OHSC 2025 MEMBERSHIP
The Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition (OHSC) is an Ontario-wide, broad-based coalition, with volunteer members from health, education, social services, not for profit organizations, small businesses, and parent and student organizations. Membership: Membership is open to all individuals and organizations committed to promoting healthy schools in Ontario. This is an evolving group. We will continue to welcome any interested individuals or organizations who wish to support our vision, mission and values. =============================== Healthy Schools Resources School Public Health Nurses and COVID-19: Role Clarification Resource To help clarify the role and scope of supports that the School Public Health Nurses (PHNs) provide, a Role Clarification Resource was developed by a working group of the Education Sector. The contents of this resource include:
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![]() The Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition (OHSC) had made the decision to postpone the May 2025 Healthy Schools Conference. As we plan our next steps, we want to ensure that future opportunities align with the needs and preferences of our members. We are considering hosting a revised event during National Healthy Schools Week in October 2025, and your input is essential to guide our planning. This short survey will help the OHSC Executive determine the most accessible, relevant, and engaging options for our network. Survey LINK Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts and help shape the future of our work together! Sincerely, OHSC Executive Committee OHSC Co-Chairs; Michelle Boersema and Jeff Van Wely ![]() The OHSC is excited to unveil our new logo!
This year, we are proud to celebrate 25 years of dedicated work toward creating healthier school environments across the province. With this significant milestone comes a refreshed design that reflects our commitment to growth. The new logo combines modern aesthetics with elements that highlight our heritage, creating a strong visual identity that represents who we are. Through advocacy, education, and collaboration, the Coalition has played a key role in shaping policies and practices that foster healthier, more inclusive school environments. As a member of the OHSC, we thank you for being part of this journey!
![]() Schools are ideal settings to promote health and to inspire commitment to Health Promoting Schools (HPS) among students, parents/guardians, school staff and broader school community. HPS is an internationally recognized approach for supporting improvements in student educational outcomes while addressing school health in a planned, integrated, and holistic way. ![]() While several international documents offer a collection of Standards and Indicators, there is a need for a distinct set of Canadian Standards and Indicators to guide the planning, implementation, sustainment, and monitoring and evaluation of HPS in Canadian schools.
LINK: Canadian Standards & Indicators for Health Promoting Schools This document, developed for, and in collaboration with, the Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health (JCSH), outlines a set of Canadian Standards and Indicators for HPS. These provide a foundation for education and health systems to work together to create healthy school environments to improve the health and well-being and academic outcomes of all students. In this document, Standards refer to the guiding principles and expectations of the implementation and sustainment of HPS, and Indicators refer to the tools or signs that indicate whether schools meet Standards. These Standards and Indicators have been developed through a rigorous 3-step process: 1) a comprehensive literature review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature on Standards and Indicators related to the HPS approach; 2) a consensus-seeking process among 53 experts from JCSH Member Jurisdictions across Canada who assessed the achievability of Standard Components (i.e., sub-components of Standards) and acceptability and feasibility of Indicators; and 3) grouping Standard Components into Standards and mapping Indicators to these Standards. This process resulted in formulating nine Standards: Standard 1. School engages the community for the implementation and sustainment of the HPS approach. Standard 2. School leadership is dedicated to the HPS approach. Standard 3. School policies support the HPS approach. Standard 4. School environment is conducive to the safety and health and well-being of students and school staff. Standard 5. School’s curriculum and health education prepares students for healthy futures. Standard 6. Governing system prioritizes and supports the HPS approach. Standard 7. School health services support the health and well-being of all students. Standard 8. School promotes equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and indigeneity. Standard 9. Monitoring and evaluation inform the implementation and sustainment of the HPS approach. This document serves as the roadmap that schools, administrators, school staff, school communities, policymakers, health service providers, and health promotion coordinators and practitioners can follow for the planning, implementation, everyday practice, adaptation, scaling, sustainment, and monitoring and evaluation of HPS in Canadian schools. Learn More : www.jcsh-cces.ca |