The Healthy Schools Programme:

Contributing to change in our schools

What is the Healthy Schools Programme?

The National Healthy Schools Programme is funded by the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health, with a regional and local support network. Every Local Education Authority in England has a healthy schools partnership with its Primary Care Trust(s), and this employs a local programme coordinator who works with schools to help them achieve Healthy School Status.

A Healthy School promotes the health and wellbeing of its pupils and staff through a well planned, taught curriculum experienced in a physical and emotional environment that promotes learning and healthy lifestyle choices. By promoting a whole school focus on health and encouraging children and young people to make informed choices, Healthy Schools can support a number of national priorities on health.

How does this contribute to the ‘Change for Children’ agenda?

Schools will increasingly play a part in contributing to delivering better health outcomes for children and young people, for example through achieving the Healthy School Status.

Achieving National Healthy School Status enables a school to demonstrate how it is contributing to improving children’s health and learning and to the delivery of the 5 national outcomes for children as described in Every Child Matters.

Involvement in the Programme can make a real contribution to the ‘being healthy’ and ‘staying safe’ outcomes in particular, as well as aspects of ‘enjoying and achieving’ and ‘making a positive contribution’. Working with other partners in Children’s Trusts, a Healthy School can address the issues its pupils face in the context of the local drive towards improving health outcomes.

Evidence from phase one of the National Healthy Schools Programme showed that the schools involved in the Programme were improving faster in terms of health behaviours than other schools.

What does it look like in Nottingham?

Many of our schools have been working towards achieving Healthy School Status, celebrating milestones of success through a variety of themes reflecting the priorities in Nottingham City Schools. At present, 83% of schools are participating in the Programme.

Previously, schools could achieve accreditation in any of 8 recognised themes, these have now been rationalised under just 4 National Priorities. These are; PSHE “(including Sex and Relationships Education and Drug Education), Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Emotional Health and Wellbeing. To achieve Healthy School Status schools need to evidence how they have met the standards in all for of the themes.

Who is involved?

The local Healthy Schools Programme is based on an equal partnership between the Education Department and the Primary Care Trust and is strategically directed by senior officers within each organisation.

How will this develop in the future?

By 2009, the Government wants to be supporting every school to be working towards being a Healthy School. It wants to see half of all schools becoming ‘Healthy Schools’ by 2006. From this year additional resources will be going to local programmes to support their work with schools.

A targeted recruitment process will ensure that schools which are not yet participating in the Programme are encouraged to do so and supported in achieving Healthy School Status.

For further information on the local programme visit the website www.nottinghamhealthyschools.org.uk

or contact

Chris Wallbanks, Healthy Schools Programme Manager

chris.wallbanks@collegest.org.uk | 0115 9476202

or

Karen Smith, Health and Citizenship Development Officer

karen.smith@collegest.org.uk | 0115 9476202

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