Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the benefits of becoming a Healthy School?

Achieving Healthy Schools Status brings benefits not only for the school but for its pupils and wider school community. Here are just a few:

  • Promotes a more inclusive environment for learning to take place
  • Consolidates strands of work already taking place in school to promote health, well-being and positive learning together and highlights that the school has met the national standard
  • Provides evidence for the school SEF on how you are meeting the Every Child Matters five outcomes
  • Provides an opportunity for the school to identify gaps in the curriculum or school polices
  • Can be used as a vehicle for engaging parents and carers
  • Highlights any training requirements in school
  • Promotes health and well-being and facilitates access to services
  • Reduces health inequalities

2. How can I get help with policy writing?

The Sheffield Healthy School Team have produced guidance and sample polices to help you develop or re-view existing polices, click here for more information.

3. How do we achieve the Whole-School Approach?

A key element for achieving the whole school approach is to have support and commitment from the Senior Leadership Team. This will help drive and move forward work in school. It is also crucial to engage with all school staff, pupils, parents and carers and the wider school community. Members of the Healthy Schools team are available to facilitate whole staff meetings and/or training to ensure everyone in school is engaged with the Healthy Schools agenda. We can also support with draft letters to send home and ideas for discussing Healthy Schools topics during pupil council.

4. Does all the evidence for achieving Healthy Schools Status have to be written?

No, although some of your schools evidence such as policies or pupil council minutes will be written, not all your evidence will take this form; evidence can be visual such as displays in school or verbal, quotes or comments from school staff, pupils and parents. Healthy Schools brings about a positive cultural change in school, which cannot be captured on paper.

5. How long does Healthy Schools Status last?

Once a school achieves the status it is valid for 3 years, after 2 years the school will have a 2 year review and will re-validate after 3 years.

6. What does re-validation look like?

The National Healthy Schools Team are currently developing the process for re-validation, we will pass on this information as soon as we have it.

7. What is the benefit of working on the Healthy Schools enhancement model?

The Healthy Schools enhancement model involves building on the solid foundation of achieving and maintaining Healthy School status in order to prioritise better outcomes around health and well-being for children and young people, with particular focus on providing targeted support for those who are most at risk.

A school is able to take a whole school approach to address the specific health and wellbeing needs of their own pupils using available data and in doing this plan and implement appropriate interventions and activities that can be shown to make a real difference to children and young people at their school and contributing to the wider city focus on reducing health inequalities and supporting key health priorities.

By working through the enhancement process, a school is demonstrating that they are aware of the health and wellbeing needs of their pupils and are focussed on addressing these priorities in order to not only improve the health and wellbeing of their children and young people, but also improve their attendance, behaviour and ultimately achievement addressing the outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda.

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