Annemarie clearly remembers parents asking her what the school intended to do about the alcohol-related incidents. “You then ask yourself: what can we as a school contribute to preventing these kinds of incidents?

And you soon arrive at the Healthy School theme Smoking, alcohol and drug prevention. Annemarie: “The pillars appeal to us, but above all, the fact that the approach becomes part of your policy—a long-term investment. At the time, we simply wanted to prevent students from ending up in hospital. We now know that more can be achieved with the Healthy School approach.”

Working on smoking, alcohol and drug prevention

Het Heerenlanden, a secondary school with 825 students and 70–75 teachers, has been a Healthy School since 2018. The school has the Smoking, alcohol and drug prevention thematic certificate. The school achieved this by, among other things, addressing peer pressure and providing information through the Halt agency. Youz came to the school to provide information to parents and students. In Charge from the Trimbos Institute was used for the upper years to train self-control. This is part of the Healthy School activity Helder op School: Samen Fris. The Fresh Start teaching programme is intended for the first year of secondary education and is a recognised Healthy School activity.

A permanent part of the curriculum

Annemarie and Jerry are not prepared to say whether this can be directly attributed to the Healthy School approach. “But over the past two years, we have had no students in hospital and have identified no major problems. In that respect, we have achieved our goal.” This does not mean, however, that the project at Het Heerenlanden has now been completed. “On the contrary,” says Jerry. “Fresh Start and the accompanying teaching modules are a permanent part of our curriculum. The fact that we see the students strengthens our approach. Students are people to us; we want to help them. The fact that they do not always feel we do this in the right way is typical of teenagers. But by working together, we will find a solution.”

Well-being

Now that the Healthy School theme Smoking, alcohol and drug prevention has been embedded in the programme, we want to focus further on the students’ well-being. Because the coronavirus pandemic has certainly left its mark,” says Annemarie. “Well-being was already high on our agenda, but the pandemic has brought it even more attention. Students who feel good about themselves naturally perform better.

NPO funding

Annemarie: “We deal with depression, stressful home situations and a lack of a quiet place to study. It is not that there are more social and emotional problems. But the pandemic has intensified problems. For example, because children and parents were constantly on top of one another.” When the opportunity to apply for funding for Well-being arose, the team decided to focus on it. “In collaboration with a Healthy School adviser. We will also use NPO funds for smaller groups and more coaching. This will help us pay even more attention to the children in the classroom.”

Breaking taboos

Jerry regularly sees students dealing with psychological pressure, burnout symptoms and worries at home. “There are also students who self-harm. We try to respond to this appropriately. It would be good if early identification allowed us to keep problems manageable. It is also important to focus on a healthy lifestyle. For example, we are considering the layout of the school grounds. We also provide quiet spaces in the school so that students experience less stress. Whenever possible, in our lessons we make the connection with incidents that young people recognise from their own surroundings. This is how we start the conversation and break taboos.”

Involving parents

In practice, Jerry sees that his first-year students respond well to the Fresh Start modules. “As soon as you discuss it with students, their experiences come to the surface. But I immediately see how difficult they find it to set boundaries, especially when they face peer pressure. And I am repeatedly shocked when I hear how many first-year students have already drunk alcohol or experimented with drugs. As a teacher and a parent, that worries me. We also notice that parents do not all think the same way about this. That is why we try to involve them and provide parenting tips and practical guidance through external partners. During these parent evenings, it becomes clear that some parents do not have sufficient knowledge or are unaware of the issues. They can no longer guide their children effectively. This is also an area of attention for colleagues. Gaining insight into children’s world is essential.”

Students taking charge

That is why Het Heerenlanden will take a different approach starting next school year. “We want to further develop students’ self-regulation, one of the 21st-century skills. This is focused on discipline, but also on behaviour. What do you do when something goes wrong, and how do you respond? We distinguish between subject coaches and mentor coaches. Annemarie realises that this requires another investment.

“But in fact, it is not a very large one. Certainly not when you see what it achieves. We have a smoke-free school grounds, it has raised awareness and recognition, and more and more teachers are able not only to identify problems but also to guide students. Of course, we would ideally like to see all students here with a happy face. People need to see that when there are problems at Het Heerenlanden, we deal with them appropriately. The Healthy School certificate displayed on the building naturally helps with that.”

Tips from Het Heerenlanden

  • Appoint a Healthy School coordinator internally from the outset.
  • Have the internal Healthy School coordinator work together with the Healthy School adviser. Keep the lines of communication short!
  • Communicate promptly, frequently and clearly with all parties involved.
  • Ensure sufficient support within the school. You do this by repeatedly emphasising why you are doing this. Referring to a concrete incident can help.
  • Tell parents why you are doing this and how you are approaching it. And explain that you sometimes need them to make it a success.