Care and support

Healthy Schools in Hertfordshire

What do we mean by a “healthy school”?

A healthy school is one where children and young people feel healthy, happy and safe. A healthy school involves its children and young people, staff, parents/carers and governors in making the learning environment a vibrant and exciting place.

Parents/carers tell us they feel more involved in their child’s health and learning and often feel better themselves and schools tell us that the National Healthy Schools Programme has brought sustained improvement in behaviour, standards of work and school management.

What is the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP)?

The NHSP is a joint Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative which is making a significant difference to the health and achievement of children and young people. It is about creating healthy and happy children and young people who do better in learning and in life. The NHSP is recognised as a key delivery mechanism in the Children’s Plan (DCSF 2007), and in Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives (DH, 2008) and it is used by Local Authorities and PCT’s to evidence their ECM outcomes for children.

On a local level the Hertfordshire Healthy Schools Programme has been integrated into the Health and Well Being Team thus ensuring that the programme is aligned to support the priorities agreed in the Local Area Agreement. The key priorities which Healthy Schools can support are: reducing the year on year rise in childhood obesity, emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people, under 18 conception rates and travel to school.

What are the aims?

The aims of the NHSP are to deliver real benefits for children and young people through a whole school, whole child approach, specifically:

- to support children and young people in developing healthy behaviours
- to help reduce health inequalities.
- to help promote social inclusion.
- to help raise the achievement of children and young people.

What do schools have to do?

Schools are now self-validating when it comes to National Healthy Schools Status. Schools identify needs and necessary actions through completing an audit of the core themes:

- PSHE including sex and relationship education (SRE) and drug education
- healthy eating
- physical activity
- emotional health and wellbeing (including bullying).

Local programmes support schools as and when appropriate to their individual needs. Schools submit their self-validation form when they are sure they have met the criteria, they have their minimum evidence in place and have recorded their outcomes (qualitative and quantitative). The role of the Hertfordshire Healthy Schools Programme is largely two-fold: that of offering professional support and carrying out its work within the quality assurance framework.

What are the outcomes?

The NHSP ensures a range of outcomes in respect of improvement in health and reduced health inequalities: greater social inclusion; raised achievement of children and young people; and increased working between health promotion providers and education establishments. There are direct links between the criteria for National Healthy Schools Status and the five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes. Schools achieving NHSS can demonstrate how they are working towards the five ECM outcomes.

What are the benefits?

Healthy schools are making improvements at a rate faster than schools nationally in a number of ways, including the quality of PSHE, management of behaviour and support of children and young people.

Where can I find out more about Healthy Schools?

The links on this page will take you to further information about the Hertfordshire Healthy School Programme published on the Hertfordshire Grid for Learning website. There are also links to the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership and to the Every Child Matters website.

Visit the National Healthy Schools website by following the 'Wired for Health' link on the right of this page.