White papers secure the future of Healthy Schools
4 Dec 2010
Two white papers, on schools and public health, recently published by the coalition government sound a positive note for the place of pupils' health and wellbeing in schools (and confirm that there is a future for Healthy Schools... phew!).
“We expect excellent health and pastoral support to continue to be a hallmark of good schools… good schools understand well the connections between pupils’ physical and mental health, their safety and their educational attainment… good schools will be active promoters of health in childhood and adolescence…” (Healthy Lives, Healthy People p34)The main messages include:
- the recognition that wellbeing and achievement go hand in hand and schools have an important role to play in supporting pupils' physical and emotional wellbeing and helping families
- how a local approach, addressing the needs of schools and local communities with good local support, should replace the recent centralised approach with national direction (this goes for both the education and public health strands)
- that bureaucracy on schools needs to be reduced e.g. by removal of the SEF.
We are delighted that wellbeing gets such a high priority, that the government recognises the link between wellbeing and achievement and that they acknowledge all that schools have achieved for pupils in this area in recent years.
We know from working with you that you are completely in tune with links between happier, healthier children doing better in school and that you have done some tremendous work with pupils.
For more about the two white papers (including the documents themselves) and how Healthy Schools will be going forward click here.
