From September 2005, Ofsted will expect schools to demonstrate how they are contributing to the five national outcomes for children stipulated by Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004:
– being healthy;
- staying safe;
- enjoying and achieving;
- making a positive contribution;
- and economic wellbeing.
The NHSP builds on what schools have been doing for several years. The criteria complements existing and increasingly mainstreamed efforts to promote PSHEE, physical activity, healthy eating, and emotional health and wellbeing in the school setting. Schools that are already participating in such work may not need to devote any extra resources but will be able to consolidate existing good practice. - being healthy; staying safe; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution; and economic wellbeing.
Gaining national Healthy School status provides rigorous evidence of this, and will assist you in evidencing your self-evaluation and completing your new school profile.
Working with other partners within Children's Services, a Healthy School can address the issues its pupils face in the context of the local drive towards improving outcomes. It will also be an important cornerstone of the school's move towards becoming an extended school.
The National Healthy Schools Programme records all the health-related activities and achievements of every school in England, as understood by your local Healthy Schools Programme. This is used by the National Healthy Schools Programme, a number of government departments and agencies and by Ofsted to help make judgements about the extent to which a school is contributing to the five national outcomes for children under Every Child Matters. School inspectors, prior to an Ofsted inspection of your school, may also use it.
The database will eventually be in the public domain, so that parents/carers can also access information about individual schools. It is therefore very important that your local Healthy Schools Programme, which populates the database, is kept aware of your schools activities and achievements with regard to healthy schools.
