Schools4Health aims to make every school a health promoting school that prioritises the health of everyone in the school community. It focuses on securing strong foundations for good health from an early age.

Schools4Health aims to introduce and maintain whole-school approaches to health, including health promoting schools (HPS), in around 16 schools across the EU. It pays special attention to schools in deprived areas, with a focus on promoting health among students in or facing vulnerable circumstances.

Applying a participatory approach, the project will work with schools and the school community to analyse, transfer, implement and evaluate good nutrition, physical activity and mental health practices.

These efforts will demonstrate how HPS and other whole-school approaches to health:

• help children and adolescents to adopt healthier lifestyles
• improve educational outcomes and health literacy
• address societal challenges like social equity, climate change and environmental degradation
• promote active engagement among students, teachers, and the wider school community

Schools4Health will also engage with policymakers and practitioners in various sectors, particularly health and education. An online awareness-raising campaign will support these efforts.

Expected results:

• Transfer and implementation of at least six good practices across the themes of healthy nutrition, physical activity and mental health in schools, to enable positive changes in the school culture which promote the health and wellbeing of students and staff.
• Better understanding of the importance of HPS/whole school approaches for improving students’ health and well-being and addressing societal challenges.
• Identification of policy-related factors that enable or hinder the implementation of whole-school approaches, and actions to capitalise on opportunities and overcome barriers.
• Increased capacity, opportunities and motivation among policymakers and practitioners to implement HPS/whole school approaches thanks to the wider availability of tools to inspire and enable them to act.
• Close, sustained collaboration among consortium members and experts to promote HPS/whole-school approaches, exchange good practices, harness opportunities and address challenges.

Project website: https://schools4health.eu/

Start date – end date
01/01/2023 – 31/12/2025

Countries
Belgium, Denmark, Germany (evaluator), Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain

Overall budget
EUR 1 715 062

EU contribution under EU4Health programme
EUR 1 372 049

Contact details
Gabriella Sutton and Ingrid Stegeman
EuroHealthNet
Belgium
g.sutton@eurohealthnet.eu
i.stegeman@eurohealthnet.eu
+32 2 235 03 20

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan makes use of the whole range of Commission funding instruments with a total of €4 billion being earmarked for actions addressing cancer. €1.25 billion from the EU4Health programme is being used to support actions and initiatives outlined in the Cancer Plan.

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