rationale for the school health policy
The Health and Family Life Education programme is s life skills developmental initiative which seeks to provide students with the tools and resources necessary to develop holistically. It is a critical component that should be incorporated into the primary and secondary schools’ curriculum.
HFLE focuses on developing knowledge, values, attitudes and pertinent skills such as critical thinking, decision making, and communication skills, which would enable the child to make accurate and positive decisions when it comes to his/her health and life. These are necessary qualities for living a healthy lifestyle. It is imperative that our youth are educated on how to obtain and maintain good health in order to fully maximise the educational opportunities offered to them in school. Schools, notably teachers and administrators, have the responsibility of positively influencing our youth during the crucial developmental years of their lives.
A comparative view of the MDG's policy reveals that it seeks to reduce poverty, slums and provide a clean, viable water supply to all by 2015 as well as other important focus points. While making significant inroads into these areas it is recorded that under nutrition is found to be the largest between rural and urban children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Therefore, it is imperative therefore that schools create policies on health which will ensure pupils understand and incorporate into their lives, good health and nutrition practices. These will not only ensure success academically but will allow them to live longer, healthier lives.
Here in Trinidad and Tobago we are still in its teething stages of implementing the Health and Family Life curriculum at our nation’s schools. Many other countries in the region have made significant strides in incorporating this curriculum into their regular school curriculum, some by infusing it with other subject areas and others treated it as a separate entity. There is great deal of ground work which needs to be done before we can join the rest of the region in fully accomplishing this task. Once successfully implemented, this policy should provide educators with a more comprehensive guide on the way forward in accomplishing this task. All stakeholders must be in board, if the Health and Family Life curriculum is to achieve its anticipated outcomes.
Group members Sharla Antoine, Louanna Francis, Victoria Rajkumar.
HFLE focuses on developing knowledge, values, attitudes and pertinent skills such as critical thinking, decision making, and communication skills, which would enable the child to make accurate and positive decisions when it comes to his/her health and life. These are necessary qualities for living a healthy lifestyle. It is imperative that our youth are educated on how to obtain and maintain good health in order to fully maximise the educational opportunities offered to them in school. Schools, notably teachers and administrators, have the responsibility of positively influencing our youth during the crucial developmental years of their lives.
A comparative view of the MDG's policy reveals that it seeks to reduce poverty, slums and provide a clean, viable water supply to all by 2015 as well as other important focus points. While making significant inroads into these areas it is recorded that under nutrition is found to be the largest between rural and urban children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Therefore, it is imperative therefore that schools create policies on health which will ensure pupils understand and incorporate into their lives, good health and nutrition practices. These will not only ensure success academically but will allow them to live longer, healthier lives.
Here in Trinidad and Tobago we are still in its teething stages of implementing the Health and Family Life curriculum at our nation’s schools. Many other countries in the region have made significant strides in incorporating this curriculum into their regular school curriculum, some by infusing it with other subject areas and others treated it as a separate entity. There is great deal of ground work which needs to be done before we can join the rest of the region in fully accomplishing this task. Once successfully implemented, this policy should provide educators with a more comprehensive guide on the way forward in accomplishing this task. All stakeholders must be in board, if the Health and Family Life curriculum is to achieve its anticipated outcomes.
Group members Sharla Antoine, Louanna Francis, Victoria Rajkumar.
rationale for the school health policy
Education is one of key mechanisms that help to foster the development of individuals and the society. Education aids in facilitating human creativity; helps to eradicate poverty; assists persons in recognizing their full potential and helps stimulate economic growth. Not surprisingly, most government policies focus on advancing its citizen’s level of education in the aim of achieving Sustainable Development.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aimed at building on the U.N Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are set to converge with the U.N post 2015 development agenda. Education is common to both and is recognized in the World Education Forum (Dakar, 2005) as the future of humanity thus the goal, Education for All (EFA). The initial conception of EFA was aimed that universal children education and gender equality in educational access. However, this view has been broadened to include concerns on education quality as well as the factors affecting the type of education the child received if they were able to stay in school long enough to learn.
A child who is sick or hungry due to poverty is not able to attain a good quality level of basic education. More recent concerns have focussed on school health and nutrition programmes have been developed and implemented to achieve the goal of EFA and are integral to the national educational policy. Traditional school health programmes have included strategies such as eyeglasses and tooth brush distribution, vaccination, lunch programmes, visual and auditory screening and physical exercise. However, common health issues such as malaria, worm infections; anaemia; which affect school enrolment, attention, cognition, and learning and can lead to ill health and high absenteeism. However, lifestyle diseases attributed to the lack of proper diet and exercise as well as growing cases of HIV/AIDs, asthma are cause for immediate intervention.
