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School - health promotionHealth and well-being provision ensures that children and young people develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes which they need for well-being now and in the future. There are strong links between health, well-being and achievement. It is particularly important that children and young people's health and well-being is enhanced at key transition points in their lives.
This will support schools in working with our young people, especially our most vulnerable, to promote their health and well-being through and beyond the curriculum. Aspects of a broad and balanced curriculum that promote health and well-being include:
The North Yorkshire Health and Well-being/Healthy Schools ProgrammeYour child's school may hold "Healthy Schools Status" and be following the Healthy Schools Programme. This demonstrates that the school is committed to health and well-being and recognises its importance in improving achievement. In order to achieve Healthy Schools Status a school has to demonstrate that that they met a number of minimum criteria related to Personal, Social Health, Economic education (PSHEe), physical activity, healthy eating and emotional health and well-being and illustrate the impact of their work on improving provision for children and young people. Schools now continue to develop their health and well-being provision by identifying key priorities to address and carrying out actions and interventions to bring out the desired changes. Personal, Social Health, Economic education (PSHEe)Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHEe) is a planned programme of learning opportunities and experiences that help your child to grow and develop as an individual, as a member of families and of social and economic communities. PSHEe programmes cover aspects of personal well-being and economic well-being. The current statutory requirements mean that your child has a right to:
Risk takingAccording to young people, risk taking is defined as 'taking a chance' doing something when you don't have absolute certainty about what the outcome will be. Risk taking is part of our everyday life experiences; it is about learning about ourselves and others and it can have both good and bad outcomes. There are three strands that are recommended to be in place to facilitate a whole school approach to risk taking:
Sex and relationship educationEffective sex and relationship education is essential if young people are to make responsible and well informed decisions about their lives. It should not be delivered in isolation. The objective of sex and relationship education is to help and support young people through their physical, emotional and moral development. A successful programme, firmly embedded in PSHE, will help young people learn to respect themselves and others and move with confidence from childhood through adolescence into adulthood. There are three main elements to Sex and Relationship Education: attitudes and values, personal and social skills, knowledge and understanding. (Reference Department for Education: Sex and Relationship Education guidance 2000). All schools are required to have a policy for sex and relationship education. It is good practice for this to be drawn up in consultation with parents/carers. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from sex and relationship lessons that are part of a PSHEe programme but not National Curriculum Science. Nationally fewer than 1% of parents elect to withdraw their children from sex and relationship lessons. Drug educationAll schools should have a drug education programme which is developmental and appropriate to the age, maturity and ability of pupils. It should cover, as a minimum, the statutory elements included in the National Curriculum Science Order for each Key Stage. Drugs education should
In addition all schools should have a drug policy, developed in consultation with pupils, parents/carers, staff and governors, which sets out the school's role in relation to all drug matters - both the content and organisation of drug education, and the management of drugs within school boundaries. A senior member of staff should be designated with overall responsibility for all drug issues within the school. Schools should have a range of responses and procedures for managing drug incidents, which are understood by all members of the school community and documented within the drug policy, and should make it clear that the possession, use or supply of illegal and other unauthorised drugs within school boundaries is unacceptable. Emotional health and well-beingThe World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as a "state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Emotional health and well-being incorporates:
An effective whole school approach to Social Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) will include opportunities to explicitly teach and learn skills which will encourage your child to recognise express and manage their feelings and recognise when they will benefit from support from others. The emotional health and well-being of your child can be enhanced in a variety of ways through opportunities to take on positions of responsibility, to influence systems and procedures in school as well as through the formal curriculum. All those involved with children and young people in North Yorkshire County Council take instances of bullying very seriously. Advice is given to schools and settings on anti-bullying policies and strategies and support offered to children and young people, parents/carers, schools/settings and local communities. More information can be found on the Bullying and Harassment Policy section of this website. Healthy eatingResearch suggests that children and young people who eat a healthy balanced lunch behave and perform better at school. New nutrient based standards for school food were introduced into primary schools in September 2008 and secondary schools in September 2009. The standards set out the level of nutrients such as sodium, iron, zinc and calcium that must be provided in school lunches. Schools also have to comply with the food based standards for lunches and food other than lunches. These standards govern the types of foods that can and cannot be served for example oily fish must be provided at least every three weeks in both primary and secondary schools, confectionary cannot be provided as part of a school lunch or at any other time of day and certain meat products such as sausages may only be provided once a fortnight. Both sets of standards are aimed at improving the quality of meals and food provided in schools and to encourage your child to embrace greater diversity in their diet and to explore new taste experiences. If your child takes a packed lunch to school, guidance on healthy lunch boxes is available from the School Food Trust website. It is recommended that all schools have a planned curriculum to ensure information relating to food and nutrition in different lesson areas is consistent and provides opportunities to learn about different food types in the context of a balanced diet (using the balance of good health) including how to plan, budget, prepare and cook healthy meals. The curriculum would usually be delivered through a cross curricular approach including Science, Food Technology and PSHEe. Physical activityPhysical activity is an integral part of daily life in a health-promoting school. Physical activity plays an important part in the overall education and well being of young people by helping them to lead full and active lives, through engaging in physical activity and contributes to the physical, social and emotional well-being of all children, young people and staff within the school and its community. A successful physical activity programme should help pupils to appreciate the importance of a healthy and fit body and begin to understand those factors that influence health and fitness, as well as develop their physical competence. Potential benefits of regular participation in moderate intensity activity include:
Any type of activity is beneficial and just encouraging children and young people to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting or being inactive is a good starting point. The greatest benefits come from engaging in a broad range of physical activity including:
Physical education and school sportPhysical Education (PE) is a statutory foundation subject of the primary and secondary curriculum. All children in primary and secondary education should access at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week. All pupils should have access to a diverse range of sporting opportunities within the curriculum and out of school hours, building strong community links with clubs encouraging long term athlete development for all pupils. When PE is developed at its best, your child is more likely to have:
School sports partnerships have developed a structure over the past five years to foster competition, festivals, continuing professional development and in school support.
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