Foundations for a Healthy School

The Foundations for a Healthy School resource from the Ontario Ministry of Education promotes and supports the whole child and student well-being. The resource incorporates the 5 key areas adapted from the School Effectiveness Framework K-12.

Click the areas below to see how all five areas help develop a comprehensive approach to healthy school policies, programs and initiatives in your School:

  1. Curriculum, Teaching & Learning
  2. School & Classroom Leadership
  3. Student Engagement
  4. Social & Physical Environments
  5. Home, School & Community Partnerships
Foundations for a Healthy School Infographic
Curriculum, Teaching & Learning
  • Curriculum, teaching and learning includes a range of opportunities for students to learn and practice positive health behaviours that lead to a healthy lifestyle.
School & Classroom Leadership
  • School and classroom leadership asks all members of the school community to work together to create a positive classroom and school environment.  School and classroom leadership includes:
    • Creating healthy schools policies and programs
    • Encouraging collaborative learning and innovation
    • Collecting and reviewing information to identify school community priorities
Student Engagement
  • Students need to feel like they belong at their school, they need to feel informed, interested and encouraged to participate in and lead academic and non-academic activities. When students feel empowered and value their learning they become more engaged and have better learning outcomes. Student engagement includes:
    • Providing opportunities for students to be involved in where, how and what they learn.
    • Helping students develop skills to be self-directed and self-monitored when it comes to how they want to learn
    • Creating safe spaces for student input related to school and community based polices, programs and initiatives
Social and Physical Environments
  • Social and physical environments are important for student learning. Social and physical environments that feel safe, caring and, healthy contribute to better learning, and social, emotional, physical development. The social and physical environments includes:
    • Continuous support and development of positive relationships with the school and school community
    • Understanding  how the school environment is affected by the school surrounding and neighbourhoods
Home, school and community partnerships
  • Home, school and community partnership involves connecting parents, school staff, family programs and the community to support and promote opportunities for well-being. The home school and community partnership includes:
    • Coordinating services, expertise and resources to engage the school and local community

To speak with a member of our school health team contact us at schoolhealth@chatham-kent.ca or find your school nurse here.