9.1 Build different types of capacities including: - Coordinated policy/leadership - Assigned Staff for coordination - Mechanisms for cooperation - Knowledge synthesis & exchange - Workforce development - Monitoring & Reporting - Joint priority, trend analysis - Explicit sustainability planning

9.2 Build capacity at all levels (government, agency, school, professional, community) capacities

- Coordinated policy/leadership
- Staff for coordination
- Mechanisms for cooperation
- Knowledge synthesis & exchange
- Workforce development
- Monitoring & Reporting
- Joint priority, trend analysis
- Explicit sustainability planning

• coordinated policy & leadership,
• assigned staffing & infrastructure to coordinate,
• formal & informal mechanisms for cooperation,
• ongoing and supported knowledge transfer/exchange,
• ongoing and supported workforce/skills development,
• regular monitoring/ reporting, program evaluation and periodic needs/resources/planning assessments
• strategic issue management, defined system priorities
• explicit sustainability planning.

(Note: See the right hand column for an elaboration of these ways to build capacity at three levels within publicly funded systems.

Community capacities such as cohesiveness, norms, expectations, physical and social resources and other factors can be a factor in school program success or failure.

Professional capacities specifically related to the roles assigned in the school programs need to be taken into account.

Not only different types of teachers, (health, PE, family studies) but also guidance counselors, principals, student services personnel, school psychologists, public health/school nurses, police officers, school social workers, public health inspectors, addictions workers, nutritionists/dietitians, mental health workers, early childhood educators and sports/recreation specialists ands coaches need to be trained to work within and with schools,

This will include pre-service training, required qualifications and experience, ongoing in-service training, special certification and post-graduate studies and expertise. Inter-professional skills and qualifications should also be part of work force development planning.

The sustainability of school programs needs further study and elaboration into applied policy, program and practice considerations. Institutionalization of the change within the routines of the organization or system is critical.

All Levels:

• Models and materials to develop, measure and monitor system capacity should be used to plan school health programs. (World Health Organization) Influence investments in other sectors (Best Practices, PHAC)
• Determine indicators for measuring health status (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Disseminate research findings and facilitate policy uptake (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Apply criteria to select priorities for investment (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Establish a coordinating mechanism to guide interventions (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Construct a results-based accountability framework (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Ascertain baseline measures and set targets for health improvement (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Institutionalize effective evaluation systems (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Promote the use of health impact assessment tools (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Publicly report results (Public Health Agency of Canada)

Government Ministries

• Develop meaningful indicators and reliable data sources for monitoring and reporting on student health, program capacity and health learning (Centers for Disease Control, US, Health Promoting Schools Program, Hong Kong, Council of Chief State School Supervisory Officers, US, National Healthy Schools Program, England, Schools for Health in Europe)
• Develop indicators that are sensitive to community and geographical context (Schools for Health in Europe, Netherlands)
• Develop a plan for infrastructure development and assess progress on a regular basis. (Centers for Disease Control, US)
• Develop a supportive government / local authority policy for HPS (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Ensure continuous active commitment and demonstrable support by governments (eg signed partnership between health and education ministries (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Assign a coordinator to the coordination of programs A Toolkit for Local Coordinators (Healthy Schools Program, England)

Local Agencies

• Develop a supportive government / local authority policy for HPS (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Achieve administrative and senior management support (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Ensure appropriate staff undertake capacity building programs (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Define the role of the SH Coordinator (CDC and American Cancer Society)
• Select, train and support SH Coordinators (UCLA Center on School Mental Health, US) Healthy Schools Program, England, Healthy Schools Program, England)
• Create local school board-agency partnerships (Healthy Schools Program, England)
• Create and support a School Community Council (American Cancer Society, US, American School Health Association, US)
• Ensure that public health nurses and PH staff are qualified and supported to work with schools (American NGSs, Healthy Schools Program, England, Healthy Schools Program, England)
• Ensure that other staff psychologists, coaches etc are qualified to work with SH programs (American NGOs, )
• Ensure that PH staff have clearly defined roles in SH Promotion (Centre for Health Promotion, Adelaide, Australia)
• Ensure that health, PE and family studies teachers are qualified, trained and receive ongoing professional development. (Healthy Schools Program, England, Healthy Schools Program, England)
• Ensure that local agency programs and partnerships are assessed on a regular basis (Healthy Schools Program, England)

Schools/Neighbourhoods

• Maintain school-community partnerships and monitor their effectiveness (Scotland National Health Service)
• Create a staff team to implement SH programs (American NGOs)
• Use a variety of school self-assessment tools on school health promotion overall (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, US, World Health Organization, Geneva National Health Service, Scotland Centers for Disease Control, US), Centre for Health Promotion, Australia, Centre for Health Promotion, Australia, National Health Service, Scotland, Health Promotion Agency, Northern Ireland as well as specific health topics.
• Strengthen or develop the school’s capacity to become a Health Promoting School (IUHPE Guidelines)
• Develop a supportive government / local authority policy for HPS • Achieve administrative and senior management support
• Create a small group of activists including teachers, students, parents and community members to lead and coordinate efforts
• Conduct an audit of current HPS related actions according to the six essential elements (see above)
• Establish agreed goals and a strategy to achieve them
• Develop a Health Promoting School Charter
• Ensure appropriate staff undertake capacity building programmes and that they have opportunities to put their skills into practice
• Celebrate milestones eg the launch of the HPS Charter
• Allow 2 to 3 years to complete specific goals (IUHPE Guidelines)

"In order to support health-promoting school communities in a sustained manner, the organizational capacities of health and education systems (ministries, agencies, schools, professionals, communities) need to be strengthened in areas such as (1, 2):

• comprehensive and coordinated policies on school health, health issues and the elements of school health promotion that are actively supported by senior managers;
• assigned staffing infrastructure to support interdisciplinary cooperation at all levels;
• formal and informal mechanisms for coordination and cooperation;
• active knowledge transfer and exchange within and across sectors;
• ongoing workforce development of health and education professionals through professional preparation programs and staff development;
• providing regular and reliable data on the health status, determinants, behaviours, attitudes, skills and knowledge of children and youth, as well as periodic surveys and self-assessments of policy/program capacity;
• regular scans of the environments, trends and emerging issues that affect the health of children and youth;
• an explicit plan for appropriate and sustained funding to ensure the continuance of programs which demonstrate effectiveness".