Congratulations to Hampton Hargate Primary School – the most recent school to achieve the Healthy Schools Bronze Award
Finding innovative and appealing ways to involve all the staff and students in a range of health and wellbeing initiatives has been exemplary and reflective of the dedication of everyone throughout the school to continue to improve current practice and so optimise opportunities for making healthier life choices.
Find out more about the school’s accreditation journey here:
Starting Out
1.Why did the school decide to pursue the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Healthy Schools Award?
To help recognise and improve the work we do and to encourage and support others to involve themselves..
2. Was the initial step of completing the online audit of 30 Yes/No questions a suitable starting point? Was it achievable within the stated 15 minutes?
Yes, it was a very easy and a very quick form to follow.
3. Was the online audit a useful tool in providing a quick assessment of the key points of action to take?
Very useful as it gave a clear idea of what we have already achieved and what our next steps needed to be.
4. How beneficial was the opportunity to follow up the completion of the audit with an informal, virtual meeting with a member of the Healthy Schools team?
Very useful. The meetings I had with Joanne were very informative and very helpful in advising what to do next.
The Journey Towards Accreditation
5. Having achieved an initial assessment of the key actions to take, did the provision of the more detailed point score document for the award help to structure the approach taken by the school?
Yes, it showed us a clear way to achieve the points along with examples we could use for each of the standards.
6. What decisions were taken by the school to make progress against the standards and did the majority of the staff – teaching as well as non-teaching – get involved?
Yes, all staff were involved in making decisions as to what needed to be met. SLT and team leaders led the implementation of decisions and strategies in their teams
7. Did the accreditation framework encourage a whole school approach to embedding a consistent and progressive health agenda?
Definitely! It was clear from the beginning that all members of staff had an impact on what we already do which encouraged all to continue their hard work.
8. Was the point score document useful in both identifying evidence and monitoring progress and was the process of evidencing the standards manageable?
Yes. It was clear what examples we could use towards the points and where else we could find evidence.
The Destination
9. What are the key benefits for the school having completed the accreditation journey?
Pride, in terms of recognising the brilliant things we already do. But also, knowledge of the areas which may need a little more attention in the future.
10. Do you consider the work undertaken to have had an impact and do you consider this will be maintained and therefore long-lasting?
We have implemented things through this process which are already having a positive effect on the school. Seeing this impact so quickly has made us realise how wonderful it would be to continue it. This is something we will continue to do for a long time now.
11. In view of the recent changes to the Ofsted inspection Handbook and the inclusion of the following point:
“From the start of the summer term 2021, how a school meets the expectations of the DfE’s statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education will contribute to the leadership and management judgement.” how relevant do you consider the standards of the award to be?
It definitely has some relevance as it was good to delve a little deeper into what we already have in place and what now needs to be put in place.
12. Would you recommend the Healthy Schools Award to other schools, if so why?
Yes, as the award gives a good indication of where the school is currently and identifies the areas to focus and improve upon to ensure long term impact.