Healthy Schools Award

About

The South Tyneside Healthy Schools Award has been running in our borough for over 30 years. The award focusses and collects evidence from settings around four main domains:

  • Healthy eating
  • Physical activity
  • Emotional health and wellbeing
  • PSED/PHSE/RSE*

* Life stage appropriate

Criteria are refreshed and updated annually in line with national guidance and local evidence and need, and tailored to Key Stages throughout the school. Awards are offered to:

  • Early Years Foundation Stage settings
  • Primary settings
  • Secondary and special settings
  • Further Education and Sixth Form settings
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Benefits

The benefits of working towards and maintaining Healthy Schools status have been shown to include:

  • Improved PSHE curriculum and more effective PSHE teaching; Improved social awareness and pupil participation
  • Healthier food options, increased access to drinking water and breakfast clubs
  • Improved environments, play facilities and opportunities for physical activity
  • Pupils make healthier decisions regarding food choices and physical activity
  • Improved pupil behaviour, attitudes, confidence, and concentration
  • Improved staff awareness of health-related issues, and higher levels of staff confidence in delivering education about these issues to young people
  • Positive influence on levels of achievement, attendance, and exclusion
  • Better engagement with parents, pupils, and staff

Since its launch, 100% of schools in South Tyneside have engaged with the Award in some way, and received benefits such as:

  • bespoke support for accreditation
  • access to training opportunities and funding streams
  • regular updates in relation to Public Health topics
  • invitations to key networks

Maintaining the Award supports schools in fulfilling their commitment to Ofsted’s ‘Personal Development’ judgement.

Process of Accreditation

Schools are provided with their application pack at the beginning of the Spring Term each year. Using the knowledge and experience of the whole school team, led by school’s Healthy Schools lead, the documentation is completed and returned to the Healthy Schools Co-ordinator by a May deadline.

Once accredited, Healthy Schools status lasts for 3 years before school will need to reapply. A short case study is required annually to evidence how settings are maintaining their award status.

Successful settings are invited to a Healthy Settings Celebration Event in Summer, where they are presented with a plaque to display in their school, and are able to use the South Tyneside Healthy Schools logo on their communications.

South Tyneside Healthy Schools Network

Education settings in South Tyneside have a designated Healthy Schools Lead.

As part of the network, staff receive regular updates containing lots of information about health, including upcoming campaigns and awareness, available CPD and training, useful resources for use in classrooms, and information and updates from Public Health.

Network meetings occur termly to discuss topics from the Healthy Schools Award and share best practice amongst schools.

Contact

For more information on South Tyneside Healthy Schools Award, please contact:

Karen Armstrong
South Tyneside Healthy Schools Co-ordinator

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