Schools4Health Resources

Our call to action: embedding health and well-being in every school.

Education for health and well-being is an investment that pays off. Children and young people who feel better, do better academically, and are healthier.

Children spend about ⅓ of each day in school. Schools are a key setting that not only nurtures their mind, but also their habits for their future lives. Schools therefore play a key role in the academic, social, mental and physical development of children and young people to achieve their full potential, with lasting impacts across the life course.

Investing in health and wellbeing in schools is key to ensuring that children and young people, especially those in vulnerable situations, have a fair and good start in life. Good health leads to better school outcomes and improves children and young people’s ability to deal with an uncertain world, now and in the future.

School practitioners play a crucial role in creating healthier conditions for learning, guiding children and youth in developing good habits for lifelong health. They play a key role in learning necessary key competencies.

The Schools4Health project advocates making every school in Europe a health-promoting school. This means that health and well-being are incorporated in the school plan, including physical, socio-cultural and economic aspects. Health promoting schools pay attention to health and wellbeing in the school policy and aim for a whole school approach to health.

This requires a participatory process that actively involves students, staff, parents, and the school community. It creates a supportive and involved community that enables, supports and encourages a healthy lifestyle.