Health and wellbeing
Proactive engagement with workers and others will contribute to your obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and more importantly will support their health and wellbeing through creating a safe and caring environment.
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 students?
- Do you have health care plans in place for ākonga with additional health needs?
- Do you have programmes and resources available to manage staff and ākonga wellbeing?
Content
- 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
Supporting ākonga with health conditions
Guidance to help set up a healthy and safe environment 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
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/emergency management plans.
Communicable diseases in early learning services and schools: a guide to legal powers
Planning for an epidemic/pandemic event (quick guide)
Promoting healthy lifestyles
Resources 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.
Suicide Prevention Publication Updated 2019 [PDF, 10 MB]
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)
Te Pakiaka Tangata - Guidelines for secondary and wharekura [PDF, 2.1 MB]
Health and safety standards are covered in detail in the licensing criteria for services. This 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
This information covers aspects of the New Zealand Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and provides resources for educators, ākonga, and whānau to support wellbeing.
The COVID-19 wellbeing pages contain information on supporting ākonga returning to learning, supporting ākonga through times of change, and advice on wellbeing for kaiako and whānau
COVID-19 and wellbeing - Te Mahau(external link)
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.
Related pages
Emergencies and traumatic incidents
Providing an inclusive education
Students requiring learning support
Wellbeing - NZSTA(external link)
Growing a wellbeing movement at work - WorkSafe(external link)
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