Step 2: Identify Strengths and Needs

Goals

· Identify the strengths, needs, interests and health of the school community by providing a survey for staff, students and parents

· Review and discuss the results and identify priority areas for action

PART A – Survey your school community

· Develop a survey or adapt an existing one for students, teachers and parents to identify the current health status of your school 1 21, 22, 23, 24

· Determine how to conduct the survey and obtain approval from the principal

· Inform the school community that the committee will be conducting surveys and encourage their participation 1 20

· Promote the survey as a way for school staff, students, parents and community partners to share their ideas

· Create a Healthy Schools suggestion box (Place the box in a central location and encourage the school community to voice concerns and ideas throughout the school year!)

PART B – Share results, establish the vision and prioritize the health issues

· Examine the results of the survey and determine the current strengths, needs, challenges and opportunities associated with implementing a Healthy Schools approach

· Examine areas where the school is doing well and look at what helped make these areas successful

· Communicate results of the survey to your school; present successes first 1 26

· As a committee continue to develop a shared vision of Healthy Schools by brainstorming and creating your ideal school – be creative and have fun! 1 25

· Based on your vision and survey results, prioritize the most important health issues your school can realistically commit to over the school year; it's okay to start small as many small changes can add up to big successes!

· Keep a record of all the issues/suggestions that you are not using this year; they can be used and worked on in subsequent years

· Don't forget to monitor the progress of the committee; review any problems with the committee now to avoid any problems in the future 1 19 (in section 2, step 1)

· Give students, staff and parents a voice in the Healthy Schools process!

ü Checklist for Step 2:

q Completed survey for:

Parents q

Teachers q

Students q

Administration q

q Reviewed and discussed the results of the surveys

q Established priority areas for your school

q Communicated the results and priority areas with the school community

q Determined if your committee is ready to move to step three

1 Complete Resource List Step 2

2 Print Step 2

Continue to Step 3

For more information, please contact

York Region Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653

Committee | Strengths & Needs | Action Plan | Evaluation | Toolkit Resources

Healthy Schools | Elementary | Secondary | A-Z Index

1 Step 2 Resource List

20 Sample survey newsletter

21 Sample student survey

22 Sample teacher/ staff survey

23 Sample parent/ family survey

24 Physical Activity Checklist

25 Healthy Schools visioning exercise

26 Sample survey update

Tip:

Consider paper, email, focus groups and tools like www.surveymonkey.com

By identifying your school health needs, your committee will be able to consider:

· Activities the school will enjoy participating in

· The overall vision of teachers, students and parents

· The most important health issues in your school

If you are unable to access information on this page with your “screen reading software”, please call 905-830-4444 extension 1233 and someone will assist you. If you are directed to and answering machine, please leave a message and your call will be returned to you within 24 hours.