Understanding the contribution of the whole-school staff to health education (HE) is an important goal in HE research. This study aimed to identify the views of staff (principals; teachers; school nurses and doctors; counsellors and administrative, maintenance, canteen and cleaning staff) regarding the nature of their contribution to HE. The research is based on 207 semi-structured interviews of staff in a sample of five French middle schools (grade 6-9). Content analysis was performed using Bardin's method. The results showed that staff members have different views of their role, three main roles were identified: (i) as an educator in everyday life issues (72%); (ii) individual support, listening (14%) and (iii) taking part in collective projects and facilitation (14%). Professional status has a significant influence on the view they have of their contribution to HE. These results show that in order to facilitate consistent implementation of HE, schools need to be supported to build HE policy (need analysis, definition of priorities and partnerships) and also to develop the means by which an inclusive and real sharing of common culture among all staff can happen; this is not limited to teaching staff but includes non-teaching staff also.

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This article will discuss the findings of a single explanatory case study on the model of whole school guidance counselling in the Irish secondary school system which was carried out during a turbulent period of policy and practice changes in the delivery of guidance counselling services to students from 2012 onwards (Simons 1980;Yin 2014). Although the case study is positioned within a single voluntary school the findings may be typical of similar secondary schools settings in Ireland and abroad. Particular focus is given to explicating the key findings of the case study through the specific themes of; conceptions of whole school guidance counselling, the Irish integrated model of guidance counselling, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, and the effect of resource re-allocations by policy makers funding guidance school services.

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Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) was introduced in Irish schools in 1995 to address pressures on young people specific to relationships and sexuality. RSE is part of a whole school health promotion project. Emphasis is put on personal and social development of students, cross-curricular dimensions, school ethos, school climate and partnership with families and community. However, RSE has become the preserve of female teachers with fewer male teachers attending in-service. This research explored the attitudes, beliefs and needs of male post-primary teachers with regard to RSE in their school. A qualitative design was employed utilizing focus groups. A total of 25 male post-primary teachers took part in five focus groups. Two of the groups consisted of men who had participated in RSE training; the other three groups were with men who had not. The analysis of the data suggested that there was reluctance on the part of male teachers to teach RSE, and that they feel under threat about their personal and professional identity. They felt under threat both from internal personal forces, in the form of mental models assimilated through personal history and upbringing, and from external organisational forces, communicated through the local school and wider social culture. The data indicate the need for professional development and support that is tailored specifically for male teachers. In order to support male teachers to become more involved in school health promotion and in the teaching of health curricula, pre-service education needs to prioritize key issues such as gender roles and identity.