SCHOOLS FOR HEALTH IN EUROPE

NEWSLETTER #3 - 2019

2019 is well underway and I would like to share information about the SHE workplan and what has happened so far.

In 2019 four new initiatives are taking place:

1. The SHE School Manual will be revised.
2. Teaching material on school health promotion will be produced.
3. A mapping of the level of implementation of school health promotion in SHE member countries will be carried out.
4. European standards and indicators on school health promotion will be identified.

Working groups on all four initiatives have been established, consisting of both SHE coordinators and SHE Research Group members. We look forward sharing the work with you by the end of the year.

In January 2019 SHE and WHO had a country mission to Almaty in Kazakhstan with the aim to support the development of a national strategy on school health promotion. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and all 17 regions (oblasts) were represented, and at this meeting a national SHE coordinator was appointed.

On 27 March, SHE attended a national event in Milan, Italy. The Lombardian region was the host of this event where health promoting school initiatives were shared with a wider audience. Regione Lombardia has developed the “Lombardia Model” based on the SHE Approach, and this model will be implemented on a national level. Also, a process of appointing a national coordinator in Italy has started.

On 8 April an event for teachers working with health promotion took place in Zagreb, Croatia. SHE presented the European perspective on school health promotion and brought up the possibilities for schools sharing experiences across borders.

Finally, in May 2019, SHE and representatives from WHO will visit Kyrgyzstan. The aim for this country mission is to initiate a pilot project leading to a scalable approach to health promoting schools in Kyrgyzstan.


Holistic Health Promotion in Hugarian Schools

In Hungary the holistic health promotion for schools is prescribed by law since 2012 and it gives a holistic, whole school approach where health promotion is part of the everyday life of the school - with participation of the whole school, parents and the public environment. The Hungarian national SHE-coordinator, Annamária Somhegyi, has written a status and on the Hungarian development and activities. Read the head points here and find an article on the subject.

"A minute for Health" in Elementary School (Slovenia)

In an elementary school in Ljubljana, teachers are promoting health through »Minuta za zdravje« (»A minute for health«). They are doing this on a daily basis, and mostly when children cannot concentrate any longer in class because of sitting for too long or getting bored and simply need a break. The teachers then interrupt teaching with different exercises that involve relaxing, breathing, movement, meditation and stretching.
Funny and educational stickers on the floor of the hallway lead the children to move, jump or spin.
This has a positive impact on the pupils. After the exercises, the pupil can work and concentrate better. They love the initiative and are always willing to participate.

Active Breaks in Elementary School

The same school as mentioned above, Ljubljana Elementary School, conducts - in the framework of health promotion - a week with extra active breaks during classes. In this week, older pupils take younger pupils to the gym and prepare various movable tasks. The older pupils strengthen their responsibility and self-confidence, and everyone are generally more comfortable and prepared for further schoolwork.
The teachers have noticed that during this week, pupils meet and connect to each other. This has also been reflected in mutual assistance in other areas, such as school help, in the dining room and in the library. Based on the performance of the week and the satisfaction of the pupils, the school has decided to continue this activity.

Implementing Physical Activity into Academic Lessons

A Danish study on implementing physical activity in secondary school has been published. The paper describes an intervention study examining the effect of physically active lessons on students’ educational outcomes and the teachers’ perspective on integrating physical activity into academic lessons. The results of this study are expected to provide schools and policy-makers with new insights into the potential of physical acitivity-integrated teaching in secondary school to improve academic achievement and students’ motivation in school. Read the paper

Regular Education Outside the Classroom 

Pupils become better readers when school curricular teaching activities are relocated to places outside the classroom 2-7 hours a week. This finding is independent of subjects taught outside the classroom. No effect of curricular math teaching outside the classroom on math skills was found. These results from the quasi-experimental interventions study TEACHOUT are most important for evaluation of school-based health promotion initiatives to clarify potential positive impacts on core school agenda outcomes because educated children have a healthier lifestyle.
See research papers on 1) education outside the classroom and children’s reading performance and 2) education outside the classroom and children’s math skills.

Join the Global Outdoor Classroom Day on 23 May 

 Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On the day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoor and prioritize playtime. In 2018, over 3.5 million children in over 100 countries took part.
Outdoor learning improves children’s health, engages them with learning and leads to a greater connection with nature. Play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, teamwork and creativity, but is central to children’s enjoyment of childhood. If you’re a teacher and new to outdoor learning, why not use Outdoor Classroom Day to try it out? Read more.

School Violence and Bullying Review

The purpose of this review from Health Scotland is to inform the development of policy, guidance and support on bullying and violence in schools. The paper brings together international review-level evidence and published outcome evaluations of programmes implemented in schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Read more here

The Setting Approach to Health Promotion

In a research paper, Nordin, Jourdan & Simovska discusses how the setting approach to health promotion in schools is embedded in the Danish policy landscape and enacted at the local governance level. It shows that key principles of the setting approach to health promotion is integrated in the Danish curriculum for health education at national level. But at the municipal level the discourses of disease prevention and individual behaviour regulation has a higher priority than the treatment of schools as settings for promoting health and well-being. Read the paper here.

SHE Academy 2019

The SHE Academy is a unique opportunity to critically discuss research methodologies, analytical perspectives and dilemmas from practice in an international learning environment, with input by leading scholars and experts from the field of school-based health promotion and education. The next SHE Academy will be held 4-6 November 2019 at University of Lyon in France. The hosts are Emily Darlington and Julien Masson from Claude Bernard University Lyon 1. The theme is: Methods in research in Health Promoting Schools. Read more here.

Expansion of Slovenian Network of Health Promoting Schools

The Slovenian Network of Health Promoting Schools, coordinated by the National Institute of Public Health, has been existing for 25 years. Through five enlargements of the network, 374 institutions are now members: 66 % of all primary schools in Slovenia, 35 % of all secondary schools, 23 % of all student dormitories and the Institute for Children with Special Needs.

A survey shows that more than 90 % of the Slovenian Health Promoting Schools assess the performance of the network as successful or very successful. Right now, the Slovenian Network of Health Promoting Schools are advocating for more schools to join in. Read more (in Slovenian) and contact the Slovenian national coordinator Mojca Bevc for more information.

Health Promoting Schools in Kosovo

The program for health promoting schools in Kosovo is in the continuing process of being implemented by addressing cross-sectorial approaches in carrying out various activities. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is right now revising the school curricula, based on competence development. Health is in this revision part of a subject named Physical education, Sports and Health. The ministry has developed teaching materials in the field of comprehensive sexual education, revised by international experts, and the first round of trainings for teachers is piloting the materials before using them in a larger scale. 

For more information, contact the national coordinator Leonora Shala.