The incidence of skin cancer has undeniably increased in recent years even though the skin can be readily assessed and protected if an individual has the knowledge and motivation to do so. Educational interventions, particularly those to avoid sunburn in childhood and adolescence, are a major weapon in the fight against the increase in of this type of cancer. Health education campaigns, such as SunSmart School, implemented in more than 90% of primary schools in Australia, have achieved appropriate sun protection measures in children even beyond the school environment. In Spain, the Solsano (a play on the Spanish words sol [sun] and saludable [healthy]) program has been shown useful for modifying sun exposure habits in Andalusia, but we still have high rates of sunburn in childhood and sun protection measures are still not applied in the majority of schools. A system was therefore necessary to encourage sun protection measures and provide schools with clear, motivating, objective, and assessable policies, tools, and educational approaches to achieve this end.

The authors of this article, with a broad experience in sun protection campaigns, report the design and implementation of the Soludable sun protection accreditation program, a pioneering model in Spain to enable schools to actively pursue sun protection policies with the involvement of the entire educational community.1 The recommendations are based on the policies of the aforementioned SunSmart School, and are consistent with the programs of healthy living habits of the Education Department of the Andalusian regional government and with the European health promotion guidelines, focused on creating environments that facilitate healthier lifestyles.