A Scan of Alberta Healthy School Policies, 2016

Implications for Practice within the Healthy Children and

Youth Team
Background
The Healthy Children and Youth (HCY) action
planning process completed in 2015 provided
support for improving the quality of health-related
policies within Alberta school jurisdictions. To
support the HCY team in planning a coordinated
approach to improving the quality of such
policies, an appraisal of existing policies in
Alberta was completed.

The HCY team supports Alberta school

jurisdictions in applying the Comprehensive
School Health (CSH) approach (Figure 1) to
improve healthy eating, active living, and mental
health among students. Supporting development
and implementation of school health policies is a
key focus of this work. Research shows that the
content, detail and language within a policy are key Figure 1: The Comprehensive School
determinants of its implementation quality and Health Approach
effectiveness. Policy appraisal can help inform the
development of new policies, improve implementation, and ultimately influence health outcomes.

Purpose
This policy scan and appraisal was intended to analyze publically available healthy school policies
using a set of evidence-informed criteria and identify strengths and opportunities for improvement of
such policies as well as recommendations for the HCY team to support work in this area.

Methods
The methods of this project are described below:

1. Development of policy appraisal criteria: A rapid review on characteristics of strong

school and health policies, and policy development and evaluation was completed to
develop appraisal criteria and a scoring scheme for analyzing policies (Box A).
2. Scan of school jurisdiction websites: A website scan was carried out in February 2016 of
all public, Catholic, and charter school authorities to identify policies related to
CSH/wellness, healthy eating, active living and positive mental health.
 Executive Summary - 2

3. Quality appraisal of the identified healthy school policies using the criteria: Policies
within the scope of this project were appraised independently by two project team members.
All three project team members met to discuss appraisal results and reach consensus.
4. Data analysis: Policies were grouped based on their focus (health topic) area. Appraisal
data for each policy was entered into a master Excel file and summarized by determining
frequencies across individual criterion for all policies as well as specific health topic areas.
Qualitative comments and observations were also tracked and used to inform the results
summary, in terms of strengths and opportunities for improvement for all policies and for the
specific health topic areas.

Box A: Policy Appraisal Criteria

Accessibility to the public (online).
Goal or high level vision is stated.
Background information is provided.
Procedures for implementation are
described.
Timelines for action are specified.
Accountability for procedures is noted.
Risks of implementation are noted.
Resources required are noted, as
applicable.
Monitoring process is described
Responsibility for Monitoring are
described.
Evaluation plan is included.

Results
The website scan identified 150 policies that met the appraisal inclusion criteria. Table A shows the
total numbers of policies included in this appraisal and school jurisdictions in Alberta with existing
policies related to each of the health topic areas included in this project. The full report summarizes
of the quantitative appraisal results by criterion (overall and for each health topic area).

Table A: Total Number of Policies included in the Appraisal and Proportion of School Jurisdictions
with Policies Related to each Topic Area

Number of Number (%) of School

Type of Policy Policies Authorities with Policies
Appraised (n=74)
Overall Wellness / CSH 25 25 (34%)
Nutrition/Healthy Eating 21 39 (53%)
Active Living 4 24 (32%)
Safe and Caring Schools (bullying,
42 41 (55%)
Positive positive social environments)
Mental Inclusive School Environments (related
58 58 (78%)
Health to Bill 10 requirements)
All Positive Mental Health Policies 100 67 (91%)
Total Number of Policies 150 n/a

Healthy Children and Families Healthy School Policy Appraisal

Healthy Children and Youth November 2016
 Executive Summary - 3
Observations and opportunities for improvement related to each appraisal criterion are listed below.

Goal: Most policies (85%) included a higher level goal or vision. These statements were
most effective and clear when explicitly presented at the beginning of the policy.
Background Information/Rationale: Nearly all policies (90%) included background
information about the policy issue. The following elements were found to be helpful and may
be considered in policy development: Clear definitions, theoretical context and reference to
the philosophy behind the policy (e.g. legislative linkages, connections to broader jurisdiction
goals), rationale for the policys importance, and details about jurisdiction context related to
that policy issue.
Procedures: Nearly all policies (95%) outline actions and procedures, though the quality
varied substantially (average rating of 2.80 on a 5-point scale). Creating detailed
administrative procedures in addition to broad, philosophical policy statements can provide
more depth and specific actions to support implementation. It was noted that policies for
which there were guiding provincial standards tended to include more specific actions and
implementation procedures (e.g. nutrition policies based on the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines
for Children and Youth and inclusive school environment policies based on the Guidelines
for Best Practices: Creating Learning Environments that Respect Diverse Sexual
Orientations, Gender Identities, and Gender Expressions resource). As well, using stronger
language may increase the likelihood that a policy is implemented and enforceable (rather
than optional).
Timelines: Very few policies (8%) included timelines for action. This may be due to the fact
that when a school jurisdiction approves a policy, it is assumed that the effective date for
implementation is immediate. Nevertheless, for policies where action is complicated or
challenging, phases or steps for implementation may be helpful.
Accountability: While most policies (89%) assigned some level of accountability, the
strongest policies described a specific individual responsible for each action/procedure in the
policy. In contrast, other policies assigned broad accountability to schools or the district,
which may pose a challenge to implementation and monitoring. It was positive to note some
policies outline roles for both school-level stakeholders as well as jurisdiction-level staff in
supporting policy implementation using a systems-wide approach.
Risks/Feasibility: About half of policies (49%) included statements that showed
consideration of risks associated with implementation. Not surprisingly, feasibility and risk
tended to be more prevalent in policies that dealt with topics where legal issues were more
likely to arise (e.g. human rights, student safety, confidentiality, potential for injury).
Resources: Almost no policies (1%) mentioned resources required for implementation. It is
possible that such resources are documented elsewhere (such as implementation plans,
which were not included in the scope of this project).
Monitoring and Evaluation: Few policies (19%) included requirements or processes for
monitoring and evaluation. Statements related to these criteria tended to be broad (e.g. the
superintendent is responsible for monitoring this policy). A few policies linked monitoring
strategies with existing jurisdiction processes (e.g. annual school planning/reporting), which
may be a promising strategy for improving monitoring practices without substantially
increasing the workload of school and jurisdiction staff.

