each school’s plan for becoming a Health Promoting School will differ depending on:

• what is already being done

• where to start

• the needs of the students

• the expectations of the school system

• the values and expertise of the school community.

Establishing and sustaining Health Promoting SchoolsSSoommee ooff tthhee kkeeyy ffaaccttoorrss tthhaatt iinnfflluueennccee tthhee eessttaabblliisshhmmeenntt aanndd ssuussttaaiinnaabbiilliittyy ooff HHeeaalltthh PPrroommoottiinngg SScchhoooollss aarree tthhrroouugghh::

• active support and involvement of school management and staff

• support from Health Promoting Schools advisors

• commitment to establishing a health team

• a culture of consultation, cooperation and community involvement

• utilisation of public health nurse services.

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Steps to becoming a Health Promoting School (HPS)

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The HPS advisor raisesawareness within the

community

Seek commitment fromBoard of Trustees, Principaland staff to adopt HPS

Nominate theschool’s HPS leader

The school raisesawareness within the

school community

Form aHPS Team

Create a sharedvision

Conduct a needsassessment

Prioritise issues anddevelop a plan of action

Implement the plan.Evaluate progress and

plan for the future

The HPS advisor raisesawareness within the

community

Seek commitment fromBoard of Trustees, Principaland staff to adopt HPS

Nominate theschool’s HPS leader

The school raisesawareness within the

school community

Form aHPS Team

Create a sharedvision

Conduct a needsassessment

Prioritise issues anddevelop a plan of action

Implement the plan.Evaluate progress and

plan for the future

Note:

• HPS leader is selected by the school to help drive the HPS process.

• HPS advisor is a Ministry of Health funded health promoterproviding HPS advice and support to schools.


Recommended Steps to Follow

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RRAAIISSIINNGG

Seek support and Establish a team Maintain ongoing Review andcommitment from support for the monitor progressPrincipal, Board implementationof Trustees and of the planstaff to proceed with HPS initiatives

Select a school Review current Document MonitorHPS leader school issues progress programmes/

and Ministry of practices andHealth priorities assess results

Introduce the Conduct a needs Maintain effective Provide feedbackschool community assessment with communication and communicateto the HPS the whole school and support results toconcept community the school

community

Raise awareness Determine and Determine futureof current health prioritise needs direction andissues assess the value

of continuingwith the plan

Create a Develop an shared vision action plan to

address needs

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The Health PromotingSchools Process in ActionNNeeww LLyynnnn PPrriimmaarryy SScchhooooll’’ss PPrroocceessss

New Lynn Primary School became a HPS school in 1997. Over recentyears this school has made significant changes as a result of the HPS‘way of working’.

GGeettttiinngg ssttaarrtteedd

Once the Health Team was formed, consulting with the schoolcommunity identified priority issues. The key issues focused on:

• families in need and welcoming new families

• children’s personal health care skills

• communication with the many new immigrants in the parentcommunity

• physical environment (controlling graffiti, landscaping)

• nutritional intake of children (improvements to school lunchsystem)

• support for the implementation of health and physical education.

The Health Team met monthly and formed close relationships withkey allies in the community such as the local city council, churchgroups, Citizens Advice Bureau, National Heart Foundation, ACCSchool Injury Prevention Project, and the parent community.

Some of the activities planned and implemented were:

• the development of a Home Visiting Programme

• education programmes for parents on first aid, parenting skills anddrug & alcohol education; and involvement in Kidsafe Weekactivities.

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The Team’s achievements over a three-year period were:

• more parents involved in supporting the school lunch system

• parent support groups (especially for new immigrants) established

• after school care programme established

• education and upskilling for parents.

Due to the partnerships created and having regular Heath Teammeetings and a clear plan in place, New Lynn Primary madesignificant progress in achieving the goals set. The followingcomments reflect the value of the school’s involvement in HPS.

‘ Increasingly, trustees and staff feel that families are becomingmore confident and relaxed about approaching the school.’

(ERO 1999)

‘ This school has demonstrated real success in involving parents inthe HPS project.’

(Phoenix Research 2000)

‘ Personally I would believe that HPS is the single most significantproject we have been involved in for effecting change in theschool.’

(Principal 2001)


Okaihau College serves a number of rural communities in the mid-north of Northland – Horeke, Mangamuka, Umawera, Rahiri, Kaikoheand Ohaeawai. It provides for approximately 500 students from year 7to 13, and has a decile rating of 2 and an ethnic composition of 80percent Maori and 20 percent European and Pacific people. Between430 and 480 students travel to and from school by bus.

GGeettttiinngg ssttaarrtteedd

Okaihau College became a pilot Health Promoting School afterorganising a consultation hui in the local community. The HPS teamwas established with a high level of community participation. The firsttask of the team was to conduct a needs analysis. Students and staffwere surveyed as to how they thought things were going at the collegeand four consultation hui were held within the community.

From the information gathered, student safety was identified as apriority area of concern. One of the key issues was safety on theschool buses, in particular how students behaved on the buses. Theidea of a ‘Best Bus’ campaign and competition was proposed. Contactwas made with the two bus companies who were very supportive ofthe idea. Input from the bus drivers was vital, as without it thecampaign could not go ahead.

