‘HealthStart’ School
Health Training Guide

The project

We designed a sexual health text book for Kenyan schools. The guide improved access to health information by providing training and refresher training for School Health Committees on the National Policy, focusing on key messages prioritised by the Government of Kenya. 

The guide is a training resource for school health teachers and School Health Club peer education sessions. Content covered the subjects highlighted in the National Policy with a focus on sexual health and relationships. The Guide explained the importance of the School Health Clubs, the roles and responsibilities of the different positions and leadership. It encouraged active participation and facilitated pupils in running their own teaching sessions - providing learning outcomes, content and participatory exercises. 

The challenge

Child.org provided the text book content, produce a comprehensive textbook which would accessible for teachers to navigate quickly to identify the content they needed. This was also the first time Child.org had ever actually had to design something for children to use and read, so it was important for me to establish a style that was accessible, engaging and educational. I did this by providing a few design directions inspired by local african culture so it used relevant to the culture where the lessons were being delivered.

The main challenge was that we were working to a tight deadline before all of the content was produced. We addressed this by creating a visual style for the document that would work for different content types that would be contained within the report. To ensure we covered the new content, I styled all of the elements that we anticipated would appear in the report.

During the report production, multiple authors were working on the at an early stage. We had to be super organised to avoid mixing up content types on a large document and presenting the content in a style that was not intended.

Sam really helped us out - he stepped in to work on a large design project with a tight budget and even tighter deadline. I’d definitely recommend Sam, he was diligent, responsive to feedback and really easy to work with. - Ellie Dawes, Child.org

The impact

HealthStart improved access to health information by providing training and refresher training for School Health Committees on the National Policy, focusing on key messages prioritised by the Government of Kenya. 

The HealthStart guide has been distributed to 25 Kenyan schools, equipping students and teachers with a structured, engaging resource for delivering sexual health education. By supporting School Health Clubs, the guide has empowered pupils to take an active role in improving school health, fostering leadership, and encouraging peer-led learning on crucial topics like hygiene, nutrition, and disease prevention. Designed to be accessible and culturally relevant, the guide is now a key tool in helping schools sustain long-term improvements in student well-being.

The designs

HealthStart improved access to health information by providing training and refresher training for School Health Committees on the National Policy, focusing on key messages prioritised by the Government of Kenya.