Healthy Schools East Of England

HEALTHY SCHOOLS EAST OF ENGLAND

Covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, the East of England region is one of the largest geographically but one of the smallest in terms of the number of schools and local authorities. Healthy School progress has been uneven. Helen Geall, Regional Co-ordinator, says: “We are quite a small region — 10 local authorities and four unitaries — Luton, Peterborough, Southend and Thurrock. As of July 2007, 38 per cent of schools across the region are fully accredited for Healthy School Status and participation rates vary from 80–90 per cent”.

There are some big success stories to celebrate. Geall says: “One of the things that strikes me is the enormous variety of what is happening within local authorities. We have Hertfordshire with close on 500 schools that has got 340 schools accredited which, when you think about it, is a phenomenal growth rate. And you also have Peterborough, which has already reached the government’s December 2009 targets and has 75 per cent of schools accredited. That makes it one of the highest performing authorities in the country. Herts and Essex are also performing incredibly well. Essex, the largest county, has 600 schools, 12 primary-care trusts and 13 district councils. So it’s a big old place”.

With size comes challenges. So what are the Eastern Region’s priorities? Geall identifies Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in secondary schools as her main priority. She says: “As a region, we have identified getting the PSHE strand right for secondary schools. Primaries do a really good job across Healthy Schools. It’s just more of the day job, if you like, whereas in secondary schools you need to find someone who is ambitious enough to lead on PSHE and develop a whole-school approach”.

The mainly rural region has some huge counties and schools are widely dispersed. There are plenty of opportunities for outdoor play and sports. The physical activity aspect of Healthy Schools is well served by an active collaboration between Healthy Schools and School Sports Partnership. Geall says: “Children’s health is better than the national average”.

School Sports Partnerships are helping East of England schools develop a range of outdoor and extra-curricular activities, and all schools are providing a lot more than the bare minimum of two hours a week — in most cases, double and even more. This is especially important at primary school, where healthy schools are developing remedial programmes that are inclusive to help children develop the basic physical skills of running, jumping and catching. These co-ordination skills also help with developing the fine motor skills needed to hold a pen or pencil and write legibly.

But the dispersed rural population creates a specific issue for Healthy Schools. Geall explains: “We have hundreds and hundreds of small village primary schools, which present a logistical challenge. Very few are able to provide hot dinners, and obviously schools are doing their best”. Running a canteen is not cost-effective in a tiny school, so children are being given cold meals and salads. Balancing the variety of meals with nutritional value requires imagination, as salad and cold meat alone do not provide all the energy active children need.

Inward migration and large migrant populations raise issues in some parts of the region, notably Luton and Peterborough; the one with a significant Asian population and the other grown through inward migration from Eastern Europe. Geall says: “Peterborough’s population is now over 10 per cent Eastern European. As with any transient population, sexual health tends to plummet. We’re doing a lot of work to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies”.

Emotional health and well-being is the area where East of England is working towards establishing partnerships. Geall explains: “We’re looking to bring Healthy Schools, Children and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and parenting leads closer together in a tripartite approach”.

Geall sees her role as developing leadership training and team building and to establish networks to see how Healthy Schools can work with teenage pregnancy, extended schools, 14–19 year olds and school-based health services.

Partnership working is one way that funding can be made to go further. And, for example, shared targets between government agencies can help leverage funding and co-operation. Geall explains: “Health services have a target for reducing childhood obesity. I tell them that if they support Healthy Schools then it’ll help you meet your own targets. You get better value by bringing services and funding together”.

National Healthy Schools Programme:

Regional Co-ordinator

Helen Geall,
Email Helen.Geall@goeast.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone 01223 372944

Local Co-ordinators

Bedfordshire (East of England)
Name Barbara Rooney
Email barbara.rooney@bedfordshirepct.nhs.uk
Telephone 01525 636996

Cambridgeshire (East of England)
Name Diane Fenner
Email diane.fenner@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Telephone 01480 375171

City of Peterborough (East of England)
Name Gaynor Mansell
Email gaynor.mansell@peterborough.gov.uk
Telephone 01733 748145

Essex (East of England)
Name Tim Hull
Email timhull@csnconsultancy.co.uk
Telephone 01206 241556

Hertfordshire (East of England)
Name Elizabeth Biggs
Email elizabeth.biggs@hertscc.gov.uk
Telephone 01582 830356

Luton (East of England)
Name Lyndsey Bithrey
Email Lyndsey.Bithrey@luton.gov.uk
Telephone 01582 531116

Norfolk (East of England)
Name Adele Godsmark
Email adele.godsmark@norfolk.nhs.uk

SCE (East of England)
Name Phil Forsyth
Email phil.forsyth182@land.mod.uk
Telephone 004921619082278

Southend-On-Sea (East of England)
Name Lisa Holloway
Email Lisa.Holloway@see-pct.nhs.uk
Telephone 01268 464603

Suffolk (East of England)
Name Audrey Dean
Email audrey.dean@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk

Thurrock (East of England)
Name Beverley Hoyte
Email Beverley.Hoyte@swessexpct.nhs.uk