For several years, Santé publique France has been developing a program focused on psychosocial skills. Since 2022, it has been contributing its expertise to the national psychosocial skills (PSS) strategy by promoting the implementation of high-quality, evidence-based PSS practices in all settings where children and young people spend their time (school, after-school, and extracurricular).

What are the objectives of the program to support the national CPS strategy?

The CPS program of Santé publique France aims to:

• build a shared culture around CPS based on the latest scientific knowledge and best experiential practices;

• promote effective, evidence-based CPS interventions.

What actions are being taken?

The CPS program of Santé publique France involves the production of expert and communication materials intended for professionals and the general public (adults in educational roles, youth, children; school, after-school, and extracurricular settings; the education, social, and medical-social sectors) and the implementation of mechanisms to facilitate their adoption. To this end, it relies in particular on a Thematic Support Committee (CAT-CPS). Our work is structured across several levels aligned with the priorities of the CPS ministerial directive.

Supporting professionals through a strategy for transferring scientific and experiential knowledge

The transfer of knowledge and expertise to guide and support professionals includes, in particular:

• the production of CPS reference materials in 2022, 2025, and 2026, presented in accessible formats (training kits, booklets, videos);

• seminars on the transfer of knowledge and expertise regarding CPS;

• support for training in ministerial sectors;

• an online program to strengthen one’s own CPS

Guidelines and seminars on knowledge and expertise transfer

Santé publique France supports education professionals and CPS experts through guidelines published in 2022, 2025, and 2026, accompanied by operational fact sheets, a booklet, and, eventually, videos. Regular seminars (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) complement this support. The two-volume operational guideline (Volume 1 in 2025 and Volume 2 in 2026) and its associated materials (training kit, CPS fact sheets, booklet, etc.) detail each psychosocial skill in concrete terms to facilitate its understanding and implementation among young people.

These guidelines and seminars (including replays and presentations) are primarily intended for CPS experts and trainers in various government sectors (National Education, agricultural high schools, community education and civic engagement, vocational integration, juvenile justice, sports, etc.) and can also help any interested professional deepen their understanding of each CPS.

Learn more:

• Operational Guide for CPS Experts and Trainers, Volume 1 - 2025

• Operational Reference Guide for CPS Experts and Trainers. Volume II - 2026

• Reference Guide for Implementation with Children and Youth:

  • State of scientific and theoretical knowledge | 2022 Guide

  • Summary of the state of scientific and theoretical knowledge

• Seminar on the transfer of expertise regarding the psychosocial skills of children and youth, February 3 and 4, 2026

• Webinars "Transfer of Expertise on PSCs - Children and Youth" on December 16, 2025, and December 18, 2025

• Seminar on the transfer of expertise on psychosocial skills in children and youth, February 3–5, 2025

• National Strategy to Strengthen Psychosocial Skills (PSS) | Santé publique France Meetings 2023

• Seminar on "Developing Psychosocial Skills in Children and Youth: A Framework to Support National Implementation," December 14 and 15, 2021

Training and Intervention Tools

Based on Santé publique France’s frameworks, these tools are designed for trainers and practitioners.

• A PSK training kit consisting of PSK fact sheets for practitioners and a booklet for stakeholders that presents key information and examples of activities tailored to different age groups (children, youth, adults in educational settings), along with a self-assessment grid for one’s own PSK and a self-assessment grid for the quality of PSK interventions.

• An educational kit for empathy sessions in schools, co-developed with the French Ministry of Education and made available to teachers to support the widespread implementation of empathy classes in preschool and elementary schools starting with the 2024 school year.

An online program to strengthen one’s own CPS

With the aim of giving as many young people (ages 16–25) and adults in educational roles as possible the opportunity to strengthen their own social and emotional skills (SES), Santé publique France is working with research teams to make available, free of charge, a program for developing CPS featuring a series of self-guided sessions. For each skill, the program includes explicit instructional content delivered through various media (video, audio, motion design, animation) and psychoeducational activities.

Other contributions from Santé publique France

The Registry of Effective or Promising Interventions in Health Promotion and Prevention

The purpose of this Registry is to identify and present in detail effective/promising interventions in health promotion and prevention, as well as the “evidence” and scientific process that have supported the effectiveness of an intervention in real-world settings. The PPS registry is intended to make available all the tools essential for the implementation of international or French programs whose effectiveness has been demonstrated. Among the actions implemented, some of them concern CPS.

The Portal for Capitalizing on Health Promotion Experiences (CAPS)

Santé publique France has also contributed to efforts to document CPS programs, following the CAPS approach. This approach to documenting experiences in health promotion, led since 2017 by a National Working Group on Knowledge Translation, is coordinated by the French Society of Public Health (SFSP) and the Health Promotion Federation.