Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition

  • Home
    • Overview
    • OHSC Meetings
  • About OHSC
    • OHSC Members
    • Making a Difference
    • Our Partners
  • 2025 Membership
    • Communications
  • Healthy Schools
    • Resources >
      • Quick Links
  • 2025 Conference
    • Partnership Program
    • Exhibitor
  • KNAER
    • Research in Brief
    • Research Links
    • Well-being Briefs
  • ISHN
    • FRESH Network
  • For Members
    • Executive Members
  • Home
    • Overview
    • OHSC Meetings
  • About OHSC
    • OHSC Members
    • Making a Difference
    • Our Partners
  • 2025 Membership
    • Communications
  • Healthy Schools
    • Resources >
      • Quick Links
  • 2025 Conference
    • Partnership Program
    • Exhibitor
  • KNAER
    • Research in Brief
    • Research Links
    • Well-being Briefs
  • ISHN
    • FRESH Network
  • For Members
    • Executive Members

Ontario healthy schools coalition

OHSC Healthy Schools Toolkit
        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:
  • School Public Health Nurse Socio-Ecological Model
  • Nursing Supports for School Communities
  • Role of the School PHN: COVID-19 Response
  • Role of the School PHN: School Health (General)
  • Other Public Health Supports for Schools


===============================
  

​
Picture

VIEW the full 2025 CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Join Us!! Registration OPEN 
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of OHSC

May 25th  Conference opens with a Special Evening Celebration
May 26th  Full-day program

Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, ON
Residence & Conference Centre - Oshawa
32 Commencement Drive
Oshawa, ON  

 
Healthy Schools: Celebrating 25 Years
Join us in celebrating this milestone year for the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition! This participatory, in-person conference features a dynamic agenda designed to engage all attendees while providing valuable opportunities to connect and network with colleagues from across Ontario.

This year, the conference focus is on past achievements, explore current challenges, and envisions the future of healthy schools.
  • Milestones in Healthy Schools: A look back at key achievements and how they’ve shaped Ontario's schools.
  • Lessons Learned: Challenges and successes in promoting health and well-being over the past 25 years.
  • Voices from the Past and Present: Insights from founders, early champions, and current leaders.
  • Future Innovations: Sharing of new research and innovative programs and practices that will shape healthy schools of the future

Call for Exhibitors  
​
Space is LIMITED


LINK: Register my Display 


Picture
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!

2024-2025 OHSC Executive Committee 
 

Marlee Corcoran,
Consultant &Teacher York Region DSB

Anita Cramp,
School Health Manager,
​Middlesex London Health Unit

Courtney Hope,
PHN, Haldimond Norfolk Health Unit
​
Julie Anderson
Consultant &Teacher York Region DSB
(retired) 


OSHC Co-Chairs:
Michelle Boersema
School Program Manager, Public Health Services City of Hamilton

Jeff Van Wely
PHE Educator,

District School Board of Niagara 
Picture


​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. 

Picture
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


Picture

    E-BLAST
    Subscribe Today!

Submit
The information provided to users in the pages of the OHSC website are for informational purposes only. Users should not rely on information on this website for any purpose other than for gaining general knowledge of healthy schools.