Health-Promoting Schools
Our school is a Health-Promoting School. This means we use a whole-school approach to all aspects of health and well-being. Health-Promoting Schools (HPS) provides a framework for a school to assess health needs and begin a process of working towards better health for all who learn and work within the school setting. With the HPS concept, health refers to physical, social, emotional, mental, spiritual, and cognitive health and is seen as an essential resource for living life. Our targets have been to review our Healthy Eating Policy and to promote the well being of our students and staff through introducing mindfulness, grounding and the Fish Philosophy.
“A health-promoting school can be characterised as a school that is constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning, and working”. (WHO, 1997)
The Healthy Schools Committee at St Mary’s is always proactive in promoting a happy and healthy school for everyone. As a school community we have made and continue to build upon the remarkable improvements in our attitudes towards physical exercise, well-being and oral hygiene.
We have received and continue to receive tremendous support from the Healthy Ireland division of the HSE, as well as from our own Parents’ Association.
In February 2019 we were officially awarded our Health Promoting Schools Certificate and our Health Promoting Schools Flag. As always, a great team effort!