We'll show you how to make your school a healthy school! Parents, teachers & principals - learn how to make your school healthier using our free toolkit and find out why schools are an ideal place to focus on improving kids’ health. Presented by People for Education and the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association.

1. A webinar by People for Education
and Ophea
February 15, 2012; 7:00 – 8:00pm
Creating Healthy
Schools and Kids
~a shared responsibility~
This webinar was made possible
through funding from the Heart
and Stroke Foundation's Spark
Advocacy grants.

2. Agenda: Ready…Set…Go!
Ready!
• Why the focus on healthy schools and kids?
Set!
• An assessment tool you can use
• Idea exchange: what’s working provincially and
locally?
Go!
• Engaging the whole school community
• Strategies and supports

3. Ready! Why focus on healthy schools and kids?
Health and education are interdependent:
healthy students are better learners

4. Did you know?
This is the first generation of kids that may not live as
long as their parents. ~HSFO 2009~
 Only 32% of children and youth get the recommended 60
minutes physical activity every day
 6 - 19 year olds in Canada spend an average of 8.6 hours per
day in sedentary pursuits
 One out of every four Canadian children is overweight or
obese
 Less than 50% of kids are getting the minimum number of
servings per day of vegetables and fruit
 By graduation, the average student will have spent 15,000
hours watching TV and only 500 hours in Health and Physical
Education programs

5. Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card
D- Physical Activity Levels
D Active Play and Leisure
C Active Transportation
F Sedentary Behavior
D Physical Education
C Family Physical Activity

6. Why are schools a great place to improve
kids’ health?
Health and education success are intertwined: schools
cannot achieve their primary mission of education if
students are not healthy. -Storey, 2009
95% of Ontario children and youth attend public schools
Students spend an average of 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for
12 to 14 years in school
Kids take H&PE classes every year until grade 8 and for one year
in high school

7. Health & Physical Education (H&PE) Curriculum
The revised H&PE
curriculum is based on
the vision that the
knowledge and skills
acquired in the program
will benefit students
throughout their lives,
helping them thrive in an
ever changing world.

8. Why Healthy Schools?
According to the Ministry of Education:
• H&PE programs are most effective when delivered in
healthy schools and when students’ learning is
supported by school staff, families and communities.
• Research shows that a healthy school environment
supports student success. Students, teachers and the
larger community benefit when children and youth
learn in a healthy school.

9. Why Healthy Schools?
The healthy schools approach is embedded in two key
findings:
 Healthy children are better prepared to learn.
 Schools have a significant influence on the health and
well-being of children and youth.
By providing and promoting opportunities for enhancing
students’ social, emotional and physical health:
 Healthy behaviours will be established that will last a
lifetime.
 Achievement levels will improve.

10. Page 10

11. Foundations for a Healthy School
• High Quality Instruction and Programs
• A Healthy Physical Environment
• A Supportive Social Environment
• Community Partnerships

12. Set!
Online Tool

13. The Healthy Schools Process
• Establish a Healthy School
Community Team
• Assess Your Environment
• Plan and Act
• Celebrate
Page 13

14. The Idea Exchange
Let’s Talk!
• What is your school doing now to promote
health?
• What steps has your school taken to create
healthier schools and kids?

15. Go! Tips, strategies and supports to create
healthier schools and kids

16. Healthy School Community Partners

17. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Lead by example. Participate in healthy activities at home as a family.

18. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Talk about the importance of H&PE and healthy school activities
with your child, teachers, principal, and school council.

19. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Get together with others and assess your school’s strengths and
priorities, and make a plan.

20. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Partner with public health, recreation and others.

21. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
What are we really
saying?
Encourage and support youth engagement.

22. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Support and be actively involved with the healthy schools activities
at your child’s school e.g., school community events.

23. Parents Engaged in Healthy Schools
Spread the word! Communicate the importance of creating healthy
schools and kids!

24. Ontario Ministry of Education
Healthy Schools Recognition
Program
• Promotes and celebrates healthy
practices in schools.
• To accept the challenge, the school
principal, school council chair and a
student representative (if
applicable) must identify at least
one activity – in addition to any
current activities – to undertake to
make their schools healthier places
to learn.
www.ontario.ca/healthyschools

25. Key Government Strategies and Policies
• 2010 Health and Physical Education Curriculum
• Healthy School Strategy
• Daily Physical Activity (DPA)
• School Food and Beverage Policy
• Safe Schools
• The School Effectiveness Framework
• Student Well-Being Research Framework
• Roots of Violence
• Full day learning for 4 - and 5 - year olds
• After-School Strategy
• Ontario Public Health Standards
Page 25

26. Ophea Programs and Services
• Provide high quality support
• Address curriculum expectations; are school based
and/or community-based
• Are developed and tested by experts in the field and
are consistent with current research and best
practices
• Are continuously evaluated to ensure they meet
ongoing client and sector needs
• Many are available in English and French
• Reach educators, public health professionals and
sport and recreation/community leaders

27. Ophea.net: Healthy Schools & Communities
Presentation Title | Date

28. For more information…
People for Education - www.peopleforeducation.ca
www.facebook.com/peopleforeducation
twitter.com/anniekidder
Ophea - www.ophea.net www.facebook.com/opheacanada
twitter.com/opheacanada
www.youtube.com/opheacanada
The Ontario Ministry of Education Active Healthy Kids Canada
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/foundations.html www.activehealthykids.ca
Children’s fitness tax credit information Ontario Chronic Disease
Prevention Alliance
www.cra-arc.gc.ca/fitness (federal) or
www.ocdpa.on.ca
www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/catc/faq.html (provincial)
ParticipACTION
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.participaction.com
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/adolescenthealth/pdf/parent_engagement_factsheet.pdf
Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition
www.ontariohealthyschools.ca
Heart and Stroke Foundation
www.heartandstroke.ca
Page 28

29. About People for Education
People for Education is an independent charitable organization working
to support public education in Ontario's English, Catholic and French
schools. We believe that public education has the capacity to
transform and enrich children's lives, and is the foundation of a civil
society.
We work to build support for public education by:
• providing clear, accessible information about the public education
system to parents and citizens
• conducting research and policy analysis on education issues
• engaging people to become actively involved in education issues in
their own community
• connecting parents, educators, community groups, policy-makers
and researchers across Ontario

30. About Ophea
Ophea is led by the vision that all children and youth in Ontario
value, participate in, and make a lifelong commitment to healthy
active living.
Ophea is:
•a provincial not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting
Ontario schools and communities through quality program
supports, partnerships, and advocacy
•supportive of Health and Physical Education (H&PE) as a
foundational component of healthy schools and communities

31. Presentation Title | Date Page 31