“An integral part of the children's education”: placing sun protection in Auckland primary schools

Links between ozone depletion, sun exposure and the incidence of melanoma in later life have focussed public health attention on risk management, including attempts to curtail children's exposure to sunlight. Schools are potentially valuable sites in sun protection efforts, as they may combine behavioural messages with protective environments. In this paper, we outline the sun-related attitudes and policies of a random sample of 20 Auckland primary schools, and situate them within the framework of the new public health. We observe that while the state requires schools to provide students with a safe environment, there is no explicit guidance on what this means in terms of sun protection. Accordingly, schools’ responses vary according to the perceptions and priorities of individual principals. We conclude that while school spaces are being transformed through the public health focus on the risks of UV exposure, the neoliberal educational landscape in New Zealand appears ambiguous in its support for health promotion.