Amanda Stirrat outlines strategies for engaging with schools and early years settings on health promotion initiatives. She recommends starting with an introductory letter and follow up meetings to understand each setting's priorities and barriers. From there, the health promotion officer should help the setting establish a working group to develop an action plan for their top priority. Ongoing support includes templates, resources, incentives, and celebrating successes to keep settings motivated in working through criteria over time. Key learnings are that settings are busy, so the approach needs to be simple and build on existing efforts, starting with easily achievable goals.

1. Working with Schools and
Early Years settings
Amanda Stirrat
Health Promotion Officer
City of Greater Geelong

2. Outline
 How to engage settings
 Key learning's
 Doing things differently
 Strategies that work
 Recommendations

3. Engaging schools and services
 Introductory letter to Principals or Directors
 Follow up email and offer to meet with them
 Find out what networks and cluster groups exist
in your area – DEECD
 Request to give a 10min presentation at next
network or cluster meeting
 Find out what PD’s have been scheduled for early
years and school staff- value add to these
 Offer to attend a staff meeting
 Offer to attend a committee or school council
meeting
 Find a champion within school or EY setting to
get foot in the door

4. Made contact – Where to next?
 Try to make face to face contact
 Visit schools and settings individually
 Attend cluster meetings
 Get a gig on the Principals monthly
network meeting
 Depending on timing try to slot into a
professional development workshop

5. First Meeting
 Briefly walk through the program and the
rationale behind it
 Discuss current health issues and
initiatives being undertaken
 List barriers and enablers in them being
able to support health initiatives
 Establish settings needs and priorities
 Look at how the program can help enable
and support what they are already trying
to do

6. What next?
 Encourage setting to establish a working group
that consists of representatives from the setting-
staff and parents
 Begin at the number 1 priority for that setting
 Develop an action plan for that priority
 Implement action plan
 Evaluate action Plan-Reflect – Repeat for other
priorities that relate to program
 Support needs to be given by health professional
for this to happen

7. How do you support?
 Supplying templates for action plan
 Case studies- from other settings having been
through the process
 Regular email contact to find out progress and if
help is needed
 Evaluation template
 Organising opportunities for settings to meet and
work together
 Celebrating achievements – media exposure
 Resources to support priority area – display
material

8. Ongoing support
 Work on schools terms and provide a resource
pack to settings focusing on a particular
priority/criteria
 Offer to promote healthy events and offer
suggestions on how to make event healthier
 Provide incentives for settings to keep motivated
to work through criteria- Move Play and Go days
 Highlight a setting each month in monthly email
 Link settings to others that are working on same
priority or have same issues
 Provide at least 2 workshops per year

9. Key learnings
 Schools and setting are busy places – have to
make things simple and part of their already
heavy workload
 Settings can play a key role in promoting
Children’s Health and Wellbeing but some staff
and parents feel it is the parents responsibility
 Will be opposition to saying the word
‘PROGRAM’ schools in particular are already
swamped with organisations offering programs to
them
 If Principal or Director it’s not on board not worth
the effort pursuing it

10. Doing things differently
 Work more with cluster groups – time
intensive individually
 Establish a working group in setting from
the start – include parents and students if
possible on this
 Needs Assessment critical

11. Strategies that work
 Assisting with any paper work required
 Templates for easy use
 Incentives
 Offer to set up Healthy eating and or
Physical activity station at settings
fundraising events
 Consistent but not persistent contact

12. Recommendations
 Don’t talk program but framework
 Build on what setting have already got in place
 Start on an easily achievable criteria to get
momentum going
 Listen to the needs of the settings
 Don’t push, be patient
 Be flexible in approach used to engage settings
 Provide resources not just hard copy but people
resources if possible

13. Amanda Stirrat
Health Promotion Officer
City of Greater Geelong
astirrat@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
5272 4059