The schools and public health white papers, November 2010
November 2010 saw the publication of The importance of teaching and Healthy lives, healthy people, the government white papers on schools and public health.
At Cornwall Healthy Schools we were interested in seeing how health and wellbeing in the school setting would be approached.
We were relieved to see that an important message in both documents is the recognition that schools will continue to have an important role to play in helping children to be happier, healthier and more ready to learn and meet their full potential.
We expect excellent health and pastoral support to continue to be a hallmark of good schools. Good schools understand well the connection between pupils' physical and mental health, their safety and their educational attainment. (Public health white paper, section 3.14).
The difference from previously is a shift from central guidance and direction to a more local agenda based on local health need and firmly centred on the school community.
The big news for us is that:
The Healthy Schools programme will continue to be developed... (3.15)
...which we have embraced with alacrity, believeing we can support schools more effectively by being given the freedom to create localised support.
There is an emphasis on the key areas we already cover: PSHE (although as yet no prospect of statutory PSHE), Emotional Health and Wellbeing, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
Good schools will be active promoters of health in childhood and adolescence, because healthy children with high self-esteem learn and behave better at school... (3.16)
There is also an emphasis on supporting families, for example through the Change4Life movement (which will be widened to include help for parents around other areas such as talking about mental wellbeing, alcohol and other areas of concern).
For some time now we have been working in anticipation of the changes, for example through the successful Healthy Schools Plus pilot, and in recognition that schools in Cornwall need, and are ready for, a more tailored and challenging Healthy Schools programme that will bring about lasting change.
A further example is our collaboration with the Christopher Winter Project and the support and training we deliver to enable schools to make informed decisions about effective ways to teach Sex and Relationships Education and Drugs and Alcohol Education. At the same time, we are supporting teachers to feel more skilled and confident to teach these subjects.
And we are also supporting schools to reach parents and carers, for example through Speakeasy (courses for parents around talking to their children about relationships and sex) and Family Fun Fit / Families in it Together, which aim to help families learn more about healthier lifestyles.
Partnership working is a key theme in helping schools to address pupil wellbeing and our partnership with Pyramid Kernow and RTime Cornwall to help schools introduce RTime has been terrifically successful, as has our work with the School Travel Plan Team and Anti-Bullying Cornwall.
Another important theme for government is reduction of the burden of bureaucracy that schools have suffered; one significant change is the removal of the SEF. Nevertheless, schools still need to show how they are offering ‘...excellent health and pastoral support...' (3.14).
In maintaining Healthy Schools as a way for schools to demonstrate their work on wellbeing, the government is putting much more emphasis both on reducing bureaucracy and on a more locally tailored programme. The national programme's website closed at the end of March 2011 and national Healthy Schools published a voluntary toolkit which is available on the DfE's website.
Responding locally
We are have created a local, simplified Annual Audit, reducing bureaucracy whilst at the same time making the process very school-specific but rigorous enough to maintain and enhance the value of holding Healthy School status.
We know that Healthy Schools Plus locally has proven to be effective and we are adapting the best elements of the pilot to work alongside the Annual Audit.
We want to move Healthy Schools in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly further towards providing tailored support to schools and groups of schools to help them meet key local health priorities.
We want to spend more of our time offering practical support to schools to identify need, develop appropriate evidence-based activities and to monitor and evaluate the outcomes. We see this as the way in which our work will be most supportive to schools in the future.
This work will be very specific to individual schools and groups of schools and we will take our lead from you and provide the support and guidance you need.
These are exciting times for pupil wellbeing and Healthy Schools. Since the Healthy Schools programme was trialled in Cornwall eleven years ago you have embraced it with passion and imagination and we look forward to going forward together with you into the future and helping you build on your terrific achievements to date.
If you want to know more about the changes do please contact us.
