Promote Well-Being Through Digital Channels

A detailed description of the practice

Tap into your school social media pages, newsletters, or other communication channels to share existing resources that promote active, healthy living, and wellness.

This practice:

is easy and quick to implement

is cost-efficient to put in place

is effective in promoting health and wellness among students

is well received by most students

is well received by teachers and school staff

is helping build and maintain a healthy school culture

will be used for years to come

reaches most students and families within a school

does not require additional funding

is sustainable over time given staff turnover, costs, training, etc.

is easily integrated into the curriculum (Program of Studies)

But this practice:

does not reach the students and families who need it most

requires extensive planning

requires additional staff time

requires support or partnerships from outside the school

Examples of specific activities

Wellness websites, mindfulness or physical activity ideas to try at home, recipe ideas, information on hot topics or questions coming from the school community.

Share online mental health resources created by a mental health therapist or champion

Encourage brain breaks for students

Share mental health resources on social media

Promote campaigns supporting healthy sleeping habits

Share resources to enhance students’ sleep habits

Boost healthy eating with snack and recipe ideas

Promote healthy eating in school lessons, newsletters, social media

Share resources promoting healthy eating and nutrition information

Promote physical activity to take a break from screen time

Share resources to limit screen time

Share resources to get students moving

More from the stakeholders from the education and health sectors about this practice

“Some of the school staff (e.g. physical education) compiled all physical activity-related resources on a website that was then distributed division-wide, and teachers were able to incorporate these activities in their lesson plans. A few participants noted that Google Classroom provided a nice venue for sharing these activities among students and staff, while sharing short videos on school social media (as opposed to lengthy emails) was a good way to reach parents.”

“Students require movement and promotion of health and wellness along with fundamental movement skills more than ever since the pandemic.”

“Participants noted that this practice most likely “reached those whose caregivers had the time, energy, ability to read the newsletters” and those with the access to the internet (i.e., “Many communities don't have quality Wi-Fi to access things on internet”). Two things to keep in mind: 1) “You need to use multiple faucets to get the information out” and 2) the resources should come from “pre-approved and vetted websites [as] there are many online resources that promote diet culture’s version of health.”