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 Executive Summary - 4
The full report provides more detail on key observations related to each of the health topic areas
included in this appraisal. A few key findings from each of these areas are highlighted below.

CSH / Wellness Policies: These policies often take a broad approach and incorporate
multiple health topics under one umbrella. While housing information in one place can
simplify communication processes, policies could be strengthened by describing more
specific procedures and accountabilities related to each area. A positive aspect of these
broad policies is that they sometimes incorporated requirements related to implementation of
the CSH approach, demonstrating how the community development approach can be built in
to a policy that is supported from the top down within a school jurisdiction.
Healthy Eating Policies: It is encouraging to note that 82% of the healthy eating policies
included in this appraisal made reference to the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and
Youth (ANGCY). The strongest policies made reference to most elements of the school food
environment that are encompassed by the ANGCY (e.g. foods sold in canteens, cafeterias,
vending machines; foods served during celebrations, events, special lunch days; nutrition
education/marketing practices; limits on food-based fundraisers and classroom rewards;
appropriate physical space and time for students to eat lunch; and, staff role modelling).
Active Living Policies: There were few standalone active living policies included in the
appraisal. This observation may be due to the fact that physical activity is already covered by
mandatory provincial policies, including the Physical Education program of studies and
Alberta Educations Daily Physical Activity (DPA) Policy. It was positive to see some school
jurisdictions provide more detail on implementation of DPA and go beyond minimum
requirements of this policy (e.g. extending DPA to grade 12 as opposed to grade 9, and
providing 45 minutes of DPA instead of 30 minutes). Additionally, some policies included
broader strategies for getting students active in the school through intramurals, within the
community and with their families.
Safe and Caring Schools Policies: These policies were broad in scope, addressing a
range of topics including: bullying/harassment prevention, supportive learning environments,
positive school climate, character education and psychological safety. It is clear that school
jurisdictions recognize the strong influence that mental health and school climate have on
learning, but defining tangible actions to improve these outcomes may be a challenge. The
elements of these policies, particularly related to prevention and upstream approaches were
quite vague and there is opportunity for improvement in the future. Providing school
jurisdictions with evidence-based guidance on actions that will improve relationships
between school community members and support a positive school climate could be a
valuable role for the HCY team in the future.
Inclusive School Environment Policies: These policies were all related (at least partially)
to the 2015 amendments to Albertas School Act, which required all school jurisdictions to
create a policy to ensure welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments for all
students, including those with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender
expression. Overall, it was clear that the existence of the Guidelines for Best Practices:
Creating Learning Environments that Respect Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender
Identities, and Gender Expressions resource (Best Practice Guidelines) supported fairly
specific actions and procedures within these policies. It is helpful to have this type of
standard, evidence-based guidance as well as a top-down mandate for developing related
policies. The strongest policies integrated these guidelines with implementation practices
that were specific to their jurisdiction context. Worthy of note, there were some important
differences identified between policies from Catholic school jurisdictions and those from
public/charter school authorities.

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Conclusions
Overall, while it is encouraging that Alberta school jurisdictions have many health policies in place,
this appraisal found that the quality in terms of content, clarity and specific direction for
implementation, could be improved. In particular, procedures for most policies could be improved
with stronger language and greater specificity in terms of required actions, accountabilities, and
monitoring processes.

The following recommendations can be used by the HCY team to support school jurisdictions in
developing policies that support school-based action to improve healthy eating, active living and
mental health among students:

Provide school jurisdictions with guidance on choosing evidence-based strategies that will
improve child and youth health to be included as procedures within their policies.
Strengthen policies by ensuring they are consistent with key messages and
recommendations from evidence-based documents such as the ANGCY and the Best
Practices Guidelines.
Develop and provide sample policies that align with the appraisal criteria used in this project.
Provide ongoing opportunities for HCY team members to build their knowledge, skills, and
confidence in supporting policy development and revision, as well as effective practices for
policy implementation.
Consider completing another scan of school jurisdiction policies in the future to determine if
policies have improved over time.

Healthy Children and Families Healthy School Policy Appraisal

Healthy Children and Youth November 2016