A Shanghai school shows the way

24 World Health • 49th Yeor, No. 4, July-August 1996 A Shanghai school shows the way Cai Hong·Ying Cleaning teeth to music - one of the many activities carried out at the )in Ling Road Primary School in Shanghai, China. tion on littering and spitting. Other standards relate primarily to behaviour at home. Boiling drinking-water is one example, and another is having adequate light for reading- an important consid- eration in a situa- tion where eyesight prob- lems among I n 1991 , even before the concept of health-promoting schools had been clearly developed in the Western Pacific Region, Jin Ling Road Primary School in Shanghai launched a health action project in cooperation with the local commu- nity authorities. The aim was for the school and the community to work together to improve health. The school has drawn up a set of health behaviour standards for pupils which are closely monitored by teachers. These include correct posture for reading and writing, carrying a handkerchief, washing hands before eating, and a prohibi- children are common. The schoolchildren also work on improving sanitation and physical environment by extending the school's "green belt". The neighbourhood authorities help the school in reinforcing with parents the importance of these standards. An event called "parents ' school" has been arranged once a year for the past four years, to pro- vide information about a range of issues, such as eye care, diet and child psychology. The health standards adopted by the school extend to social and per- sonal behaviour, such as cultivating a wide range of interests, taking part in Health-promoting schools in China social activities and showing friend- liness towards other pupils. The school is now exploring ways of linking some of these initiatives to the kindergarten level in order to influence health attitudes and behav- iour at an even earlier age. While it may be many years before the full fruits of these efforts can be appreciated, the short-term outcomes in terms of a range of health indicators have been very positive. For example, since the start of this programme there has been a marked decrease in dental caries and short-sightedness among pupils. In December 1995 the Shanghai Health Education Institute, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion, designated Jin Ling Road Primary School as an experi- mental site for a health-promoting school. The school has been ap- praised as a model unit for two successive years, and its experience is now being shared with other primary schools. • Mrs Coi Hong-Ying is Chief Supervisor of the )in Ling Road Primary School, No. 86, West )in Ling Road, Shanghai 200020, China. Among several other projects currently under way in China involving health-promoting schools , one which was established last year by the National Health Education Institute invo lves four schools in each of three urban areas- Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia, Wuhan City in Yunnan Province and the W est City District of Bei jing. The project got off to a rapid start, particularly since the schools a ll had well-established foundations of health education and school-based health services. However the transition from that situation to one of working towards becoming health-promoting schools has involved some important shifts in the school culture. O ne such sh ift meant that the school staff had to reconsider their education objectives; they became aware how closely linked the main elements of health-promoting schools are with their own professional objectives of encouraging the comprehensive development of the students in their care . Another important shift has been the involvement of the schools w ith the local community on health issues. Students have helped in clean-up campaigns in their neighbourhoods. They arrange to visit older citizens, particularly those who do not have families around them, and help in community education campaigns on such health issues as non-smoking. The local community authorities in turn have been committed to working a longside the school and re inforcing the health messages promoted by the school. For example, junk food vendors have been ba nned from trading at the school gates at lunchtime, trees have been planted in the school grounds, and building rubble has been removed.