FAQ

A Healthy School:

• Is one that promotes physical, social, emotional and mental health and helps equip pupils, staff and families with the skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health.
• Is successful in supporting pupils to do their best and build on their achievements; it is committed to ongoing improvement and development.
• Recognises the importance of investing in health and wellbeing to assist in the process of raising children and young people's achievement levels.
• Involves the whole school community, parents, carers, governors, staff and pupils in improving children's health, wellbeing and happiness, helping them to get the most out of life.

All schools within Leicestershire and Rutland can participate in the Healthy Schools Programme.

Healthy School Status requires schools to meet the universal criteria as outlined for the Award.

• Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco Education
• Emotional Health & Wellbeing
• Food in Schools
• Physical Activity
• PSHE & R(S)E
• School Staff Wellbeing & CPD

Healthy Schools Award minimum standards statement:

We have produced minimum standard statement to help answer some questions schools have had regarding the submission of evidence.

For each criterion we require:

• A statement that explains how you are achieving that criterion
• You may (or may not) want to attach a piece of evidence to support your statement

In your statement we expect you to include:

• Description of what you are doing that achieves the criteria (if you have uploaded evidence, you should also describe what the evidence is showing)
• Explanation of how what you are doing is impacting the intended audience
• What you have learnt from doing this and how that impacts your ongoing practice

Note: each answer should be a maximum of 300 words (with the exception of policy development within each health theme).

Evidence is submitted online using our Healthy Schools online portal.

The Healthy School Co-ordinator should lead and coordinate the process, with the support of senior leadership.

It is best practice for individual sections to be completed in partnership/collaboration with the most appropriate coordinator/person/people for each theme. For example, the physical activity coordinator may complete the physical activity section, in order to adopt a whole school approach. These groups may also include pupils, parents, carers and governors, where appropriate.

Multiple accounts can be created by staff within a school when using the online portal. Each member of staff can logon to the portal using their own school email, create their password and upload their evidence.

As much or as little as meets the schools need. You can determine your own time commitment, with the knowledge that our team will support them as they progress.

We would anticipate completion within 12 months of registering.

The Healthy Schools Award is valid for 2 years from the date submission is accepted and confirmed by a member of the Healthy Schools team. However, it is recommended that the standards required for the status are reviewed and updated regularly after verification to ensure the information is up to date and relevant.

Our dedicated and friendly team can provide access to guidance, resources, practical advice and targeted planning support to enhance the work of schools. We can signpost schools to the partners of the Healthy Schools Service who can offer guidance with regarding to the wider PSHE curriculum, including the teaching of relationships, health and sex education.

Achieving the Healthy School Award demonstrates a commitment to the health, wellbeing and resilience of both the pupils and the staff. It also:

• Provides a clear focus for informing future development of the school's health agenda through policy, planning and practice.
• Aligns with the personal development strand of the revised OFSTED framework for September 2019 whereby the school will demonstrate evidence of providing opportunities for its pupils to learn how to be active, healthy and engaged citizens.
• Gives schools access to:
  • A Healthy Schools Certificate (plus a digital copy)
  • A Healthy Schools Digital Toolkit
  • Feature on the Healthy Schools website
  • A Healthy Schools Physical Toolkit
  • Licensed use of Healthy Schools branding for two-years

This programme is completely free and funded by Leicestershire County Council. This is open to all Leicestershire and Rutland Schools.

There are 73 criteria points to submit evidence for across the six themes.

For each criterion we require:

• A statement that explains how you are achieving that criterion (with the exception of 1.1 for each theme where you just need to name the lead in school)
• You may (or may not) want to attach a piece of evidence to supports your statement

In your statement we expect you to include:

• Description of what you are doing that achieves the criteria (if you have uploaded evidence, you should also describe what the evidence is showing)
• Explanation of how what you are doing is impacting the intended audience
• What you have learnt from doing this and how that impacts your ongoing practice

Note: each answer should be a maximum of 300 words.