A Healthy School is not a new concept. Schools have long recognised the importance of undertaking health-related activities to support children’s learning and general wellbeing. The aim of the NHSS is to extend this good practice throughout every area of school life, and to ensure every school develops a healthy school programme.

The National Healthy School Standard (National Standard) was launched in 1999. It emerged from a partnership between the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and the Department of Health (DoH) where the need to support children and young people through a joint health and education strategy was identified. The partnership is founded on the principle that healthier children achieve better and make better choices about their lives. In order to build on existing schools’ health education initiatives, what is commonly referred to as ‘The Standard’ was developed, to provide rigour and consistency to local health and education partnerships.

Priorities 1999 –2002

The first priority for the National Healthy School Standard team was to support the establishment and accreditation of 150 local health and education partnerships (local Healthy School Schemes) in England by March 2002. Accreditation of local schemes is based on them providing evidence to demonstrate how their local health and education partnership is meeting ‘The Standard’. The Newham HSS was accredited in November 2001 and is continually monitored by the national team to ensure the standard is maintained.

Priorities 2003 - 2006

Following a period of consolidation, the national priority has shifted to the recruitment of all schools in England with 20% or more free school meals (FSM) eligibility by March 2006 and to supporting them in achieving the minimum standard for becoming a Healthy School. All schools in England will continue to have access to the services of a nationally accredited local Healthy Schools programme.

What is the aim of National Healthy School Standard?

The overall strategic aim of the National Standard and a key task for all those involved from national to school level is to demonstrate that the standard is making an explicit contribution to the achievement of targets concerned with:

• tackling health inequalities
• promoting social inclusion
• raising pupil achievement

It is important to understand the meaning of these terms in order to the NHSS can be fully explained.

Tackling health inequalities

This is fundamental to the work of the health service generally and public health departments in particular. Evidence shows that the differences in health status between individuals and communities closely reflect levels of deprivation. i.e. the poorer you are the more likely you are to be unhealthy. For example a young boy growing in Newham has a life expectancy that is 6 years less than his counterpart living in Westminster. The reasons for this are a complex mix of linked causes, such as poor housing, high school absence rates, poor educational attainment, low employability, low aspirations and ill health.

Promoting social inclusion

Social exclusion is a shorthand term for what can happen when people or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime levels, poor health and family breakdown. The key characteristic of social exclusion is that these problems are linked, mutually reinforcing, and can combine to create a complex and fast-moving vicious circle.

People who have had problems at school are more likely to become socially excluded. For example homeless teenagers, teenage mothers, young people in care and prisoners all show evidence of patterns of poor school attendance, exclusion and poor academic attainment. Many of these children will have had a negative experience of school. In supporting schools, the National Standard aims to meet the needs of vulnerable children who are at risk of poor educational attainment and social exclusion.

Raising achievement

The government considers school improvement and increasing educational attainment as critical to breaking the cycle of social exclusion. There are many school initiatives - of which the National Healthy School Standard is one - that support educational attainment and provide a means of establishing protective factors that will support children and young people.

Through its commitment to working in partnership with the DfES, the DoH views the National Healthy School Standard as a key mechanism for tackling health inequalities among the school aged population and for beginning to break the cycle of deprivation . The National Standard is also seen as the vehicle for delivering preventative interventions to support the national drug education and teenage pregnancy strategies.

Some schools choose to use the National Standard as a framework or umbrella to cover the range of initiatives and strategies they are implementing to improve children’s achievement. Evidence from all areas of school improvement can be used to gain Newham HSS accreditation.

The role of the National Healthy School Standard

By pooling the evidence base, resources and approaches of both health and education, the National Healthy School Standard creates a more potent mixture for bringing about positive change and creates opportunities for inclusion.

The role of the National Standard within the context of school improvement is to enhance pupils’ learning through:

• removing barriers created by ill health
• increasing their capacity to make decisions
• developing positive attitudes, sustaining positive relationships
• developing a stronger sense of empowerment and self-efficacy amongst children and young people.

Fundamental to the Healthy School philosophy is the notion of prevention and intervention. Central to the philosophy and practice of healthy schools is working with schools to put in place mechanisms that will enhance the protective factors for children and young people at risk. Schools have a responsibility to support pupils at risk by putting in place measures that provide a safe, healthy environment in which pupils can learn and establish positive relationships. Starting early to support children’s health and educational achievement is critical to breaking the cycle of inequality and social exclusion.

In areas like Newham where there are many challenges of a multicultural mobile young population, identifying ‘joined up approaches to joined up problems’ which tackle the underlying causes is critical.

What does the National Healthy School Standard look like?

The National Standard is divided into three sections; Partnerships, Management and Working With Schools. Alongside the National Standard there is supplementary guidance to the ‘Working With Schools’ strand on the whole school approach and the Healthy School Themes (described in more detail below). The National Standard is designed to support the work of agencies and schools in removing barriers to achievement, in particular for children and young people who are more vulnerable to poor attendance, unhealthy lifestyles and emotional issues. It is the role of local Healthy School Schemes to interpret the National Standard and guidance, and translate it into a process that schools and local service providers can use.

