Student health

​​Supporting student he​​alth and wellbeing

The Department of Education works actively to support students' health and wellbeing in schools.

The supporting student health and wellbeing policy statement provides advice for Queensland state schools to ensure systems are in place to promote and support the health and wellbeing of students when at school or involved in school activities.

Requirements and responsibilities for state schools in regard to student health and wellbeing are included in the following departmental procedures.

• Administration of medications in schools
• Management of contagious conditions
  
• Managing students’ health support needs at school
• Student protection
  
• Sun safety in state schools​
  
• Supporting students' mental health and wellbeing
• Supporting students with asthma and/or at risk of anaphylaxis at school

In addition, Queensland state schools have access to the following guidelines to support students' health and wellbeing.

• CPR for life
  
• C​oronavirus fact sheet for parents and carers (PDF, 182KB)​
• ​ Developing a school sun safety policy​ (PDF, 425KB)​
  
• Drugs education and intervention
• Head lice
  
• Insect viruses and allergies
• Living with bats
• Managing excessive heat in schools
• Physical activity in state schools
• Road safety
  

Hand washing​

Schools promote the importance of effective hand hygiene, including washing hands regularly, especially before and​ after eating and going to the toilet. For more information on when and how to wash your hands, refer to the 5 moments of hand hygiene poster (PDF, 1.1MB)​ ​and the effective​ hand hygiene v​ideo​ – ​​t​ranscript (DOCX, 25KB)​​.

​Supporting student health and wellbeing policy statement

The supporting student health and wellbeing policy statement supports schools to ensure systems are in place to promote and support the health and wellbeing of students when at school or involved in school activities.

School food programs​​​

School food programs are school-based nutrition and health initiatives that can be beneficial in improving health and learning outcomes, socialisation and increasing participation and engagement at school.

In 2023, the department is helping to ensure students have access to proper nutrition by providing one-off funding to identified state schools in areas across Queensland experiencing socio-economic hardship and food security challenges to provide a food program​ to students in need.

The department will also be providing grants of up to $20,000 to food providers (such as registered charities or not-for-profits) to support the delivery of food programs in Queensland state schools, through an expression of interest process. It is expected the grants will open on the QGrants platform in November 2023.

Smart Choices

Smart Choices is about offering healthy food and drink choices to students in Queensland state schools, and applies to all situations where food and drinks are supplied in the school environment.

Health support needs

Student’s with health support needs, including those requiring specialised health procedures, may require schools to make reasonable adjustments to ensure they can safely participate in all aspects of school life including camps, excursions and sporting events. Each student will receive support based on their needs.

Schools provide support for students with asthma and at risk of anaphylaxis​, if required. Schools take steps to reduce exposure to allergens to assist students at risk of anaphylaxis to be safe at school. The State Schools Nursing S​​ervice (SSNS)​ provides advice and assistance for schools to provide the health support students need.

Queensland Health services in schools

Queensland Health offers a number of services within Queensland state schools, including vision screening, oral health services and immunisation program.