Healthy School
Health promoting schools are developing throughout Europe. The European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS) (now called Schools for Health in Europe) was formally inaugurated in 1992 as part of a collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Europe (CoE). It was set up to establish a group of model schools in each country that would demonstrate the impact of health promotion on the school setting and then disseminate their experience.
The Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes (WNHSS) was launched in 1999 to encourage the development of local healthy school schemes within a national framework. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises the WNHSS as playing a key role in promoting the health of children and young people, and the scheme has been rolled out across Wales since 2000.
Within the scheme, there are seven different health topics that schools need to address.
These include:
- Food and Fitness
- Mental and Emotional Health and Well Being
- Personal Development and Relationships
- Substance Use and Misuse
- Environment
- Safety
- Hygiene
Ysgol Gymraeg Coed y Gof has achieved Phase 5 of the National Quality Award through the Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes.
Managed by Public Health Wales, the scheme embeds health improvement around food and fitness, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, personal development and relationships, substance use and misuse, environment, safety and hygiene.
With support from the City of Cardiff Council, the school has been working hard over a number of years, introducing initiatives designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the whole school community, both in and outside of school.
