DEFINITION

School health programme could be defined as well coordinated, preplanned and formal efforts

and activities at school aimed at protecting, promoting and maintaining the health status of

learners and workers.

OBJECTIVES

Objectives of School Health Programme According to the National School Health Policy, the

objectives of school health programme include:

1. To promote growth and development of individual learner in relation to his/her peculiar health

needs

2. To create awareness of the collaborative efforts of the school, home and community in

promoting the health of school members

3. To develop health consciousness in learners

4. To create awareness regarding availability and utilization of various health services and

resources

5. To promote collaboration, social integration and technological exposure in addressing

emerging health issues

6. To build health promotion skills of learners and staff members

COMPONENTS OF SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM

1. Comprehensive School Health Education:

This is the brain of the team, providing students with the knowledge and skills to make informed

choices about their health. Think of it as a roadmap to healthy living, covering topics like:

Physical health: Nutrition, exercise, disease prevention, body image.

Mental and emotional health: Stress management, coping skills, relationships, mental health

awareness.

Social health: Communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, positive relationships.

2. Physical Education and Activity:

Get ready to move it! This component gets students’ hearts pumping and bodies grooving. It’s not

just about gym class; it’s about incorporating movement and physical activity throughout the

school day. Think:

Interactive PE lessons: From team sports to dance fitness, making physical activity engaging and

enjoyable.

Active breaks: Short bursts of movement throughout the day to boost energy and focus.

Safe and accessible playgrounds: Encouraging spontaneous physical activity during breaks and

recess.

3. Nutrition Services:
Fueling young minds and bodies is crucial! This component ensures students have access to

healthy and nutritious food. Think:

Balanced school meals: Providing lunches and snacks that meet dietary needs and preferences.

Nutrition education: Teaching students about healthy eating habits and making informed food

choices.

Community partnerships: Collaborating with local farms and organizations to promote healthy

food access.

4. School Health Services:

This is the on-site medical team, ensuring students have access to basic healthcare services. Think:

Regular health screenings: Monitoring growth, vision, hearing, and overall well-being.

Immunizations: Keeping students protected from preventable diseases.

First-aid and emergency care: Addressing minor injuries and illnesses promptly.

5. School Counseling, Psychological and Social Services:

Mental and emotional well-being are just as important as physical health. This component provides

students with the support they need to thrive. Think:

Individual and group counseling: Addressing issues like anxiety, depression, and peer pressure.

Social-emotional learning (SEL): Building skills like self-awareness, empathy, and healthy

relationships.

Crisis intervention: Providing support in times of personal or family crisis.

6. Healthy and Safe School Environment:

The school itself should be a haven for health! This component focuses on creating a safe and

supportive environment. Think:

Clean and well-maintained facilities: Ensuring hygiene and preventing accidents.

Positive school climate: Fostering respect, inclusivity, and bullying prevention.

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities: Promoting basic hygiene practices.

7. Student, Family and Community Involvement:

School health thrives on collaboration! This component brings together students, families, and the

community to support healthy choices. Think:

Parent education workshops: Empowering families to support healthy habits at home.

Student leadership programs: Engaging students in promoting health awareness and initiatives.

Community partnerships: Collaborating with local health organizations and businesses to

expand resources.

8. Health Promotion for School Staff:

Healthy teachers mean healthy [Link] component ensures that school staff are well-

equipped to promote health and well-being. Think:

Staff wellness programs: Supporting the physical and mental health of teachers and other staff.

Professional development on health topics: Equipping staff with knowledge and skills to address

student health needs.

NATIONALPOLICY ON SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

National Policy on School Health Programme Health is important to realizing educational

objectives. It was against this backdrop that the Nigerian government through the Federal

Ministries of Health and Education collaborated with the WHO in 2001 to conduct a Rapid

Assessment of School Health System in Nigeria. The essence of this exercise was to ascertain the

status of school health in the country. The assessment identified several health problems among

learners, including lack of health and sanitation facilities in-schools, and the need for urgent

action in school health. This action necessitated the formulation of the implementation guidelines
for school health programme and the National School Health Policy. The policy centres on the

health promoting schools concept. A health promoting school is one that constantly strengthens

its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working (WHO, 2004). 43 A health

promoting school engages health and education officials, teachers, teachers‟ unions, students,

parents, health providers and community leaders in efforts to make the school a healthy place.

