Comprehensive School Health
Overview:
Comprehensive School Health is an internationally recognized approach to support well-being and learning. Well-being and learning work conjointly to develop competencies and skills in individuals to make choices that lead to healthy lives.
Using a comprehensive school health approach (CSH) schools build capacity within the school community through strengthening individuals' sense of self and understanding of what an individuals’ need to learn, think and do to be well.
Well-being and learning are most positively impacted when there is synergy between teaching and learning experiences, social and physical environments, policy development and supportive partnerships.
Comprehensive School Health is a tool that facilitates the provision of equitable learning opportunities to promote and develop wellness within students and school communities. A comprehensive approach pairs wellness and learning to work conjointly together to develop competencies in students, educators, and partners supportive of well-being.
Wellness is a strategic issue within the NLESD Strategic Plan and in the School Development Model. Comprehensive School Health provides school with a tool to identify actions designed to build capacity for all learners to be well. This is critical as healthy students are better learners, and educated individuals are often healthier. As well-being and learning are interconnected so must be our actions.
Supports/Programming:
Using Comprehensive School Health as the plate and School Development as the compass schools use a multi-tiered systems approach to align well-being and learning.
Universal: available to all and focus on:
physical, social and virtual environments that are safe, inclusive and welcoming while designed to support the development of essential skills and competencies for all individuals to flourish
relationships and equitable, evidence based, engaging learning experiences that bring the 6Cs (collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, citizenship, communication and character) to life for a learner
partnerships within schools and communities supportive of increasing our collective capacity to be well.
Targeted: timely identification of individuals who require access to specific learning opportunities and supports. Learning opportunities are focused on the development of essential skills. Support may be provided to negotiate and navigate the resources required to address specific barriers to their learning and well-being.
Intensive: working with partners to wrap our most vulnerable students within collaborative circles of care, providing them access to, through and from supports and programming that allows them to flourish.
Resources:
Role:
The Provincial Lead for Comprehensive School Health K-12 is responsible for educational leadership initiatives, structures, and programs focused on improving educational health outcomes for all students. The provincial lead will be part of the provincial Programs team accountable for overseeing the effective and efficient provincial implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the full range of student services educational programs, services and practices that enhance the well-being of all students. This role will involve collaborating with the many partners whose work intersects with education to support the well-being of students and their school communities.
Contact Information:
Sherra Robinson
Program Specialist - Comprehensive School Health (Provincial)
Newfoundland and Labrador English School District
10 Wellington Street, Corner Brook
Newfoundland and Labrador, A2H 6G9
(709) 637- 4623 (office)
