School Health & Wellbeing Service - Briefing for all primary schools including academies

Since the transfer of the delivery of the School Nursing Service to Compass in November 2015, we have been working to transform the service into a fit-for-purpose public health offer for children and young people in Warwickshire. There have been some changes along the way to ensure school health staff have the capacity to deliver the full offer in a safe, efficient and effective way to all children and young people in Warwickshire.

As part of the national Healthy Child Programme (the Department of Health evidence based programme the service is commissioned to deliver), the school health team are required to undertake health needs assessments of children and young people at key staged contacts. Reception and Year 6 are currently offered by the service; year 9 and post-16 will be rolled out during 2017.

The questionnaire is not routinely shared in advance as it is completed electronically; however the school health team are more than happy to offer sessions in schools for staff/parents/carers to discuss the questionnaire in more detail.

Anonymous, aggregated reports are shared with schools and inform the conversation around the tailored support that can be offered to schools by Compass and complement existing resources.

In order to deliver a fully confidential service, Compass are not able to share with schools the individual details of the health needs assessments or the height and weight measurements taken as part of the National Child Measurement Programme. For Compass (or any other provider of a health service) to share individual personal details would be in breach of patient confidentiality and the Data Protection Act, which forms part of their core contract with the County Council.

We will endeavour to inform schools where an issue has been identified and it is appropriate to share information, but consent must be obtained by the child and/or parent before we are able to do this.

For example, the health needs assessment in Year 6 asks “Are you being bullied?” If a child responds yes, and the follow-up contact with the family highlights the bullying issue is taking place within the school setting, we will actively encourage the family to raise this with the school in an appropriate way. We will offer support to the school and the family to achieve the best outcome.

Being able to complete the questionnaire in the school setting in partnership with schools is the most effective way to identify the needs of children and young people in Warwickshire. We will work with schools to highlight any particular issues that relate to school in an anonymous way.

I would like to encourage you to raise any questions or concerns you have about the service directly with me so we can work together to resolve them in a positive way. I will also be meeting regularly with Jane Spilsbury and Kate Gover to ensure we are working in partnership with schools and maximising the opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people in Warwickshire.

Kate Sahota

Children’s Public Health Commissioner, Warwickshire County Council

Tel: 01926 413763

email: katesahota@warwickshire.gov.uk

Important Notice – A free Food for Life health check for your school

How are you progressing with your school’s submission for a Food for Life Award?

Many schools have made significant progress but are yet to enter their evidence on the Food for Life website.  During this term, schools enter their evidence for their awards and all awarded schools are presented their certificates and prizes at a special awards ceremony. This also includes a celebratory meal and activities for the school representatives, as well as lots of positive press coverage for each school.  

It is worth noting that a Food for Life Award is recognised as evidence by Ofsted of a school’s commitment to high standards in promoting the health and wellbeing of the children in its care.

This year we will have our first Gold Award school in the county!

Now is the time to carry out a health check of the progress you have made to date while using the programme to raise educational attainment, helping children and families to learn key life skills, improving the quality of food, improving the dining experience at the school itself and encouraging healthy lifestyles for young people.  

We are offering our professional advice and assistance to:

• help identify your progress to date;
• support the delivery of the criteria to achieve your school’s award;
• help you complete your online submission of evidence for an award.

Please contact Bret Willers on 07786 994442 or by email: bwillers@soilassociation.org

If you haven't had a response to your submission within one working week please let us know. You can contact us via phone: 0117 314 5180 or email ffl@foodforlife.org.uk.

Calling all schools in Warwickshire- Food for Life

The national Food for Life Awards Programme helps schools to develop a holistic approach to developing key life skills for children, helping them to adopt healthy lifestyles and to influence positive changes in dietary behaviour. Food for Life also helps to work with caterers and cooks in improving the quality of food, increasing the uptake of school meals as well as raising academic attainment by using the topic of food to help teach academic subjects like maths, science, literature, history and geography etc.

• Educational resources for teaching maths, literacy & key skills
• Practical support for increasing the uptake of school meals and pupil premium
• Promotion of a positive dining experience and healthy eating
• Training and support for teachers and staff.

Schools are also supported with practical links to food producers and the food industry, so children have the opportunity to learn by seeing and doing in real working situations.

Please visit http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/registration/enrol-ffl-school and ENROL NOW*.

 *NB: When enrolling online ignore the reference to payment as this is already covered by the County Council and the system recognises all Warwickshire Schools and early years settings as free entry.

There is no commitment from you to apply for an Award although to date over 30 Schools have obtained awards, increased their uptake of school meals and effectively used the programme to help teach a range of subjects across the curriculum in a lively and interesting way. Schools adopting this approach can provide a clear evidence trail for Ofsted using the Awards framework to demonstrate how they are promoting healthy lifestyles for children and families and helping to reduce the risk of childhood obesity.

If you would like more information about Food for Life please visit our website or contact Bret Willers the County’s Programme Manager on 07786 994442 to assist with your enrolment or to find out more about this excellent offer.

Winter health campaign

As part of our winter campaign, we are wanting to promote very simple messages about the importance of handwashing as one of the most effective infection control measures against winter bugs such as Norovirus. We know that norovirus is now starting to circulate this year.  Norovirus is highly infectious and spreads easily in environments such as nurseries and schools. We would ask you to encourage all staff and children to wash their hands regularly. Please see the norovirus section of our website, where you can download posters to display:

http://publichealth.warwickshire.gov.uk/health-protection/norovirus/

For other advice for the winter season, please see the Stay Well in Winter campaign website:

http://www.nhs.uk/staywell/

Norovirus

Norovirus, also known as “winter vomiting disease”, commonly occurs in the winter months, and causes vomiting and diarrhoea. The symptoms usually last between 12 and 60 hours, and tend to start with the sudden onset of nausea followed by projectile vomiting and diarrhoea.

Good hygiene, including thorough hand washing, especially after toilet visits and before eating, will help reduce the spread of infection. Norovirus can contaminate the hands of children and staff if not adequately washed, and the environment is easily contaminated if a child has been unwell, as virus particles can remain in the air and settle in the environment. Therefore, if a child does become unwell in your nursery or school, it is important to clean up spillages and the surrounding environment promptly, and make sure that cleaning frequency is increased. All areas should be cleaned initially with a detergent and water, followed by a chlorine-based agent (e.g. Milton).  Pay attention to surfaces that are frequently touched, e.g. tabletops, taps and sinks, toilet handles and light switches. Make sure toilets are clean.  

Handwashing, Infection Control and Outbreaks

It is important that hands are washed correctly, please see: bit.ly/16gN5xDfor the recommended washing technique. Liquid soap should be used and not bar soap, which increases the risk of cross contamination.

Commercial products to clean hands are currently being marketed directly to schools and nurseries. These products are similar to hand decontaminants used in hospitals. Some are being sold as a replacement for hand washing. Please be aware that following visits to the toilet, or any other activity where hands may be physically soiled, hand washing with soap and water is the only recommended method of cleaning hands.

If your nursery or school experiences an outbreak, i.e. two or more cases of diarrhoea and/or vomiting, please contact Public Health England on 0344 2253560 option 2, option 1 for advice. In addition to the hygiene and cleaning measures outlined above, it is important that all staff and children with symptoms stay at home until 48 hours after their symptoms stop.

Further information and resources can be found in the “Norovirus Toolkit for Schools and Nurseries” at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140714084352/http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1227851390634

Finally, we hope you will take the opportunity to look at e-Bug, a really useful online resource for schools to help teach children and young people about microbes, infection, hygiene, vaccinations and antibiotic resistance. Please see:

www.e-bug.eu