The National Healthy School Standard and SRE
The process of supporting schools to meet the criteria of the national Healthy Schools standard effectively was the starting point for the development of these guidelines.
The national Healthy Schools programme is an exciting long-term initiative that helps young people and their schools to be healthy.
Achieving national Healthy School status is not an ending; rather, it is a stage in the ongoing Healthy Schools process. When a school meets the criteria in the the core themes, it has benchmarked itself against a baseline; the challene is to move on by extending and strengthening the work to ensure measurable health outcomes for children and young people.
For a long time, we have felt that PSHE is a weak area in Healthy Schools work for many schools (and a weakness in the Healthy Schools standard). This is due to the non-statutory nature of PSHE, its absence from the timetable in many schools, the lack of training and support for teachers delivering it, and often their lack of confidence to do so. With the recommendations in the Jim Knight review that PSHE perhaps be made compulsory we can approach PSHE with renewed vigour.
A good starting point is to join the PSHE Association which not only provides a campaigning platform for PSHE but is also a great support for everyone involved in PSHE and SRE.
A Healthy School
The Healthy Schools Programme isn't just about physical health; it's about good health and happiness inside and out. And it's not just about pupils either; a Healthy Schools involves the whole school community - from parents to governors for school staff - in improving their health and their happiness and opportunities for getting the most out of life.
There are four core themes:
Emotional Health and Wellbeing
PSHE provides children and young people to understand and express their feelings, and builds their confidence and emotional resilience.