Education goes far beyond academic learning. Learning how to look after our bodies, recognise potentially risky situations, develop healthy habits and understand the changes we experience as we grow are also important parts of a well-rounded education.
This academic year, the School Nursing Service at British School Alzira, Xàtiva & Gandia, in collaboration with the Psychopedagogical Department, is delivering a programme of health education workshops for students from Reception to Year 6.
The aim is to introduce each year group to age-appropriate topics related to health and self-care, helping students develop knowledge and practical tools that they can apply both at school and beyond. Health promotion and education are among the key functions of the School Nursing Service across the British School Alzira, Xàtiva & Gandia group.
Health Education from the Early Years
Habits related to hygiene, nutrition, physical activity, rest and wellbeing begin to develop during childhood. Health education helps children gradually understand the importance of these routines and become increasingly independent in looking after themselves.
As they grow, students also need to learn how to recognise situations that may affect their safety and wellbeing and understand simple strategies for preventing them.
For this reason, the workshops follow a progressive approach, with different topics for each year group according to students’ needs and stage of development.
What Will Each Year Group Explore?
Reception: Clean Hands and Healthy Smiles
Our Reception students will explore two important aspects of personal care:
- Clean Hands: learning why good hand hygiene is important and when it is particularly important to wash our hands.
- Healthy Smiles: discovering how to look after their teeth and why good oral hygiene habits are important from an early age.
Developing good hygiene habits early in childhood helps these routines gradually become a natural part of everyday life. The Spanish Ministry of Health also highlights the importance of teaching children good dental hygiene from an early age and adapting care to their stage of development.
Year 1: Calling for Help and Understanding Our Bodies
In Year 1, the workshops will focus on two essential areas:
- Calling 112: learning what to do and how to ask for help in an emergency.
- The Human Body: developing a better understanding of their bodies and some of their main features and functions.
The aim is to help students become more confident in everyday situations and understand that knowing when and how to ask for help is also an important part of looking after themselves.
Year 2: Looking After Our Smiles and Personal Wellbeing
Our Year 2 students will continue developing their self-care skills through:
- Bright Smiles: reinforcing their knowledge of dental hygiene and oral health.
- Hygiene and Self-Care: learning about the importance of maintaining good personal hygiene routines.
Oral health is an important part of children's overall health, and many common problems can be prevented through appropriate hygiene and healthy lifestyle habits.
Year 3: Hygiene and Accident Prevention
In Year 3, the programme combines personal care with prevention:
- Hygiene and Self-Care: consolidating habits related to personal hygiene and looking after themselves.
- Accident Prevention: learning to identify potentially risky situations and understand how to reduce the likelihood of accidents.
Learning about prevention helps children gradually become more aware of their surroundings and learn how to act more safely in everyday situations.
Year 4: Healthy Habits and Ergonomics
In Year 4, the workshops will focus on two areas closely linked to everyday wellbeing:
- Healthy Habits: exploring the importance of balanced routines involving nutrition, physical activity, rest and other healthy lifestyle habits.
- Ergonomics: learning about the importance of appropriate posture and habits during everyday activities, particularly when studying and using digital devices.
Promoting healthy habits during childhood is an important way of supporting healthy development. The World Health Organization highlights the benefits of physical activity, alongside other healthy lifestyle habits, for children's and adolescents' physical and mental health.
Year 5: Developing Healthy Relationships with Technology and Others
In Year 5, the content is adapted to a stage in which students begin to face new personal and social challenges:
- Screen Addiction: reflecting on the use of digital devices and the importance of developing balanced and healthy digital habits.
- Relationships and Sex Education: exploring age-appropriate aspects of understanding ourselves, interpersonal relationships, respect, and looking after our own bodies and those of others.
Children and young people's relationship with digital environments is increasingly relevant to their wellbeing. The WHO highlights that technology can provide benefits, while also presenting potential risks to health and development when its use is not balanced.
Year 6: Relaxation and Puberty Changes
For Year 6, the workshops support students during a stage involving significant physical and emotional changes:
- Relaxation: learning simple strategies and techniques that can help them manage moments of tension and support their wellbeing.
- Puberty Changes: learning about the main physical and emotional changes associated with puberty and understanding that they are a natural part of growing up.
Puberty and adolescence involve significant physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes. Providing age-appropriate information helps young people understand these changes and develop the knowledge and skills they need to look after their health and wellbeing.
Education That Also Teaches Us to Look After Ourselves
From learning how to wash our hands properly to understanding the changes associated with puberty, the content of these workshops develops alongside our students.
The programme brings together hygiene, prevention, oral health, first aid, healthy habits, ergonomics, emotional wellbeing, relationships and sex education, and digital wellbeing, creating a progressive health education journey from Reception to Year 6.
In this way, students are not simply learning information about health. They are developing knowledge and practical tools that can help them make increasingly informed and responsible choices about their own wellbeing.
Because education also means helping our students understand themselves, look after themselves and grow in a healthy way.
At British School Alzira, Xàtiva & Gandia, we continue to make health and wellbeing an important part of a well-rounded educational experience, supporting every student throughout the different stages of their development.
