Resources

Creating healthy schools together

Ready… Set… Go!

Ontario kids have a new report card and their marks aren’t good.

Active Healthy Kids Canada gave Ontario’s children and youth a D- for Physical Activity and a D for Active Play. So it’s definitely time to get serious about health – for our kids and our schools. And it’s not that hard to make a difference.

To help you make healthy changes at your school, we’ve released a new toolkit – a step by step guide to creating a healthier school.

Ready… >> Read/print the Toolkit for Healthy Schools. Email or share it with those keen on health at your school. (School council, principal, health and phys. ed teacher…)

Set… Take a few minutes assess your school, using the questions in the toolkit.

Go! Share the results. Then make a plan.

It’s easy to share this toolkit by email! Just paste a link to this web page into your message: http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/what-can-i-do/resources-and-toolkits/

Or share the link below:

>> Ready, Set, Go! Toolkit for Healthy Schools

This project was made possible through funding from the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Spark Advocacy Grants.

Our guide to parent inclusion

There is growing recognition of the valuable contribution that parents make to their children’s education. Whether it is called ‘inclusion’, ‘involvement’, or ‘engagement’, what helps parents feel connected to their schools? We’ve found that giving parents the information and the support they need makes a difference!

Read our research, hot tips and cool ideas in this Parent Inclusion Manual.

What is a seamless day?

A seamless day for children would include a full day of learning and play. It means that schools would provide fee-based programs for 4 and 5 year-olds before and after traditional school hours and during the summer holidays. For 6 to 12 year olds, schools would offer extended day and year-round fee-based programs for school-age children. These programs could include homework help, recreational and other activities to enhance children’s physical, cognitive, social , and emotional development.

The Premier’s Advisor on Early Learning recommended the implementation of a seamless day in his report With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario.

The Atkinson Centre has created this video, a ‘Seamless Day Schools’ to show how it meets the learning needs of children and the work/family balance of parents – filmed in Waterloo.

Read the chapter on Early Learning in People for Education’s Annual Report on Schools 2011.