Item - 2025.HL28.1

The Board of Health:

1. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to continue collaborating with school boards and initiate the development of the next Toronto Healthy Schools Strategy to launch in 2027 with consideration to:

a. improving mental health and well-being of students, including the impacts of screen time;

b. and promoting healthy relationships that have protective factors to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender based violence (GBV); and

c. sharing evidence and strengthening data on the health and well-being of students, including collaborating on the school climate survey.

The Director and Chief Nursing Officer, Community Health and Well-Being and the Associate Medical Officer of Health gave a presentation on Working with Schools to Improve the Health and Well-being of Children and Youth.

As mandated by the School Health Guideline, 2018 of the Ontario Public Health Standards, Toronto Public Health collaborates with school boards and schools to assist with the implementation of health-related curricula and health needs to achieve optimal health of school-aged children and youth.

This report presents an overview of the health services Toronto Public Health provides to schools to promote and protect the health and well-being of children and youth. These services focus on upstream initiatives and early intervention to strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors that impact student's health and well-being. The range of services, outlined in Attachment 1, includes nutrition, mental health promotion, substance use prevention, physical activity, sexual health, dental and oral care, and infectious disease prevention services.

The Toronto Healthy Schools Strategy is an agreement between Toronto Public Health and the four school boards to create healthy school environments for children and youth through collective action. Its goals are to strengthen the partnership between Toronto Public Health and the School Boards, establish a workplan with shared goals, share data and communicate on joint initiatives, and conduct further research on the health of students, including their mental health and well-being. This report recommends that Toronto Public Health continue collaborating with school boards and initiate the development of the next Toronto Healthy Schools Strategy to launch in 2027.