CSBA Committee on Comprehensive School Health is committed to working in partnership with government, non-government, and community partners to advocate for active healthy lifestyles. Benefits to creating healthy learning environments include: greater overall achievement, well-rounded students, decreased discipline problems and improved attendance, improved lifelong health, reduced disparities.
We are committed to demonstrating leadership and providing a national voice in responding to the health and wellness challenges of students across Canada. Our Charter of Commitment provides a clear mission, terms of reference and a framework for our work.
From our partners at PHE CANADA…
“Healthy children have increased capacity to learn and develop the values, attitudes and skills necessary to be competent, effective and resilient adults. Learning environments that promote and support student and child well-being focus on their cognitive, emotional, social and physical development – a whole child/student approach. This comprehensive approach aims to improve student health and educational success through the creation of healthy school communities.
A healthy school community promotes a culture of wellness for all its members: students, teachers, administrators, principals, staff, parents, and community partners. Together, the school community implements plans to create an environment that supports healthy choices among its members.”
The above organization provides resources, frameworks for Healthy School Communities and current research. Please visit http://phecanada.ca.
Comprehensive School Health Sites
 | Outdoor Play Canada OPC is a network of advocates, practitioners, researchers and organizations working together to promote, protect, and preserve access to play in nature and the outdoors for all people living in Canada. |
 | Canadian Healthy Schools Alliance |
 | Joint Consortium for School Health What is Comprehensive School Health? |
 | PHE Canada‘s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan provides a clear path forward to ensuring that by 2024 the PHE Community is empowered to equip each and every child and youth with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to lead resilient, active and healthy lives. |
 | ASCD – Learn.Teach.Lead. Educational Leadership magazine |
| Comprehensive School Health Hub K-12 CSH Resources – Healthy Eating, Positive Mental Well-Being, Physical Activity, Teacher & Staff Well-Being (ADD) | |
 | SIRCLE: Essential Conditions for Comprehensive School Health SIRCLE has created a tool to help schools reflects, plan, and celebrate their Comprehensive School Health efforts. |
| SIRCLE: Essential Conditions for Comprehensive School Health This is a print-friendly resource. |
 | The Coalition for Healthy School Food is a growing network of over 180 non-profit member organizations from every province and territory. They are advocating for public investment in and federal standards for a universal cost-shared school food program that would see all children having daily access to healthy food at school. |
Mental Health: research, guidelines and resources
 | Learning for a Sustainable Future LSF has resources and professional development to support teachers and programs to empower youth in undertaking action, keeping students safe, healthy, and engaged in learning. |
 | SunSense Program from the Canadian Cancer Society Supporting schools to create sun-safe environments. |
 | Elmer COVID 19 Vaccine information program This program provides teachers across Canada with tools and information to ease the tough conversation with children about COVID 19 vaccinations. Resources will help ensure that a fact-based discussion is facilitated in the classrooms. |
 | Wellness Together Canada – Mental Health and Substance Use Support Wellness Together Canada is designed to be used on demand: choose what you need, when you need it. Services range from basic wellness information, to one-on-one sessions with a counsellor, to participating in a community of support. |
 | EdCan Network Resources for Educators Teaching and Working Through Covid-19 Mental Wellbeing Coaching Program for K-12 School and District Leaders Professional Well-Being Through Coaching How can we best support student mental well-being? |
 | Frayme Frayme supports and leads a variety of work and projects with the aim of improving youth mental health and substance use (YMHSU) care systems in Canada. |
 | TeenMentalHealth.org Everything You Need to Know About the Teen Brain |
 | mindyourmind exists in the space where mental health, wellness, engagement and technology meet. They work with young people aged 14 to 29 to co-create interactive tools and innovative resources to build capacity and resilience. |
| What to Expect from Your Child’s School in Children’s Mental Health [from The F.O.R.C.E. Society for Kids’ Mental Health via BC Mental Health and Addiction Service] | |
 | School Mental Health Ontario |
Workplace Wellness
 | College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) Workplace Wellness CASS supports building system leader excellence to ensure student success. System education leaders play a critical role in ensuring quality school leadership, quality teaching, and optimum learning for all students in Alberta. To meet the respective professional practice standard, all teachers, school leaders, and system leaders need to be in good health. |
 | Well at Work Developed by the EdCan Network, Well at Work supports education leaders across Canada to develop and implement system-wide strategies to improve K-12 workplace wellbeing for the long term – all while mobilizing a network of passionate educators, researchers, practitioners, and stakeholder groups. |
| EdCan Network’s Mental Wellbeing Coaching Program for K-12 School Principals and District Leaders Designed with BTS Spark [EdCan article] | |
Comprehensive School Health articles, programs, and research
| Outdoor Play Canada – State of The Sector Report 2021 | |
 | 5 Common Myths about LGBTQ2 Youth in Schools [EdCan article] Download the poster |
| The Colour of Wellbeing: How do we ensure the wellbeing and success of BIPOC students and K-12 staff? [EdCan article] Download the factsheet | |
| Back-to-School Healthcare Guidance – ISMP Canada – Health Canada partner [SafeMedicationUse.ca newsletter] | |
 | Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan templates [Food Allergy Canada] |
 | Farm to Cafeteria Canada: Edible Education |
| Farm to School Canada Farm to School (F2S) brings healthy, local food into schools, and provides students with hands-on learning opportunities that foster food literacy, all while strengthening the local food system and enhancing school and community connectedness. |
 | The Global Strategy For Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) https://www.who.int/life-course/partners/global-strategy/en/ “Health and education are symbiotic. What affects one affects the other. The healthy child learns better just as the educated child leads a healthier life.” |
 | ParticipACTION ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth 2020 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth 2018 (“The Brain + Body Equation”) |
| camh Transforming mental health for children and youth | |
| Environmental Educators Provincial Specialist Association (EEPSA) Position paper | |
| Government of Canada The health of Canadian youth: Findings from the health behaviour in school-aged children study | |
 | PLAY IS THE WAY® is a behaviour education program and process in which the entire school community (all adults and every child) can participate, grow, and enjoy. The program helps build an environment and culture for transitions from youth to adolescence and adulthood. [Text via Play Is the Way.] |
| What is the Early Development Instrument? The questionnaire has 103 questions and measures five core areas of early child development that are known to be good predictors of adult health, education and social outcomes. [Text via The Human Early Learning Partnership.] | |
 | School-Based Physical Activity and Sport Programming for the LGBT2S+ Community [PHE Canada] |
