Health and School

Health education and health promotion in school

The health of children and young people is the all-encompassing key topic of the work of the Federal Centre for Health Education. The aim is to strengthen the health-related skills of children and young people, and the support them in their developmental process.

Health education for children and young people is embedded in institutional and social contexts. In addition to the family, the kindergarten and the youth leisure sector, the school is a central intervention field for preventive measures, being an environment in which children and young people live and learn.

School makes it possible to reach youngsters from all social strata over a period of 12 to 13 years. Moreover, in accordance with their mandate to provide upbringing and education, schools are obliged to cooperate in health education.

Consequently, the teachers working in schools are an important target group for the Federal Centre for Health Education. They act as multipliers, because they have direct access to the children and young people, and because they are in a position - based on their training and their curricular duties - to communicate health-related knowledge and behaviour, and to integrate it in everyday school life.

The Federal Centre for Health Education has, for more than 20 years, been developing special media for teachers for health education and health promotion in school. They are published in the "Health and School" series. They have now been supplemented for some years by media for parents/persons with parental power.

More information on goals and measures can be found in the concept "Health Education and Health Promotion in School", which can be downloaded as a PDF file.

More information on health promotion in school from other providers can be found here.