Health and wellbeing
Proactive engagement with workers and others will contribute to your obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act. More importantly, it will support their health and wellbeing by creating a safe and caring environment.
- Questions to consider
- Supporting ākonga with health conditions
- Communicable diseases
- Promoting healthy lifestyles
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Wellbeing in schools and early learning services
- Wellbeing for staff
- Related pages
Questions to consider
- What do you have in place so workers are able to make informed decisions on administering medication to, and monitoring the health of tamariki and ākonga? For early learning, refer to HS28.
- Do you have health care plans in place for ākonga and tamariki with additional health needs?
- Do you have programmes and resources available to manage staff and ākonga and tamariki wellbeing?
Supporting ākonga with health conditions
We have guidance to support creating healthy and safe environments for ākonga who may have been diagnosed with a health condition (for example, severe asthma, severe allergies, cancer, brain injury).
Supporting ākonga with health conditions
Developing and supporting health plans
Communicable diseases
This information supports responses to increased levels of risk to staff and ākonga from a communicable disease, including guidance on creating and implementing pandemic, health and safety or emergency management plans.
Communicable diseases: A guide to legal powers
Planning for an epidemic or pandemic event
Promoting healthy lifestyles
The following resources were developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health to assist schools and early childhood education services to promote healthy lifestyles.
Mental health and wellbeing
Resources for supporting ākonga and staff with stress, anxiety, depression, mental health and suicide prevention.
Supporting young people with stress, anxiety and/or depression – MSD(external link)
Education – Mental Health Foundation(external link)
Mental health education – NZ Health Education Association(external link)
Wellbeing in schools and early learning services
Information for supporting, mentoring and counselling ākonga, dealing with bullying, caring for international students, and safely using digital technology.
Bullying Free NZ(external link)
Guidelines to assist secondary schools and wharekura in the provision of good practice in pastoral care, guidance and counselling:
This information covers aspects of the New Zealand Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and provides resources for educators, ākonga, and whānau to support wellbeing:
Health and safety standards are covered in detail in the licensing criteria for services.
Licensing criteria for early learning services
The early learning child wellbeing and participation page contains additional early-learning-specific information about child protection, whooping cough, identifying health problems early and protecting tamariki from sun damage and air pollution.
Child wellbeing and participation
Wellbeing for staff
Health and wellbeing programmes aim to improve the health of workers and their whānau while reducing health-related costs to the school or early learning service.
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