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Your Council working with you to create a healthier environment
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More than just the 'three Rs'
There's more to Hull schools than reading, writing, arithmetic, and helping pupils to pass exams...
Cory Thurlow, pictured above, is one of thousands of children and young people across the city who are learning how to stay healthy.
The year six pupil, who is this month's front cover star, attends Newland St John's Church of England Primary School in west Hull.
And every day, Cory – and his friends and classmates – are benefiting from the fact that the school is one of many in Hull to have gained National Healthy Schools Status.
Newland St John's pupils are given plenty of drinking water and free fruit such as apples, tangerines, strawberries, bananas and pears on a daily basis.
They can also join the school's gardening club to grow vegetables on an allotment in the school grounds, and learn how to cook them and prepare tasty and nutritious meals by joining the schools' cooking club.
"Healthy eating is very important but there is much more to achieving National Healthy School status than making sure pupils get their five-a-day," says teacher Lisa Brett.
"We ensure pupils develop a healthy sense of self-esteem by helping them realise they are special and precious in their own right, and we also help pupils to maintain emotional well-being by learning how to deal with negative feelings such as anger.
"For example, if a child feels angry, uncomfortable or isolated from other pupils in the class, isn't getting on with classmates, or has worries about what other children are thinking or saying about them, this can make it harder to learn and achieve at school.
"But as part of our National Healthy School Status we ensure pupils can discuss how they are feeling and gain reassurance as to how much they are valued."
Circle time
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Newland St John's pupils take part in circle time in class |
If a child feels embarrassed, upset, sad, surprised, pleased, angry, happy, or concerned for any reason, they can talk it through with their classmates and teacher in class during 'circle time'.
In this way pupils (from reception class onwards) receive the support they need to build their confidence and social skills and achieve their full potential at school.
No wonder a recent Ofsted report said that at Newland St John's every child 'really does matter'.
National Healthy Schools
Attending school in Hull is good for your health – and that's official! This is because 94 per cent of the city's schools have achieved national healthy schools status, compared to a national average of 73 per cent.
And the schools in Hull that haven't yet received the accreditation are working hard to achieve it.
As part of the healthy schools programme, which is led by the government's Department for Children, Schools and Families, children and young people in Hull's primary and secondary schools, as well as special schools and pupil referral units, are learning how to stay in the best of health.
The programme involves:
- personal, social and health education (PHSE) which includes education about sex and relationships and the health risks of drugs, alcohol and smoking
- education about healthy eating, and ensuring healthy food and drinking water are available to all pupils throughout the day, as well as healthy school meals prepared on site
- taking part in at least two hours of physical activity within school each week and promoting activity such as walking and cycling to school as part of an active and healthy lifestyle
- learning how to ensure positive emotional health and well-being, to enable pupils to express their problems and feelings, which can help prevent bullying
"Healthy children get better results in class because they are more alert, have more energy and longer attention spans," says Alison Cockerill, Hull City Council's health in schools programme manager.
"The National Healthy Schools programme is making a real difference for Hull pupils.
The city is well ahead of the national average which shows how much commitment our teachers, school governors, pupils and parents are putting into it."
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