Our Educational Settings programme brings together a range of national programmes designed to support health and well-being across the early years and education system. These include:
Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Well-being (WSAEMWB) – Providing guidance and support to help schools embed mental well-being across their culture, curriculum, and environment.
The Curriculum Programme – providing evidence based curriculum resources for schools around a range of health and well-being topic areas to support the delivery of the health and well-being AoLE.
JUSTB – Evidenced based smoking prevention programme for schools.
‘Health is created in the places that people live, love, learn and play’
(Ottawa Charter for health promotion)
Settings based approaches are universal approaches which seek to influence the environment, policy and practice within the setting to enable better health and well-being of those in that setting.
As the Educational Settings Programme team we work collaboratively with schools, local authorities, local Health Boards, early years providers, colleges and Universities, and national partners to embed health and well-being at the heart of educational settings in Wales.
What we do?
We provide national leadership, evidence-based guidance, and practical support to help educational settings create environments that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Our work includes:
Supporting settings to adopt whole-school and whole-setting approaches to health and well-being
Providing guidance, tools, resources, and training for staff
Strengthening partnerships between health and education sectors
Using data, research, and evaluation to inform best practice
Supporting settings to meet national policy requirements, including the Curriculum for Wales, the Statutory Framework for embedding a Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Well-being and national minimum standards for childcare settings.
Our aim is to empower educational settings to become health‑promoting communities where every baby, child and young person can flourish.
Why do we work with educational settings?
Educational settings play a vital role in shaping the health and well-being of babies, children and young people. Schools, early years settings, and further education environments are where young people spend a significant portion of their lives, making them powerful places to influence positive lifelong health behaviours. By supporting healthy, safe, and nurturing environments, we help babies, children and young people to learn, thrive, and reach their full potential. Improving health in educational settings also strengthens communities, reduces inequalities, and contributes to a healthier Wales for future generations.