(UNICEF, 2013).

The Nigerian National School Health Policy is thus aimed at realizing the objectives of

Education for All (EFA) and Health for All (HFA) using the school health programme as a tool

through organized and coordinated roles of various cognate agencies of government including

Education, Health, Environment, Agriculture, Water Resources, Information and Orientation,

among others. Vision of National School Health Policy The vision statement of the policy is:

Promoting health of learners in order to achieve Education for All and Health for All in Nigeria.

Mission of National School Health Policy The mission statement of the policy is: To ensure

adequate facilities, resources and programmes that will guarantee physical, mental and social

well-being as well as safety and security of the school thereby enhancing learning outcomes. 44

Goals of the National School Health Policy

The goals of the National School Health Policy are to:

1. Enhance the quality of health in the school

2. Create an enabling environment for inter-sectorial partnership in the promotion of child

friendly schools Objectives of the National School Health Policy

The objectives of the National School Health Policy are to:

1. Provide the necessary framework for the mobilization of support for the implementation of the

school health programme

2. Set up the machinery for the coordination of community efforts with those of government and

non-governmental organizations towards the promotion of child friendly school environments

3. Guide the provision of professional services in the implementation of the school health

programme

4. Promote the teaching of skill-based health education

5. Facilitate effective monitoring and evaluation of the school health programme

6. Set up modalities for the sustainability of the school health programme 45 Development

Process of the Policy.

The process for the development of the National School Health Policy alongside the National

School Health Programme was participatory involving stakeholders at national and state levels

under the leadership of the Inter-departmental Committee on School Health, Safety and

Environment constituted by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME). The Committee was

charged by the Permanent Secretary of FME in 2004 to formulate this document. The need for

the national school health policy became imperative when Nigerian School Health Association

(NSHA) and development partners such as the WHO, JICA, UNICEF, as well as stakeholder

Ministries of Health and Environment, noted the lack of standards to guide school health

programmes in Nigeria. The process included the following steps:

 Inter-sectorial Workshop for Teachers on Focusing Resources on Effective School Health

(FRESH) Approach to School Health: September – October 2005 

Development of initial working document on School Health Policy and Guidelines on the

National School Health Programme by School Health Desk officers of the FME: November 2005

– February 2006 46 

In-house critiquing of the draft document by the inter-departmental committee on School Health,

Safety and Environment: February 2006 

Development of draft of the implementation guideline by technical team- March 2006 

Circulation of first draft for input from stakeholders at national and state levels: March–

November 2006 

Finalization meeting for the Implementation Guidelines on the National School Health

Programme: November 2006 The list of the stakeholders include:

Representatives of Federal Ministries of (Education, Health, Environment, Water Resources,

Agriculture & Rural Development, Information & National Orientation, etc.);

Professional Associations of Health Education (National Paediatric Association, National

Association for Physical, Health Education and Recreation, Sports and Dance, Nigeria School

Health Association);

Civil Society Organizations (National Union of Teachers, National Association of

Parents/Teachers Association of Nigeria, Association of National Conference of Principals

Secondary Schools and Conference of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria);

State Ministries of Education and State 47 Universal Basic Education Boards officials; and

Representatives of Development Partners especially UNICEF, WHO, JICA and

ENHANSE/USAID.
School Health Initiatives in Nigeria An initiative refers to any purposeful and conscious plan or

strategy employed to realizing a specified objective. When related to school health, it connotes

planned, organized and envisaged means to realizing the goals and objectives of the school

health programmes. A distinctive feature of an initiative is the fact that it is not based on

speculation but on empirical evidence that is valid, reliable and reproducible. An initiative is

universal in that it is widely acclaimed and accepted at the local, state, national, regional or

international levels, depending on its scope and reach. Six common school health initiatives for

school health programme in Nigeria include: - - - - - -

Global School Health Initiative Health Promoting Schools Life Skills Initiative Home-Grown

School Feeding and Health Programme (HGSF &HP). Skill-Based Health Education Initiative

Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH) Initiative 48 Global School Health

Initiative WHO in collaboration with other international agencies (UNESCO, UNICEF)

introduced the Global School Health Initiative (GSHI) IN [Link] essence of the initiative was

to mobilize and strengthen school health promotion activities at all levels with a view to

improving the health of learners and other members of the school community. Strategies for the

implementation of this initiative include:

