FAQs

A Healthy School:

• is one that promotes physical, social, emotional and mental health and helps equip pupils, staff and families with the skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health.
• is successful in supporting both its staff and pupils to develop the skills of resilience so that they are equipped to overcome set-backs and motivated to build on their achievements and thrive.
• is committed to ongoing improvement and development and recognises the importance of investing in health and wellbeing to assist in the process of raising their pupil’s attendance and achievement levels whilst reducing bullying
• involves the governors, staff, parents and pupils in sharing the goal of continuing to improve the health, wellbeing and resilience of the whole school community thereby helping everyone to get the most out of life.

The C&P Healthy Schools Support Programme celebrates and supports the work schools undertake to help children and young people to be healthy, happy and achieve.

Schools play a vital role in helping children and young people to lead healthy lifestyles, helping them to develop and strengthen resilience to deal with adversity and stress, developing and reinforcing healthy habits and helping them with role modelling and testing healthy behaviours. The benefits of working on a whole school basis to develop and improve health and resilience go beyond health. We know that when children and young people are resilient, healthy and happy at school, they can also achieve more.

Our local schools across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are already doing excellent work to support health, wellbeing, and resilience. By providing access to guidance, resources, practical advice and targeted planning support this work can be enhanced through the C&P Healthy Schools Support Programme. Our team can also help school communities by facilitating access to quality assured support services that can be delivered directly in schools.

Locally, we want to recognise and celebrate the work of schools to improve the health, wellbeing, and resilience of their students. Schools can participate in our voluntary C&P Healthy Schools Support Programme Award Scheme, including three core levels of achievement – Bronze, Silver, and Gold. > Find out more

Our team can support schools with a number of areas covered by the framework, providing advice, guidance, and practical interventions.

Yes. The C&P Healthy Schools Support Service is funded by a partnership between Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is free for all maintained and academy schools across the county.

As much or as little as meets their need. They can determine their own time commitment, with the knowledge that our team will support them as they progress.

The C&P Healthy Schools Support Programme is funded by a partnership between Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is totally free for schools in the area.

Healthy School Status requires schools to meet the universal criteria as outlined for the Bronze Award.

The criteria relate not only to the taught curriculum but also to the emotional, physical and learning environment that the school provides. Many schools are already engaged in these activities so achieving recognition need not be onerous.

Schools are encouraged to take a whole school approach in order to:

• develop an ethos and environment that supports learning and promotes the health and wellbeing of the whole school community
• engage, consult and encourage participation of all within the school community
• create an extremely effective school improvement mechanism which brings about and embeds cultural and behavioural change

Healthy Schools Status is valid for 3 years from the date the self-validation is accepted and confirmed by a member of the Healthy Schools team. However, it is recommended that the standards required for the Bronze Award are reviewed and updated regularly after verification to ensure the information is up to date and relevant.

Achieving the status of a Healthy School within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough demonstrates a commitment to the health, wellbeing and resilience of both the pupils and the staff. It also:

• provides a clear focus for informing future development of the school’s health agenda through policy, planning and practice
• accords with the personal development strand of the revised OFSTED framework for September 2019 whereby the school will demonstrate evidence of providing opportunities for its pupils to learn how to be active, healthy and engaged citizens.

No, the Healthy Schools’ Awards are non-portfolio based awards. Following a school’s self-evaluation, there will be a visit from the Healthy Schools’ team; the aim being to validate the school’s fulfilment of the required criteria. Prior to this visit, the school may be asked for a number of documents such as curriculum plans and a range of policies linked to the core health themes of the award. The rest of the evidence will be collected via interviews with key stakeholders during the assessment visit.

Schools achieving the universal criteria for the Bronze Award will be entitled to use the Healthy Schools Cambridgeshire and Peterborough logo for 3 years. Following accreditation, the Healthy Schools awards framework enables schools to further improve the health behaviours of their pupils through conducting a needs analysis and generating a bespoke action plan. This plan has to include one universal action (ie: that will affect all the pupils in the school) and one targeted action (ie: that is aimed at a particular group of pupils in the school.) Fulfilment of the standards for each of the awards – bronze, silver and gold – will be recognised through the presentation of a plaque, individualised for each level of achievement.