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Healthy Schools South West 
HEALTHY SCHOOLS SOUTH WEST
A great deal has been achieved in the South West since the Healthy School Programme kicked off 18 months ago. Regional co-ordinator David Pearson attributes the 61 per cent of schools reaching Healthy School Status to a widespread enthusiasm for the scheme. He says: “Healthy Schools in the South West was the right programme in the right place at the right time. Schools immediately linked it to standards improvement. We have a lot of co-ordinators who have been in post a long time who are committed to the programme and have built good relations with schools. The South West is one of the healthiest places in the UK in terms of life expectancy and healthier lifestyle”.
While the region’s main industry is food and farming — the National Year of Food and Farming was launched by Prince Charles at his farm in Highgrove, Gloucestershire — there are many health and lifestyle issues for schools to address. Pearson says: “Cornwall is such a big county but is one of the most impoverished areas of the UK. Across the region there are lots of pockets of deprivation and lots of work to do”.
Rural areas suffer seasonal unemployment linked to tourism and agriculture while the region’s main centres of population suffer from the typical UK inner-city issues around drugs, alcohol and underage pregnancy. So what are the priorities? In Bristol, for example, emotional health and well-being and smoking are high on the agenda. Swindon is doing a lot of work on drugs and sexual health, while Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire have concentrated their efforts on healthy eating.
The region is committed to best practice. Of the UK’s seven Beacon authorities, two — Bristol and South Gloucestershire — are in the South West. Additionally, there are four healthy-schools projects, including Gloucestershire, where 75 per cent of schools have Healthy School Status — well ahead of the UK target. One aspect of the Beacon authorities is the joined-up approach to initiatives like Healthy Schools. Pearson explains: “South Gloucestershire has got its school improvement team fully briefed on Healthy Schools so that they have an awareness about how schools can bring the standards and the Healthy Schools Agenda closer together”.
Out of the 15 local authorities in the South West 13 are taking part in the national pilot programme — Healthy Schools Plus. Launched in September 2007, Healthy Schools Plus supports schools wanting to move beyond the 41 criteria that go to make the current standard. Pearson explains the thinking: “Healthy Schools was never a one-size-fits-all solution. Our schools are not satisfied with reaching the standard and then standing still. They want the freedom to focus on local health issues. In some areas there may be a huge obesity issue; or it could be sexual health or drugs misuse. Schools need to identify what the problems are in their neck of the woods so they can best meet the health needs of their children”.
Healthy Schools Plus encourages schools to use their local knowledge to personalise provision of services such as school meals, healthy eating, after-school sports, anti-bullying campaigns, counselling and health education. Pearson cites an example: “Dorset generally doesn’t have a sexual health or a teenage pregnancy issue but it does in some parts of the area. In order to focus resources, schools need to be part of the solution. For example, Bath and North East Somerset, a tiny unitary authority, has helped a secondary school provide a sexual health clinic on site so that young people can be treated in confidence. Until that was opened, the only alternative was a two-hour bus ride to a clinic which was only open during working hours”.
The case study highlights a range of issues faced by healthy schools serving dispersed rural communities. Lack of transport means that schools wanting to run after-school activities have to put on a special bus service to take children home to outlying villages. A more dispersed population also means it is hard to provide services cost-effectively. Extended school clusters help overcome this problem but, as Pearson says, the reason for the success of Healthy Schools in the South West has been through effective multi-agency working. “The two Beacon healthy-school councils, Bristol and South Gloucestershire, are good examples of excellent joined-up working between the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families”.
Priorities for the coming year include bringing more parents on board. Effective communications are the key to involving parents. Pearson reflects: “As a society we are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of alcohol and the part it plays in encouraging young people to take part in risky behaviour”. Accordingly, alcohol, drugs and sexual-health programmes are based on training counsellors to help build children’s self-esteem and to help them say no with confidence. Pearson continues: “Schools do have a part to play along with parents, health workers and relevant agencies. Healthy Schools in the South West is sending a message to parents that health and well-being is really important”.
And many healthy-school initiatives work best if parents take part. Pearson says: “Healthy Schools fits well within the framework of school improvement and by focusing on the wider issues it brings the school closer to the heart of the community it serves”.
National Healthy Schools Programme:
Regional Co-ordinators
David Pearson
Email davidapearson@tiscali.co.uk
Jenny Weeks
Email Jenny.Weeks@swpho.nhs.uk
Lucinda Eastment
Email lucinda.eastment@gosw.gsi.gov.uk
Mark Christopher
Email Mark.Christopher@gosw.gsi.gov.uk
Local Co-ordinators
Bath and North East Somerset (South-West)
Name Judy Allies
Email judy_allies@bathnes.gov.uk
Telephone 01225 394181
Bournemouth (South-West)
Name Sue Bridle
Email SUEBRIDLE@linwood.bournemouth.sch.uk
Telephone 01202 525107
City of Bristol (South-West)
Name Sarah Young
Email Sarah.Young@bristolpct.nhs.uk
Telephone 0117 900 2216
Local Coordinator - City of Plymouth (South-West)
Name Alison Rowntree
Email alison.rowntree@plymouth.gov.uk
Telephone 01752 307489
Cornwall (South-West)
Name Kate Pordage
Email kate.pordage@ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk
Telephone 01209 - 310061
Devon (South-West)
Name Theresa Lawless
Email theresa.lawless@devon.gov.uk
Telephone 01392 385254
Dorset (South-West)
Name Mike Hillary
Email m.hillary@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Telephone 01305 224664
Gloucestershire (South-West)
Name Jan Urban-Smith
Email jan.urban-smith@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Telephone 01452 425459
Isles Of Scilly (South-West)
Name Kate Pordage
Email healthy.schools@ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk
North Somerset (South-West)
Name Shaun Cheesman
Email shaun.cheesman@nsomerset-pct.nhs.uk
Telephone 01275 546739
Poole (South-West)
Name Ruth Angel
Email r.angel@poole.gov.uk
Telephone 01202 633696
Somerset (South-West)
Name Kath Wilson
Email kwilson@somerset.gov.uk
Telephone 01935 477864
South Gloucestershire (South-West)
Name Maggie Sims
Email maggie.sims@sglos-pct.nhs.uk
Telephone 0117 3302429
Swindon (South-West)
Name Katrina Carpenter
Email kcarpenter@swindon.gov.uk
Telephone 01793 464676
Torbay (South-West)
Name Gill Brown
Email gill.brown@torbay.gov.uk
Telephone 01803 208968
Wiltshire (South-West)
Name Richard Palmer
Email richardpalmer@wiltshire.gov.uk
Telephone 01225 793349 |
