With the start of the school year 2025/2026, Polish schools introduce a fresh subject – wellness education. This decision, although dictated by the request for a comprehensive approach to youth health, raises a number of controversy and puts parents and adult students ahead of an crucial choice. These classes, unlike most subjects, will be optional. This means that any student or his legal guardian must make an informed decision to participate. Importantly, the Ministry of National Education (MEN) has set a precise deadline for a possible resignation which expires 25 September. Missing this date will have concrete consequences for the organisation of school work and the anticipation of participating in classes.
What precisely will fresh wellness education include?
The wellness education programme was designed in a holistic way, covering a wide scope of key issues for the physical and intellectual wellness of young people. In primary schools (class IV-VIII), students will learn about various aspects of puberty, including changes in body shape, gynaecomastia, nightly hunts or menstruation, taking into account possible abnormalities. In secondary schools (licea, technology, professional first-degree schools), the thematic scope will be extended by the mechanisms of action of various methods of contraception, prevention of infections and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as places where free and anonymous tests can be performed. The curriculum besides assumes that students will learn definitions of concepts specified as abortion and abortion, as well as ethical, legal, wellness and psychosocial conditions for abortion. Additionally, the program includes topics of breast and testicular self-examination, transplantation, organ donation and blood donation, as well as principles of planning healthy meals based on different diets, utilizing reliable sources of information.
Who will lead the class and what is their dimension?
Health education classes will be taught by qualified teachers who have completed their master's or postgraduate studies in wellness education and have educational training. Teachers of biology, nature, physical education, household education, psychologists as well as people with medical education (doctors, nurses, paramedics) will besides have qualifications to teach this subject with appropriate pedagogical preparation. Importantly, classes can be conducted by a squad of 2 or more teachers. In primary schools, wellness education will be carried out 1 hr a week in grades IV to VIII (class VIII by the end of January). In secondary schools, this will be 2 hours combined throughout the full curriculum (e.g. in classes I and II or I and III). Classes are not graded and have no impact on promotion to another class or graduation.
Why is wellness education optional?
The decision on the optional nature of wellness education is the consequence of many social protests, including ecclesiastical protests. The Polish Episcopal Conference considered the fresh object to be unconstitutional, arguing that sexual education remains within the competence of parents, not of the state. Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka in an interview with RMF FM stressed that seeing the expanding tensions, she decided to defend the school from a "political disturbance". Thanks to this solution, parents and students are free to choose to minimize conflicts and let peaceful implementation of the subject, which is intended to supply young people with a reliable cognition of wellness and safe behaviour.
Important Date: How to effectively quit classes?
For parents and students who choose to resign from taking part in wellness education, it is crucial to meet the deadline. Written resignation must be submitted to the school head until 25 September. In the case of adult students, they themselves make specified a statement. MEN explains that this deadline is to improve the organisation of school work, including the planning of teaching posts. It is crucial that, following the resignation, it is not envisaged to retreat it during the school year. This means that the decision taken by 25 September is binding for the full school year 2025/2026. Before entering the course, the teacher and educator will hold information meetings with parents and students to supply full information on the objectives, content of the program and teaching materials used. The school head is liable for organising these meetings.
Organisational challenges for school heads
The introduction of wellness education, although optional, poses circumstantial organisational challenges for school heads. The Association of Polish Teachership (ZNP) signals difficulties in arranging a lesson plan. ZNP's press secretary, Magdalena Kashulanis, pointed out that while religion or ethics have a request to put them on the first or last lesson, for wellness education, specified detailed rules do not exist. This leads to a situation in which students who have resigned from classes may have a alleged “cover” in the mediate of the day, which is problematic for both them and the school's logistics. Directors note that these classes should besides be first or last to avoid interruptions. The final image of the scale of the problem and the number of students giving up the subject will only be known at the end of September, after the deadline for making statements.
Continued here:
Health education starts in September. By September 25th, you have time for a key decision!
