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Healthy Schools London
Sutton SSP facilitate the Healthy Schools London programme for the London Borough of Sutton, working with schools to improve the health and wellbeing of every young person. Sponsored by the Mayor of London this programme is much more than achieving an award.
Why is it important?
Benefits for schools
Taking part in Healthy Schools London (HSL), and working successfully through the tiered awards, will enable schools to directly support the health and wellbeing of their pupils and staff.
An evaluation of the national programme on which HSL is based showed the following tangible outcomes:
- Increased amount of opportunities that children and young people have to be physically active in and out of schools
- Increased participation of children and young people in physical activity in and out of school
- Improved links between schools and communities that promote physical activity
- Increased school meal uptake including free school meals
- Improved children and young people’s access to healthy packed lunches and snacks throughout the school day.
- The benefits go beyond health. Participating schools have also reported reduced incidence of bullying, improved behaviour and improved attendance. Headteachers have also said that they found the Healthy Schools London Programme helpful as a general school improvement tool.
Get an Award
How can schools apply for an Award?
The first step for a school in applying for an award, is to
REGISTER ON THE HEALTHY SCHOOLS LONDON WEBSITE
You can then apply for an Award. The website RESOURCES SECTION also features review tools, and a range of support to help review your current practice, and to plan and deliver next steps.
There are three levels of Healthy Schools London award: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The tiered structure of the award is designed to help schools to progressively build on their policies and practice over a period of time.
A revised Guide for applying for Silver and Gold is now available here: Guide to Achieving Healthy Schools London Silver and Gold Awards
HOW CAN I ACHIEVE BRONZE
To achieve a Bronze award, a school will need to review its practice in promoting health and wellbeing by completing the Healthy Schools London Review Tool (see below). This must be renewed every 3 years to ensure that policies and practice is current.
The Review Tool is organised under seven headings:
- Leadership, management and managing change
- Policy development
- Learning and teaching, curriculum planning and resourcing
- School ethos, culture, environment and SMSC development
- Provision of support services for children and young people
- Staff continuing professional development (CPD), health and wellbeing
- Partnerships with parents/carers, local communities, external agencies and volunteers to support pupil health and wellbeing
DOWNLOAD THE BRONZE AWARD REVIEW TOOL HERE
For examples of evidence which can be used in the Bronze Award please refer to the HSL Bronze Review Tool Appendices
HOW CAN I ACHIEVE SILVER?
Your school must already have a current HSL Bronze award. The school should then use the HSL Silver Award Planning Template available below to do the following:
1. Identify an area of health and wellbeing which could improve with appropriate actions/interventions.
2. Undertake a needs analysis that identifies actions that will contribute to pupils achieving and maintaining good health and wellbeing. These actions could either include universal action/actions which affects a whole year group, a key stage or every pupil in the school and/or a targeted action which is aimed at a particular group of pupils in the school
3. Develop an action plan for how you will deliver these actions, with clear, measurable outcomes, including milestones by which you know progress is being made.
4. Collect relevant data/evidence which supports your needs analysis and can form the basis of SMART actions/targets.
A new Silver Planning Template combined with the Gold Reporting Template was launched in September 2019.
HOW CAN I ACHIEVE GOLD?
Your school must hold a current HSL Bronze Award and an HSL Silver Award.
The Gold Award is basically a case study of the Silver. Use the HSL Gold Award Reporting Template (see below) to show that you have done the following:
- Achieved the planned outcomes that you set as targets to gain the Silver award and recorded/reported this impact. Include photos/data/survey results/interviews etc as evidence.
- Demonstrated evidence of the sustainability of these changes.
- Engaged with the wider community, supported others to help children and young people to achieve and maintain good health and wellbeing.
- Provide next steps targets.
DOWNLOAD THE SILVER/GOLD REPORTING TEMPLATE HERE
