SUBMISSION FROM THE EAST SHIRE COUNCIL TO THE: VICTORIAN PARLIAMENTRY INQUIRY INTO THE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCHOOLS TO BECOME A FOCUS FOR PROMOTING HEALTHY COMMUNITY LIVING

1. Background

East Gippsland Shire is located in south-east with a population of approximately 41,000 people. It is the second largest Shire in Victoria, covering 21,000 square kilometres. The Shire features beautiful coastal scenery, extensive lakes and river systems, rugged high country, and national parks and forests renowned for their biological diversity, landscapes and recreational opportunities. A large section of the eastern coast is now known as Australia’s Coastal Wilderness which, together with the , has been recognised as two of only eight National Landscapes by Tourism Australia.

East Gippsland is characterised by diverse and dispersed communities, with over 40 identifiable townships and localities, often separated by large tracts of public land or farmland. Each township or community has its own distinctive heritage, as well as its own tourist attractions and economic focus.

There are 7 secondary colleges and 29 primary schools in the East Gippsland municipal area (see Appendix 1).

2. Introduction

The East Gippsland Community Vision 20301 states that “Health and community services will be flexible and provided through innovative delivery at the local level to meet the needs of all East Gippsland residents. This will be particularly important for children, older people, the infirm or people with special needs, but will recognise the need of the whole community to be well if communities are to be sustainable. “(p. 4)

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As the organisation with legislated responsibility for the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, and in line with the East Gippsland Community Vision 2030, Council wishes to support the opportunities for schools to provide increased involvement in developing greater health outcomes within the community of East Gippsland.

In particular we would support the following. • Implementation of a State wide study into family, organisation and community involvement in schools through a School Health Policies and Programs Study

(SHPPS).2

• Development of a Coordinated School Health Program (CHSP)3 which provides for an opportunity for increased integration of health promotion and education through involvement with families, organisations and communities.

3. East Gippsland Community Health Profile- Key Indicators 4

Top 5 Causes Of Death:

• Malignant cancers • Cardiovascular diseases • Chronic respiratory diseases • Unintentional injuries • Neurological & sense disorders

Top 5 Causes Of Disability:

• Neurological & sense disorders • Mental disorder • Malignant cancers • Chronic respiratory diseases • Cardiovascular diseases

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• GP’s per 1,000 pop: 1.10 (1.06 Vic)

• Hospital inpatient separations per 1,000 pop: 486.7 (413.9 Vic)

• Average length of stay (inpatient): 7.6 (8.4 Vic)

• Emergency Department presentations per 1,000 pop: 370.5 (252.4 Vic)

• Registered mental health contacts per 1,000 pop: 15.9 (11.2 Vic)

• High care places per 1,000 target pop: 42.0 (41.1 Vic)

• Low care places per 1,000 target pop: 39.6 (47.3 Vic)

• Residents of the Gippsland DHS region have the highest rates of Disability Adjusted Life Years lost due to all causes.

• Average life expectancy also varies within the Gippsland region with the lowest life expectancy experienced by residents of Latrobe LGA followed by East Gippsland LGA.

• Residents of the Gippsland DHS region have the highest rates of Years of Life lost due to all causes. The rates for Gippsland males and females are significantly higher than for Victoria.

• Percentage of overweight and/or obese adults (18 years+) for East Gippsland is 54.63% ( 49.03% Vic)

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4. Opportunities for Schools to become a focus for promoting healthy community living

There have been a number of initiatives taken by schools within East Gippsland to engage with services, organisations and individuals to increase the opportunities for students to gain a greater understanding of health issues and the development of healthy life choices. Health promotion expos and information sessions on positive body image, substance abuse, sexual health and road safety have all improved opportunities for young people to make better choices, highlighting the issues and providing information and guidance. The opportunities for schools to take on a proactive community health education role have not been part of the structure of school participation in community life, although there are many examples of informal participation. The Community School Health Program (CHSP) developed in the United States, and discussed by Benham Deal and Hodges (2009)5, approaches schools and districts as “communities that can organise around health assets and needs”. It is a structure which brings together education, health, service professionals and community members to work collectively, strengthen connections and increase community competence in confronting health problems. It builds upon the existing relationships beyond school boundaries and provides a collaborative opportunity for all stakeholders to create synchronised approaches to health and wellbeing issues. The CSHP holistic, community encompassing approach, provides a means to both assess and improve the health outcomes within the school environment and outside to the greater community. Schools can provide a forum for a variety of health-related, educational, political, and recreational opportunities for community members, including community meetings, adult education, candidate nights, theatrical productions, health screenings, and physical fitness classes (North Central Regional Education Laboratory, 2001)6.

5. Conclusion

Literature on health education suggests various ways of implementing models for health education and health promotion, however, more recently the approach is based on collaboration, integration, cooperation and on empowering communities to identify their needs.

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Schools have the opportunity to assist their communities through collaborative sharing of resources and expertise. The use of a study to ascertain the level of involvement across a range of school health policies and programs would inform the development of inclusive Community School Health Programs (CSHP) which would engage schools with a range of local stakeholders in order to establish key health outcomes for schools and their communities. Implementing appropriate school/community health programs as described will assist communities to develop healthy lifestyle choices which are place based, locally relevant and can be evaluated against key health indicators.

East Gippsland has a number of health outcomes which fall short of the State averages (see above) and the implementation of greater school involvement in broader, collaborative health promotion will contribute to addressing those issues.

References 1. East Gippsland Community Vision 2030 available at http://www.egipps.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=1401&h=1

2. Michael S., Dittus P. & Epstein J.(2007) Family and Community Involvement in Schools: Results From the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006,Journal of School Health, Vol. 77, No. 8, pp 567-587

3. Benham-Deal T. and Hodges B. (2009) Role of 21st Century Schools in Promoting Health Literacy; National Education Association Health Information Network available at http://www.neahin.org/healthliteracy/reports.html

4. Department of Human Services (2008) Planning for a Healthier Gippsland-Key Planning Indicators; available at http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/operations/regional/gippsland/regional-initiatives/gippsland- health-online

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5. Benham-Deal T. and Hodges B. (2009) (ibid)

6. North Central Regional Education Laboratory (1997) Critical Issue: Establishing Collaboratives and Partnerships; available at http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadrshp/le300.htm

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Appendix 1. Schools in the East Gippsland Network

1. Primary School 2. Bairnsdale Secondary College Bairnsdale Secondary College – Junior Campus Bairnsdale Secondary College – Senior Campus 3. Bairnsdale West Primary School 4. Bruthen Primary School 5. Buchan Primary School 6. P-12 College 7. Clifton Creek Primary School 8. Eagle Point Primary School 9. East Gippsland Specialist School 10. Goongerah P-8 school 11. Lakes Entrance Primary School 12. Lakes Entrance Secondary College 13. Lindenow Primary School 14. Lindenow South Primary School 15. Lucknow Primary School 16. Mallacoota P-12 College 17. Marlo Primary School 18. Meerlieu Primary School 19. Primary School 20. Newmerella Primary School 21. Nicholson Primary School 22. Noorinbee Primary School - Annexe 23. Nowa Nowa Primary School 24. Nungurner Primary School 25. Primary School 26. North Primary School 27. Orbost Primary School

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28. Orbost Secondary College 29. Paynesville Primary School 30. Swan Reach Primary School 31. Primary School 32. Swifts Creek Secondary College 33. Tambo Upper Primary School 34. Toorloo Arm Primary School 35. Tubbut Primary School 36. Woodglen Primary School - Annexe

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