You are in: Better Practices I   F. Build, Maintain Core Components I   Over-Arching SH Policy
Elements of this Better Practice Include: Policy-making Cycle I Require Multiple Interventions I Emphasize Equity I Accompanying Action Plan
Related Better Practices Include:  Shared Vision I Situation Analysis I Ministry/Agency Action Plans 
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Summary of This Better Practice: F-1 Adopt, Maintain an Over-Arching SH Policy

Health, education and other ministries, local agencies, schools and regulated professions should adopt, adapt, implement, maintain or renew an over-arching policy, ongoing declaration or coordinated set of related policies requiring/supporting a multi-component approach to promoting educational success, health and social development as well as multi-intervention programs to prevent identified education, health or social problems.

The jointly-adopted macro-policy statement should describe the linkages among health status, equity and educational success (access, attachment to the school and academic achievement), identify critical health, social and equity problems relevant to the jurisdiction, define the role of the education sector when working with sectors to achieve health, equity & social goals as well as the role of those other sectors in supporting educational success, define the roles of local agencies, professionals other professionals, parents and young people, define a vision to be promoted with stakeholders that emphasizes equity and set long term goals as well as measurable objectives. The policy should allocate funding and staff as well as designate a lead or co-leading departments, units or staff to coordinate and facilitate the multiple components and interventions. The policy should require ministries, agencies and schools to identify a limited number of priority issues within their planning, budgeting and monitoring/ improvement cycles to focus their resources. Equity should underpin the policy, defining barriers and sub-populations that need to be addressed. 

Policies, mandates & procedures should be adopted, communicated and implemented by education, health, social services, law enforcement and other ministries as well as by school boards, health authorities, municipalities, police services, social service agencies and others.  Regulated and self-governing professions should also publish standards of practice or guidelines for their members. International and national donor organizations should adopt similar policies & priorities for their funding programs.

Each ministry and its respective local agencies should adopt an over-arching policy stating that it will  require the use a multi-component approach when promoting educational success, health and social development through schools. Examples of such over-arching policy frameworks that can be adopted and adapted include School Health & Nutrition, Health Promoting Schools, the Essential Package and others.

Note: Comprehensive policies that are part of multi-intervention programs on broad health or social issues (such as school nutrition or substance abuse prevention) are included in some of the selected research, resources and reports related to this better practice. This is because, in some jurisdictions, especially in the education sector, there may not be an over-arching school health policy but there are several multi-intervention programs/policies are in place that together can be considered an over-arching policy. However, specific policies on specific aspects of such problems such as school food sales or no smoking policies in schools are not discussed as part of this better practice.

Pathways to Improvement
This web site and workbook uses the four-point scale or rubric developed by the World Bank to assess and improve policies, programs and organizational practices in an incremental and continuous manner. These stages include:
  • "latent/dormant" (the country or state has not addressed the item)
  • "emerging/re-starting:" (the country or state has started or re-started work on the item and has achieved the essential aspects or attributes of the practice)  
  • "established/maintained" (the country or state has reached a stable level of operations on the item)
  • "advanced" (the country or state has improved further, with aspects or attributes that extend the impact of the practice
Each of these stages has several aspects, stages of development or attributes.We have grouped these under the four categories. Further, each of these aspects, stages or attributes can be also assessed using the same categories or rubric to mark progress and/or target improvements on those specific aspects. Our Self-Assessment Worksheet Tool includes this double matrix applying the rubric categories.

Participants in the improvement process are encouraged to make their on judgements as to their own progress and not view the stages or criteria as set in stone. The goal of this process is to identify targets for improvement, not to issue a report card based on external standards that may or may not be relevant to the context.

From a latent/dormant to emerging/restarting stage 
The essential criteria for effective practice on this item Include:
  • The existence, status, quality and dissemination of a comprehensive national-level school health policy that has been adopted jointly or in a coordinated manner by the health, education and other ministries where they touch on health or education.
  • The policy requires ministries and agencies to use a multi-component approach to school health promotion and multi-intervention programs to prevent health or social problems.
  • The policy allocates funding and staff to implement and maintain the policy. This includes a designated coordinator at the national or state level
  • The policy requires ministries, agencies and schools to identify a limited number of priority issues within their planning, budgeting and monitoring/improvement cycles to focus their resources.
  • Equity should underpin the policy, defining barriers and sub-populations that need to be addressed.

