LenhamPrimary School

Healthy Schools Policy

February 2013

Healthy Schools Policy

Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Lenham Primary School – Our Vision and Our Aims
  3. The National Healthy Schools Programme
  4. The Core Themes
  5. The Whole School Approach
  6. Monitoring and Review
  1. Introduction

A healthy school is one that is successful in helping pupils to do their best and build on their achievements. It is committed to ongoing improvement and development. It promotes physical and emotional health by providing accessible and relevant information and equipping pupils with the skills and the attitudes to make informed decisions about their health. A healthy school understands the importance of investing in health to assist in the process of raising levels of pupil achievement and improving standards. It also recognises the need to provide both physical and social environment that is conducive to learning

  1. Lenham Primary School -Our Vision and our aims

We want all children and young people to be healthy and achieve at school and in life. We believe that by providing opportunities at school for enhancing emotional and physical health, we will improve long-term health, reduce health inequalities, increase social inclusion and raise achievement for all.

Our aim is:

  • To deliver real benefits for children and young people, specifically:
  • To support children and young people in developing healthy behaviours and lifestyles
  • To help raise the achievement of children and young people
  • To help reduce health inequalities
  • To help promote social inclusion.

Lenham Primary School has completed the accreditation process for the Healthy Schools programme and has gained Healthy School status.

  1. The National Healthy Schools Programme

The National Healthy Schools Programme ensures a range of outcomes in respect of improvement in health and reduced health inequalities; raised pupil achievement; greater social inclusion and increased working between health promotion providers and education establishments.

“A healthy lifestyle will help you perform better in school and life”

  • “A healthy school is an inclusive and successful school”
  • “A healthy school has more effective liaison with parents and carers”
  • “Children and young people in healthy schools report a range of positive behaviours such as diminished fear of bullying and a reduced likelihood of using illegal drugs”
  • “A healthy school has more effective liaison between home and school, and school and external support agencies”
  • “Healthy schools are making improvements at a rate faster than schools nationally, in a number of ways, including quality of personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme, management of behaviour and support of children and young people”.

Lenham Primary school is committed to the principles behind the programme and promotes the four areas within the initiative to everyday life in school.

  1. The Core Themes

The four core themes are:

  • Personal Social and Health education (PSHE) including SRE and drugs education
  • Healthy eating
  • Physical activity
  • Emotional health and well-being, including bullying.

The themes relate to both school curriculum and the emotional and physical learning environment in school. Each theme includes a number of criteria that the school needed in order to achieve national Healthy School status. Although each theme covers a different area, they are all delivered using a whole school approach so the basic requirements are the same.

  1. The Whole School Approach

Central to the National Healthy Schools Programme is the whole school approach. Achieving National Healthy School Status recognises that being healthy is not just about children and young people, it is about the whole school community. And it’s not just what happens in the curriculum, it’s about the entire school day.

There are 10 elements to the whole school approach:

  • Leadership, management and managing change
  • Policy development
  • Curriculum planning and work with outside agencies
  • Teaching and learning
  • School culture and environment
  • Giving children and young people a voice
  • Provision of pupil support services
  • Staff professional development needs, health and welfare
  • Partnerships with parents/carers and local communities
  • Assessing recording and reporting children and young peoples’ achievement.
  1. Monitoring and Review

The Healthy School policy links in with the following policies:

  • Sex and Relationship Policy
  • Anti-bullying Policy
  • Healthy Food
  • Community Cohesion
  • Equality and inclusion Policy.

Throughout the year the school undertakes reviews which not only include teaching and learning but the emotional well-being of pupils.

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