This qualification is for those with an interest in health and wellbeing who want to help themselves and their peers develop a healthier lifestyle. The objective of the qualification is to develop the competences required of a young health champion. It will enable learners to provide peer support through an understanding of the individual and social drivers of healthy and unhealthy behaviours, as well as signpost to local health services. It also develops knowledge of a health and wellbeing issue relevant to the learner, school or wider community and the skills to then deliver positive health messages in those settings.

Watch the video below to hear from Manningtree High School who have already completed the programme.

• The qualification consists of 22 guided-learning hours and approximately 14 hours of independent study ​
• It is delivered across 3 mandatory modules and a choice of 1 out of 7 optional modules​
• The course has the flexibility to be delivered in any educational setting

From the school:​

• Hosting of the guided-learning ​(delivered by Public Health Officers)
• Classroom support ​for all guided-learning
• Recruitment of young people onto the programme (min of 10, max of 20 per cohort) ​
• Supporting young people to complete portfolios - does not include marking!

From the young person:​

• An interest in health and wellbeing ​
• A commitment to learning and completing the portfolio for Level 2 Award ​
• Work in partnership with peers to develop and deliver a health campaign in school

For the school:​

• Offering an alternative to current curriculum provision
• Opportunity to increase peer-to-peer support (growing evidence-base of effectiveness for improving HWB)​
• Embed learning across wider school delivery​

For the young person:​

• A Level 2 qualification ​(Ofqual regulated)
• An opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence within health and wellbeing ​
• Development of wider skills: confidence; public speaking; partnership working and more!
• Gives an insight into an exciting range of public health careers, ranging from Medicine to Health Promotion.

Thank you for expressing interest in the Young Health Champions Programme.

Following a successful pilot of the programme in two Leicestershire based school between January-June 2023, we are pleased to offer the programme wider to schools within Leicestershire from September 2023. Places will be offered on a first come first served basis and are limited, so please register your interest using the form below at your earliest convenience.

Once you have completed the form below, a member of the Healthy Schools team will be in touch with you via email to provide further information and confirm details.

We can be flexible to suit the needs of your school when delivering the 22 hours of training, however as a result of a pilot with schools, the most effective models are either blocks of half day sessions or after school sessions.

The Healthy Schools Team will deliver the training, however we do require a member of staff to be present at all times. Ideally, this will be someone who can monitor and appropriately deal with any behaviour issues and who can commit as much as possible to being there for every session.