The National Standard tries to help schools to make sense of a plethora of national, regional and local initiatives and the connections between them, to access support services appropriate to their needs and to harness wider support to promote school improvement. The Newham HSS supports schools both through this handbook and in the process of working through phases 1-3 towards accreditation.

The National Standard helps agencies providing services to schools to work in a more co-ordinated and efficient way, to address government priorities and to evaluate the impact of their work. The Newham HSS supports service providers through facilitating a network of Healthy School theme related sub-groups, as well as though training, networking, sharing expertise, collaborative working and funding.

The Healthy Schools Scheme is very much an evolving programme with an infectious vision that stirs up enthusiasm locally amongst schools, agencies and all those interested in well-being as linked to achievement. National and local healthy school colleagues recognise the importance of showing how the NHSS supports young people, schools and the wider community, in order to gain more recognition and attract longer term funding to sustain future developments.

It is important is that schools understand the two core principles underpinning the implementation of Healthy Schools programmes before taking further steps towards Newham HSS accreditation. These core principles are the ‘Whole School Approach’ (WSA) and the key Healthy Schools Themes – the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of the National Standard.

The Whole School Approach

To be successful, a Healthy School programme needs to involve everyone – pupils, staff, parents, governors and partner agencies. The Healthy Schools philosophy and practice needs to be emphasised in all aspects of planning and learning. It is good practice for schools to be able to show that their Healthy School programme is designed from the bottom up, taking into account all spheres of school activity and the views of the entire school community. The Newham HSS described in this handbook is designed to help schools take a ‘whole-school’ approach in designing and assessing a school based programme.

Picking up a few aspects of the National Standard and introducing it in a piecemeal way will not work. Likewise, if Healthy Schools programmes are only driven by a small group without involvement from the wider school community, there will be less effective processes and outcomes for the school.

The Healthy School themes

Schools involved in local Healthy School programmes need to ensure that the following curriculum themes are being addressed throughout the school, within the formal and informal curriculum. Building on the critical role of the health education curriculum, schools work to integrate the themes further into all aspects of school life. This is essential to being a healthy school. The National Healthy School Standard themes and the associated guidance support schools in making the contribution of ‘health’ explicit, in gaining recognition for what they are already doing and finally, in improving the quality of delivery in relation to health.

• Personal, Social and Health Education
• Citizenship
• Drug Education
• Sex & relationship education
• Healthy eating
• Emotional health and well being (including bullying)
• Physical activity
• Safety

Those highlighted are compulsory for those schools wishing to gain Newham HSS accreditation.

Through the Newham HSS, schools working through phases 2 and 3 of the accreditation process as described in this handbook will use the Whole School Approach to implement the Healthy School themes throughout the school and to support School Improvement. Critical to this process is the Newham HSS Self-evaluation Tool.

Why get involved in the National Healthy School Standard?

Becoming involved in the Newham HSS can lift school performance and add value in a number of ways:

Pupils

• increase in confidence and develop better skills and knowledge to make informed choices about their health and life
• are more likely to achieve good academic results if they feel supported and well
• gain access to a range of support services and have their personal and social development valued

Schools

• improve academic and non-academic performance
• gain closer involvement with the wider school community
• build stronger partnerships and links with external partners, including other schools
• receive greater support and professional development for staff
• obtain maximum support from external agencies and coherence between national initiatives
• shape their own programme through local target setting, action planning and adapting to their own school’s changing needs
• gain opportunities to positively promote the school locally, regionally and nationally
• improve reputation and status by achieving level 3 status under the National Healthy School Standard
• gain opportunities to link with and complement other schools’ programmes.

Communities

• have fewer problems with truancy, juvenile crime, unwanted teenage pregnancies and substance misuse
• engage the interest and contribution from young people in being good citizens
• benefit from closer ties and greater understanding between schools and health authorities, social services, the police and other agencies
• have a chance to influence and contribute to what goes on in schools
• work alongside schools in reducing social exclusion, disadvantage and disaffection

How do we know the NHSS works?

National evidence

In July 2001, Ofsted reported evidence from its inspections showing that schools involved in the National Healthy School Standard have a greater rate of improvement than those that were not. In particular, it was suggested that Healthy Schools programmes added most value in schools in disadvantaged areas, by increasing the rate of improvement. The most important areas showing a positive impact are:

• school ethos
• teacher behaviour and collaboration
• classroom practice particularly in relation to PSHE
• improved behaviour amongst pupils

Local evidence

As part of the Newham HSS/ Neighbourhood Renewal Fund project (2001-2002), an evaluation of the Newham HSS was undertaken. It revealed that positive and beneficial changes were occurring in Newham Healthy Schools. More than three-quarters of those responding to the survey said that they had noticed positive changes in attitude that were inspired by the scheme 85% said that it had made a real difference to their school community particularly in relation to pupil behaviour and staff morale. One school noted that it had fewer referrals to the ‘re-start’ room, children were playing more constructively, taking responsibility for their diet and feeling more alert and engaged. Staff have improved awareness and understanding of the issues, and have enjoyed activities such as yoga or massage -the Newham HSS has been critical in highlighting the issue of staff health and well-being and how it can contribute to school improvement.

The Newham HSS/ NRF project (2002-2004) is currently being evaluated.