Schools

The South Coast Prevention Team work together with schools across Bass Coast and South Gippsland to create healthier environments for students, staff and the wider community. Using a whole of service approach to health enables long-term changes to be supported in schools. If you have an idea to improve the health of your school and would like the support of our team to achieve it please contact us.

The Healthy Schools Achievement Program

The Achievement Program is a health and wellbeing framework that helps to create healthier environments in Victorian schools for their students, staff and families. It is centred around seven key health areas, which include:
• Healthy Eating and Oral Health
• Physical Activity and Movement
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Sun Protection
• Safe Environments
• Smoking, Vaping, Alcohol and Other Drugs
• Sexual Health and Wellbeing

Who is eligible to participate?

All schools in Victoria are eligible to participate. The program is free.

What are the benefits of participating?

• Alignment to key policies and guidelines including the Victorian Curriculum and the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes
• Access to practical resources to implement the program – such as toolkits, policy templates, curriculum ideas, and more
• Support and advice from a local health promotion professional
• Celebration of your achievements in local media
• Receive Victorian Government recognition as a Healthy School.

To learn more about the Achievement Program click here.

Vic Kids Eat Well

Vic Kids Eat Well is an initiative that’s focused on boosting healthy food and drink options in the places children spend their time, including schools, outside school hours care, sports clubs, recreation facilities and council operated facilities. By harnessing the power of community and taking these simple steps together, we can create change to give all kids across Victoria the healthy start they deserve.

Who is eligible to participate?

All schools and OHSC in Victoria are eligible to participate. The program is free.

What are the benefits of participating?

• Implement simple changes and healthy swaps that support students to learn and thrive
• Receive support and advice from a local health promotion professional
• Be rewarded for every small bite you complete
• Receive recognition for creating a healthy school environment
• Celebration of your achievements in local media

To learn more about Vic Kids Eat Well click here.

Vaping Prevention in Secondary Schools

The South Coast Prevention Team support secondary schools in Bass Coast and South Gippsland to deliver a whole-school approach to prevent vaping.

The team support secondary schools in the South Coast through the actions outlined in the Prevention Toolkit for Secondary Schools. The toolkit supports the application of a whole-school approach to prevent vaping. This includes policy review, display of ‘no smoking or vaping’ signs, resources for parents and carers, and vaping prevention education resources that can be implemented across the school curriculum.

Useful school resources:
• Checklist for schools
• Get the facts on vaping
• Seeing Through the Haze school curriculum resources
• Smoking and vaping signage
• Talking to your teen about vaping
• Vaping support flyer for young people

Health and Wellbeing Newsletter

The South Coast Prevention Team distribute newsletters to schools in the Bass Coast and South Gippsland Shire. The newsletters are filled with ideas and resources to help improve the health and wellbeing of students, their families and staff.

Subscribe here.

Useful Links and Resources

• Achievement Program
• Active Schools
• Alcohol and Drug Foundation
• Be You
• BodyKind
• Dental Health Services Victoria
• Get Active Victoria Kids Voucher Program
• Get the Facts on Vaping (Quit Victoria)
• Healthy Eating Advisory Service (HEAS)
• Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education
• National Nutrition Foundation
• Quit Victoria
• ResourceSmart Schools
• Respectful Relationships
• School Canteens and Other School Food Services Policy
• Smile Squad
• Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
• SunSmart
• The Resilience Project
• Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)
• Vic Kids Eat Well

Prevention of Vaping and E-Cigarette Use in Secondary Schools Initiative (2023 - 2024)

The Prevention of Vaping and E-cigarette Use in Secondary Schools initiative was delivered between March 2023 - June 2024 to combat the rising epidemic of e-cigarette and vaping use among young people.

The initiative addressed a gap which existed at the time in school-focused resources and support to prevent vaping. It comprised of two key elements; student vaping prevention workshops and a toolkit of resources for schools to implement a whole-school approach to prevent vaping.

The student workshops focused on the marketing tactics used by e-cigarette companies to target young people, the impacts of vaping, encouraging students to develop ways to say ‘no’ if offered an e-cigarette, and raising awareness of support services to stop vaping. The toolkit supported the application of a whole-school approach to prevent vaping. This included activities such as a school policy review, updating existing ‘No Smoking’ signs to ‘No Smoking or Vaping’, vaping prevention education resources that could be used across the school curriculum and resources for parents/carers.

Ten secondary schools were approached to participate in the initiative, with six taking up the opportunity. In total, 42 vaping prevention student workshops were delivered in these schools. Evaluation data was collected from students, school staff, workshop facilitators and parents and carers. Below is a snapshot of the key evaluation findings.

The evaluation data strongly indicates the Prevention of Vaping and E-cigarette Use in Secondary Schools initiatives was a needed and successful endeavour. The initiative significantly impacted students’ perception, knowledge and behaviours towards vaping by providing a platform for discussion, engagement, and access to current information and resources.

Whilst the initiative has now ended, the team continue to support secondary schools in the South Coast through the actions outlined in the Prevention Toolkit for Secondary Schools.

Tap Water Every Day (2019)

Our water, it’s healthy, it’s free campaign was a social marketing project delivered between 10 September through to 10 December 2019. The campaign was targeted at reducing consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and increasing consumption of tap water of teenage males (13 – 18 years) in the South Coast (Bass Coast & South Gippsland Local Government Areas).

Young Australian men (12 - 24 years) are very high consumers of sugar sweetened beverages and soft drink in particular. The consumption of sugar sweetened beverages is associated with increased energy intake and in turn, weight gain and obesity. It is well established that obesity is a leading risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Unlike other social marketing campaigns, Tap Water Every Day was co-designed with local young people. Teenage males worked together with the South Coast Prevention Team from start to finish to understand the issue and to ensure the campaign was relevant to them and their peers. The key messages of the campaign, the communication channels used and the settings targeted were all developed in partnership with teenage males.

During the campaign period based on ideas generated during the co-design process with our local young males and stakeholders, a variety of activities and events occurred across the sub-region to support the social marketing campaign.

Evaluation findings from the campaign indicated that there was an increase by 1 serve of water per day by the primary target audience and over two thirds (69%) of parents increasing the serves of tap water they provide their children by at least 2 per day. There was an increase in the primary target market avoiding SSB post campaign, with 39% indicating they did not consume any SSB in the week prior to surveying compared to 13% pre-campaign.

Pre-campaign over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that tap water is an important part of a healthy diet and post campaign this increased to 87% of respondents. Conversely, pre-campaign close to 80% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that SSB’s were good for their health post campaign this decreased to 73%.

The co-design approach utilised in the development and implementation of this campaign highlighted some key learnings for the project team. These learnings have provided much value to the South Coast Prevention Team and will influence future projects.