1. Evaluation research to ascertain the effectiveness of school health programme in Nigeria

schools and elsewhere as need arises

2. Capacity building through training and re-training of school health programme personnel

3. Providing inter-sectorial collaboration especially between the ministries of education and

health with a view to coordinating efforts aimed at realizing national school health objectives
4. Facilitating harmonious relationships and networking among stakeholders concerned with

school health promotion. Health Promoting Schools The Health Promoting School Initiative

(HPSI) originates from the GSHI and focuses on mobilising, strengthening and complimenting

the School 49 Health Programme. UNICEF (2013) identified two parameters for judging a health

promoting school – healthy school environment and education on health and hygiene issues.

Healthy School Environment Indices for healthy school environment are:

1. Safe and clean drinking water

2. Gender sensitive toilet facilities

3. Comfortable seating arrangements

4. Safe playgrounds

5. Learner friendly environment

6. Access for physically challenged learners Education on Health and Hygiene Issues Indices for

this parameter are:

1. A focus on cleanliness, personal hygiene and sanitation

2. Preventative information against various non-communicable diseases

3. Prevention against communicable diseases

4. Comprehensive sexuality education, including HIV and AIDS prevention, care and psycho-

social support services 50

5. Environmental education

6. Life skills based education

7. Orientation of teachers and parent-teachers‟ forums to abolish corporal punishment in schools

and come up with alternatives to violence 8. Establishment of health clubs 9. Providing school–

based health and nutrition services Criteria for Health Promoting School Levels Three levels for

evaluating health promoting schools (bronze, silver and gold) and their criteria have been

suggested by UNICEF (2013) as reproduced below:

Bronze Level The Bronze level entrance is based on the following criteria:

1. Availability of safe drinking water

2. Sanitation Facilities:

• Toilet facilities should be maintained in good working order and hygienic conditions

• Separate toilets available for use by teachers, boys and girls 51

• Toilets with a wash hand basin, running water, soap and a hygienic facility

• Availability of hand drying facilities (such as paper towels, etc)

3. Access to health services and school feeding/food and nutrition services (when possible)

4. Skill-based health education for pupils

5. Health-related school policies

6. Development of the school health charter

7. Display of health messages in classrooms, toilets and notice boards

8. A safe and clean school environment

9. Establish of school health clubs, and create a Health Corner in each classroom, library or any

place that is accessible to all the learners, teachers and school personnel

10. School canteens to provide safe nutritious food

11. School nutrition programme

12. Oral Health programme

Silver Level In addition to the criteria for the bronze award the silver level, entrance is based on

the following criteria:

1. An appropriate learner/toilet facility ratio of 1 properly working and hygienically maintained

toilet per 50 pupils; availability of hand washing facilities with soap and drying facilities. (Girls:

1 toilet cubicle for 25 girls and boys 1 cubicle toilet for 100 boys and 1 urinal for 40 - 60 boys

according to Policy Framework by WHO (2005).

2. Building/improving water fountains/water bags or increasing number of tap water on the

school grounds according to the school size

3. Creativity in the approach of a specific health promotion project or intervention; this can be in

form of a drama group, involvement in a community project, etc.

4. Participation in the National/Regional Science Fair with at least one health related project

5. Continuation of the School-based Health Clubs/ projects

6. Continuation of the School-based Health Clubs, HIV/AIDS projects

7. Provision of sick bay for learners to use when not feeling well

8. Start process of implementing the school-based oral health programme

9. School canteens to provide safe nutritious food 10. Mobilize for school nutrition programme

Gold Level In addition to the criteria for bronze and silver awards, the gold level entrance is

based on the following criteria:

1. Help at least one school in the country to move toward the Silver level of HPSI

implementation (sisters school)

2. Participate in National/Regional Science Fair with at least one health related project

3. Creativity in the approach to local health problems and interventions or health promotion e.g.

Participate in community projects, do survey/research in local community on any health issue

4. Continue with the school-based Health Clubs/ Projects

5. Continue with the school-based Health Clubs/ HIV/AIDS Projects

6. Full implementation of the school-based oral health programme

7. School canteens to provide safe nutritious food 8. Mobilize for School Nutrition programme