The aim of the ‘Best Bus’ campaign was to make the school busjourney a more safe, positive and pleasant experience for bothstudents and drivers. The key strategies involved included:

• identifying how student behaviour was contributing to the safety ofthe journey to and from school

• creating a competition between the school buses

• looking at ‘whole bus’ behaviour

• focusing on the positive

• involving the drivers in the campaign.

TThhee CCoommppeettiittiioonn –– YYeeaarr OOnnee,, 11999988

The competition was held over eight weeks. Behaviour that wouldcontribute to a safe, positive and pleasant bus journey was identifiedso that students knew what was expected. This included:

- getting on and off the bus

- seating and sitting on the bus

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Secondary School Case Study


- leaving the bus rubbish free

- getting on with each other.

• A scoring system was developed so that each bus could see howwell they were doing on each run.

• Drivers monitored the targeted areas of behaviour and filled in therecording sheets.

• The bus that received the most points for a week became ‘BestBus’ for that week and students received a ‘Best Bus’ pen.

• At the end of the eight weeks the overall winner received the ‘BestBus’ trophy and the drivers received a windbreaker jacket or teeshirt sponsored by Northland Health Smokefree.

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Students and bus drivers were invited to complete evaluation forms.

• Record charts showed a marked improvement in student behaviour.

• The majority of students were positive about the competition andenjoyed taking part.

• Students asked that they have a ‘Best Bus 1999’ competition.

In the second year the local Primary School was included. Thisexpanded community involvement to address the issue of studentsafety on the buses.

IInn SSuummmmaarryy

• The ‘Best Bus’ campaign was very successful – with a change inbehaviour in students and bus drivers. One bus driver decided toprovide rubbish bags on his bus and another provided music.

• Relationships between the bus drivers and students improved. Thisresulted in safer and more pleasant bus travel and fewer problems.

WWhheerree ttoo ffrroomm hheerree??

The HPS team will review what is happening by:

• monitoring complaints

• analysing bus driver reports

• interviewing students.

‘Best Bus’ is to be an annual event at Okaihau College and it is hopedthat the campaign organisation will be taken over by a student team.

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Kaikohe West Primary School in the Mid North is a Health PromotingSchool where the students in the Student Health Council have taken onmany of the responsibilities for their Health Promoting Schools initiatives.

They are supported by a school-based Community Facilitator, who isalso the teacher support person at the school, as well as a HPS teammade up of dedicated and enthusiastic adults including the principal,health coordinator, other teaching staff, members of the schoolcommunity, the public health nurse and the local HPS advisor.

Kaikohe West is a Decile 1 Year 1 – 6 school with 83 percent Maoristudents. The Student Health Council is made up of 9 and 10 year-old pupils from Years 5 and 6.

This story from the students indicates how HPS can really ‘take off’when students are given the responsibility to help drive the HPS process.

Mr Holmes (the HPS Advisor) said ‘How about surveying all your friendsat school to find out how our school could be better?’ Lots of ideas werecollected and put on a graffiti sheet, such as:

• water that tastes good

• fitness circuits

• healthy lunches

• be nice to each other

• soap in toilets

• more shade.

How did we go about achieving these things? Well, we decided to raisemoney and go for it!

• Pappy, our Caretaker, designed and built three vandal-proof waterfilters around the school.

• The school built a Fitness Trail.

• We went ‘fizzy free’ and got Heart Foundation food for lunches.

• Pappy is designing vandal-proof soap dispensers in the toilets.

• We encourage seniors to keep the Cool Schools peer-mediationprogramme going.

• Our Board of Trustees is getting shade cloth for parts of theplayground.

Primary School Case Study


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We’re really proud of being a Health Promoting School. Students takepride in their school and it’s great that kids are listened to! MrsRogers, our coordinator, meets with us regularly and helps us withour planning.

The highlight of our year was to present to a national conference inWaitangi. We showed a Powerpoint presentation that we’d puttogether and talked about our achievements. It was neat!

The following are factors for the success of HPS at this school:

• everyone is enthusiastic, especially the Principal

• the HPS advisor is aware of how schools operate

• having a dedicated coordinator on the staff

• support from all the staff and the school’s Kaumatua

• having parents and caregivers on the adult team.

HHooww RRoooomm 55 hheellppeedd tthheeiirr tteeaacchheerr ttoo ggiivvee uupp ssmmookkiinngg

When Miss Smith decided to Quit smoking she approached herYear 5 children for support and together they planned a HealthUnit on becoming Smokefree. This involved the pupils researchingthe effects and costs - and benefits - of giving up smoking. Thetopic was integrated into the whole curriculum and culminated inan excellent video produced by the children on the reasons forbeing smokefree (a child-focused resource which has been shownat HPS hui).

A grandparent of one of the students was also very supportive andgot Hauroa Whanui (the local iwi provider) involved - they suppliedthe nicotine patches etc.

Well done Miss Smith and Room 5 2002.

Kaikohe West School is a happy, healthy,supportive and safe place for all!


July 2003. Reprinted June 2006. Code 1426

‘a health promoting school can be - te kete...

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