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A Whole-of-School Approach
School and community policy and regulatory environments impact 
both the health and learning of children and youth. The “healthy schools”
and “healthy communities” initiatives in various countries around the 

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
30
 
Educating the Student Body
world, following guidance from the World Health Organization, have 
placed major emphasis on attempting to create school and community envi-
ronments that support both physical and psychosocial health (Samdel and 
Rowling, 2013). In the United States, local “wellness policies” have been 
mandated for schools receiving U.S. Department of Agriculture support for 
food and nutrition programs. Recently, these policies have been strength-
ened, leading to potential new systems of accountability for how healthy 
the school environment is for both children and staff (Belansky et al., 2009; 
Schwartz et al., 2009).
Early in its deliberations, the committee defined a whole-of-school 
approach for physical activity and physical education. In this approach, 
each opportunity for physical activity that can be tied to school grounds 
and facilities can be considered together. As seen in Figure 1-5, such an 
approach can realistically be expected to provide nearly the full 60 minutes 
or more of recommended health-enhancing physical activity on school 
days. Figure 1-5 also reflects the description of programmatic and policy 
approaches in the committee’s conceptual framework (see Figure 1-4).
The committee recommends a whole-of-school approach to physical 
activity promotion. Under such an approach, all of a school’s components 
and resources operate in a coordinated and dynamic manner to provide 
access, encouragement, and programs that enable all students to engage 
in vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity 60 minutes or more 
each day. A whole-of-school approach encompasses all segments of the 
school day, including travel to and from school, school-sponsored before- 
and after-school activities, recess and lunchtime breaks, physical education, 
FIGURE 1-5
Comprehensive approach to school-wide physical activity promotion.
SOURCE: Beets, 2012. Reprinted with permission from Michael Beets.
Figure 1-5.eps
School Day
Physical
Education
Recess and
Breaks
Classroom
Before
School
After-School Time
After-School Programs
Intramural Sports
Extramural Sports
~6-7 hrs/d
Active Commute To
Active Commute From
~60 min/d
~2-3 hrs/d

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Introduction
 
31
and classroom instructional time. Beyond the resources devoted to quality 
daily physical education for all students, other school resources, such as 
classroom teachers, staff, administrators, and aspects of the physical envi-
ronment, are oriented toward physical activity. Intramural and extramural 
sports programs are available to all who wish to participate, active trans-
portation is used by substantial numbers of children to move from home 
to school and back again, recess and other types of breaks offer additional 
opportunities for physical activity, and lesson plans integrate physical activ-
ity as an experiential approach to instruction. 
A whole-of-school approach encompasses all people involved in the 
day-to-day functioning of the school, including students, faculty, staff, and 
parents. It creates an atmosphere in which physical activity is appreciated 
and encouraged by all these groups. School buildings, outdoor grounds and 
playgrounds, indoor and outdoor equipment, and streets and pathways 
leading to a school from the surrounding neighborhood encourage and 
enable all persons to be more physically active. Moreover, a school is part 
of a larger system that encompasses community partnerships to help these 
goals be realized.