Similarly, the need to improve the health and development of children has been recognized by the signing and ratification of international agreements and declarations such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Common themes enshrined in these documents include the need to promote good heath from the time of birth; access to quality education; their protection from harm; and the freedom to enjoy activities aimed at encourage normal growth and development.
The Health Promoting School Initiative
The Health Promoting School initiative is the collaborative product of the WHO and of global efforts by UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank to create healthy, safe and hygienic schools. This interagency initiative has identified a core group of activities which focus attention and ability of countries to develop and implement effective school health components of child-friendly school reforms. The components of this initiative should include:
In the Caribbean context the Caribbean Charter for Health promotion recognises that health promotion will strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to control, improve and maintain the physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being of society. Consequently, the National School Health Policy (2009) was drafted to ensure that students develop the ability to develop and become productive adults is greatly influenced by their education, health, socio-economic status, among other determinants of child development. It has been noted that schools are effective platforms for delivering these interventions as they are nodes for learning, critical to increasing both access to services and knowledge. Thus it is imperative to a healthy, productive society that these health issues must be dealt with through guidance, mentoring and life skills education at home, work in leisure as well as in our schools; ECCE to tertiary levels. However, effective learning relies on the students receiving positive behavioural messages and age-appropriate, actionable knowledge.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO defines the Health Promoting School (HPS) as one that is constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning, and working.
The HPS is critical for the development of the True Blue High School as we recognize the need to increase students’ attainment of a solid education as integral to making a positive contribution to society. This is only possible through the development of meaningful partnership between students, teachers, parents, community leaders, health and service providers in the community. An HPS fosters health and learning at all times through school policy; curriculum, teaching and learning; school organisation, ethos and environment (both physical and psycho-social); and partnerships and support services. HPS, therefore, provides a supportive learning environment and links its efforts with families and communities
Contribution to the group from Thecla Harry
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aimed at building on the U.N Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are set to converge with the U.N post 2015 development agenda. Education is common to both and is recognized in the World Education Forum (Dakar, 2005) as the future of humanity thus the goal, Education for All (EFA). The initial conception of EFA was aimed that universal children education and gender equality in educational access. However, this view has been broadened to include concerns on education quality as well as the factors affecting the type of education the child received if they were able to stay in school long enough to learn.
A child who is sick or hungry due to poverty is not able to attain a good quality level of basic education. More recent concerns have focussed on school health and nutrition programmes have been developed and implemented to achieve the goal of EFA and are integral to the national educational policy. Traditional school health programmes have included strategies such as eyeglasses and tooth brush distribution, vaccination, lunch programmes, visual and auditory screening and physical exercise. However, common health issues such as malaria, worm infections; anaemia; which affect school enrolment, attention, cognition, and learning and can lead to ill health and high absenteeism. However, lifestyle diseases attributed to the lack of proper diet and exercise as well as growing cases of HIV/AIDs, asthma are cause for immediate intervention.
Similarly, the need to improve the health and development of children has been recognized by the signing and ratification of international agreements and declarations such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Common themes enshrined in these documents include the need to promote good heath from the time of birth; access to quality education; their protection from harm; and the freedom to enjoy activities aimed at encourage normal growth and development.
The Health Promoting School Initiative
The Health Promoting School initiative is the collaborative product of the WHO and of global efforts by UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank to create healthy, safe and hygienic schools. This interagency initiative has identified a core group of activities which focus attention and ability of countries to develop and implement effective school health components of child-friendly school reforms. The components of this initiative should include:
- Health relate school policies
- Provision of safe water and sanitation
- Skills based education
- School based health and nutrition services
In the Caribbean context the Caribbean Charter for Health promotion recognises that health promotion will strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to control, improve and maintain the physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being of society. Consequently, the National School Health Policy (2009) was drafted to ensure that students develop the ability to develop and become productive adults is greatly influenced by their education, health, socio-economic status, among other determinants of child development. It has been noted that schools are effective platforms for delivering these interventions as they are nodes for learning, critical to increasing both access to services and knowledge. Thus it is imperative to a healthy, productive society that these health issues must be dealt with through guidance, mentoring and life skills education at home, work in leisure as well as in our schools; ECCE to tertiary levels. However, effective learning relies on the students receiving positive behavioural messages and age-appropriate, actionable knowledge.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO defines the Health Promoting School (HPS) as one that is constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning, and working.
The HPS is critical for the development of the True Blue High School as we recognize the need to increase students’ attainment of a solid education as integral to making a positive contribution to society. This is only possible through the development of meaningful partnership between students, teachers, parents, community leaders, health and service providers in the community. An HPS fosters health and learning at all times through school policy; curriculum, teaching and learning; school organisation, ethos and environment (both physical and psycho-social); and partnerships and support services. HPS, therefore, provides a supportive learning environment and links its efforts with families and communities
Contribution to the group from Thecla Harry