From an emerging/restarting to established/maintained stage
Other high- quality elements that can lead to a self-rating as “established/maintained” include:
  • The SH policy is current, having been adopted or updated within the past five years.
  • The policy uses a policy-making cycle of adoption, implementation, evaluation/review & renewal.
  • The policy adopts or adapts a recognized SHP multi-component approach such as Health Promoting Schools (WHO), School Health & Nutrition/Feeding (World Bank) or the Essential Package (World Food Program/UNICEF)
  • The essential components of the policy are defined and described (e.g. instruction/education, services, social environment, physical environment plus any issues or aspects deemed essential such as nutrition, student engagement, etc.
  • The jointly-adopted macro-policy statement should describe the linkages among health status, equity and educational success, identify critical health, social and equity problems relevant to the jurisdiction, define the role of the education sector when working with sectors to achieve health, equity & social goals as well as the role of those other sectors in supporting educational success, define the roles of local agencies, professionals other professionals, parents and young people, define a vision to be promoted with stakeholders that emphasizes equity and set long term goals as well as measurable objectives.
  • The policy should allocate funding and staff as well as designate a lead or co-leading departments, units or staff to coordinate and facilitate the multiple components and interventions.
  • The SH policy is aligned with similar multi-component approaches and policies such as community schools, safe schools, preventing school dropouts, girls’ education, disaster risk reduction etc.
  • The policy is aligned with education, health and other ministry policies or action plans to reduce poverty and promote equity.
  • The policy will be used to allocate financial and human resources.
  • The policy will include procedures and regulations to encourage and manage students, staff, parent and community involvement
  • The policy is supported by current health and education ministry action plans/service plans.

From an established/maintained to advanced stage
More qualitative, incremental practical Improvements that can be considered while seeking a self-assessed advanced stage include ensuring that:
  • ministry, agency and school/clinic professionals are aware of the policy and their roles in implementing and maintaining it
  • all ministries/local agencies have adopted a school-related policy to address their respective health, social issues facing children
  • health, education and other ministry policies are jointly developed and maintained or aligned through specific procedures
  • policies on SH&D are embedded in larger goals/programs of the various ministries and agencies, including health promotion in health, child protection on social services, crime prevention/community policing in law enforcement, school improvement in education etc.
  • the over-arching policy on SHP is complemented by more specific policies on the different components (HPSD education, SH services etc.) as well as a template using a multi-intervention approach in various health & social topics/problems
  • The associations representing teachers, nurses, social workers, physicians etc. have been encouraged to publish related standards of practice for their members

See more and add to our list of improvement strategies on this practice

Key Sources:
Self-Assess to Improve
Read this web page and its related  research, reports and resources. Then download and use this Self-Assessment Worksheet/Tool to assess your progress to determine your stage of development and next steps on this better practice.

Once you have completed that assessment with your colleagues
we ask that you complete this anonymous online survey version to help us compile and periodically publish global tabulations. (Your responses will be kept confidential) These tabulations will offer  reasonable comparisons with similar countries (low,high resource and conflict/disaster affected) to help you in your improvement planning.
Key Readings/Resources:
  • Recent global or regional reports on the status of SH policies
  • Some good examples of a national SH policy in a low resource country are: Rwanda, South Africa,
  • Good example of a national SH policy in a conflict/disaster affected country
  • Good example of a national SH policy in a high resource country
  • Key research reviews on the impact of this better practice
  • Good summary of better practice in SH policy-making
Please add to the discussion of this practice. Post a question, comment or link to research, reports or resources. Post your message then click on "Comment" icon.

Our thanks to TBA for moderating this discussion and answering your questions.
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The Research & Rationale for this Better Practice:
(Research, reports, data, statements etc. that support this better practice)

Key References:

Please review, add to or comment on our Summary of the research, resources, survey data and reports on this practice
Resources Related to this Better Practice:
(Examples, Tools, Manuals, Presentations)

Key Resources:

Please review, add to or comment on our List of Resources on this practice,