NHS Devon

Quality, Effectiveness, Openness, Improvement, Respect

Devon children get award winning healthcare at their school

St-Leonards

Children at almost 200 schools in Devon are benefiting from a unique programme to improve their health and wellbeing.

As part of the Healthy Schools Plus programme, teachers have been given the opportunity to target which areas of health education best meets the needs of children and their families at their particular school.

Based on their own research, schools chose to focus their efforts on one of four key areas of health: preventing teenage pregnancy, tackling drug and alcohol misuse, maintaining a healthy weight and promoting physical activity, or improving emotional health and wellbeing.

Over the last two years NHS Devon gave each school £2,000 to run a creative health initiative based on one of those four areas. Schools eligible for the funding were selected according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI).

In total 187 schools in Devon participated in the programme and today NHS Devon held a special celebration event for those schools whose work was identified as ‘outstanding’. They all received certificates in recognition of their achievement.

Bickleigh-on-Exe

Dr Virginia Pearson, NHS Devon’s director of public health, congratulated the schools on their success.

“We want to ensure children across Devon get the best possible healthcare to meet their needs so I congratulate all the schools that took part in this programme.

“Any initiative which supports the physical and emotional wellbeing of young people and tackles health inequalities should be applauded and the improvements will not only have an enormous benefit to the child but also to the whole school community.

“This programme has given schools the chance to be creative in their choice of health interventions and we have had positive feedback from this, from parents and teachers alike.

“Schools will now build on the experience and good practice they gained during the programme so they can continue to improve the health of their children.”

Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, said: “Our healthy schools initiative has achieved incredible success, not only in addressing more immediate health-related risks but also in providing a life-long understanding of the benefits of healthy eating, exercise and emotional wellbeing.

“It is well documented that areas where incomes are lower are more prone to health problems and a lower mortality rate, and targeting communities in these areas should lead to greater health equality across the county.”

Quotes from schools:

Jill Mahon, head teacher at Dartington Church of England Primary School, said:

“One of the biggest challenges we have faced has been helping our whole school community to recognise the importance of social and emotional learning during traditional 'break' and 'playtimes', which we have renamed as Out’N’About.

“We are particularly proud of the role that pupils have taken in this as ‘play leaders’ and ‘good neighbours’.

“Our main project as part of the Healthy Schools Plus programme was to work more closely with parents and carers alongside their children to raise attendance – this was particularly effective.

“Not only did a high proportion of these parents go on to complete an adult learning GCSE Maths course, but attendance was also higher for all pupils.”

Ali Hirst, head teacher at Princetown Primary School on Dartmoor, said:

“The Healthy School Plus programme has had a significant impact on the children’s enthusiasm to eat fresh food.

“We have raised the profile of healthy eating and it is really rewarding to see how enthusiastic the children are at lunch time to show all the healthy options they have in their lunches.

“I am especially proud of the number of pupils who had previously never had fresh food as part of their lunch and now come up to me each day and show me that they have an apple or kiwi fruit or some grapes.

“The healthy eating stickers and trophy award has been a real success.

“We have also encouraged parents to get more involved in the school and this is having a very positive impact on children’s learning.

“Attendance at our parent’s evenings is much better and we now discuss their child’s progress and achievements with them on a regular basis.”

Sue Taylor, a teacher at Teignmouth Community School, said:

“We have worked closely with parents and our local school meals service and pupils are now benefiting from an improved menu for their school dinners.

“Our children have told us that they love the new menu and are enjoying their meals more – even our kitchen staff have said the amount of waste food we send to landfill is much less so pupils are eating more of their meals.

“The wide variety of tasting and cooking sessions we are running has encouraged pupils to take the plunge to try new and healthier food.

“More pupils are now bringing healthier snacks for break time and have a more balanced range of food in their packed lunches.”

Eleanor Loveday, a teacher at Manor Primary School in Ivybridge, said:

“We are thrilled to have won this award as it reflects the determination and commitment of our school community towards achieving a happy and healthy lifestyle.

“Almost nine in ten of our pupils are now bringing in a healthy packed lunch that contains a good balance of healthy foods, including two or more pieces of fruit and vegetables.

“Also, all of our children are now taking part in sport outside of lessons and it is wonderful to see those children who would not normally get involved being eager participants.

“Just the other day one of our year six girls told me ‘I wish I knew I was so good at running, I thought they were all better than me and it was me who was the best!’”

Sharon James, a teacher at Ellen Tinkham School in Exeter, said:

“As part of the Healthy Schools Plus programme we have set up a successful sibling group.

“It is now so popular that we've had to start running two separate groups, one for the younger children and one for the older ones.

“We are particularly proud that none of the siblings who have joined the group have dropped out – they all love coming and they and their parents really value the work we are doing.”

Jan Sampson, a teacher at Tiverton High School, said:

“The Healthy Schools Plus initiative has helped us to extend emotional health and wellbeing support and provision to all pupils at our school.

“Previously we mainly focussed on the more vulnerable pupils but we are now able to help all children who transfer to Tiverton High School.”

A new year seven pupil at Tiverton High School said:

“I was concerned that I might get lost because it is a big school and I was also worried about so many bigger people.

“My teacher at my primary school realised I needed some support and it was arranged for me to come and visit the school lots of times.

“Since I transferred in September I have no worries, I know my way around and can find what I need to find.”

Ingrid Edginton, a teacher at Axminster Primary School, said:

“As part of the Healthy Schools Plus initiative we have set up a programme to educate our pupils on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

“Children in our target group say they now have a greater understanding of consequences of drug and alcohol misuse and know what is meant by peer pressure.”

Annie Cook, a teacher at Ilfracombe Junior School, said:

“We are very pleased with our Thrive initiative, which has proved very successful in supporting the emotional wellbeing of our children.

“Recently, Ofsted inspectors said our school has a caring and supportive atmosphere.

“Our children have said how much they are enjoying the wide range of activities on offer at lunchtime. As well as a variety of sports, pupils can also choose to go to the library or computer room, help in the school vegetable garden, ride on scooters or simply chill out in the Thrive room.”

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