WE2 An empowering curriculum
Approval of £350k grant to improve health and wellbeing of Warwickshire pupils
Last week, Cllr Peter Butlin, Deputy Leader for Finance and Property approved the addition of £304,268 of the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund (HPCF) to the 2018/19 capital programme and a direct allocation to all Warwickshire maintained schools to support in addressing their individual priorities.
A number of different options for allocation of this funding were put forward for consideration in the proposal document. The final decision of the Deputy Leader was made to pass on the per-school amount received from the DfE, to enable all pupils of community, foundation and voluntary controlled schools in Warwickshire to benefit from the funding. A minimum and maximum allocation will be imposed to ensure smaller schools receive proportionally greater amounts than larger schools.
Cllr Butlin also agreed to a proposal being worked on for the remaining £50,000 of the HPCF to contribute towards the capital expenses of developing school breakfast clubs and other food provision initiatives to encourage healthy eating, especially in deprived areas. A separate report on this will be submitted for approval in the near future.
The funding, allocated to Warwickshire County Council from the Department for Education, is provided from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy for 2018/19 and must be used to improve the physical and mental health of children and young people by improving and increasing availability to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing and medical conditions.
There has been no indication from government that this grant will be repeated in future years.
Large multi-academy trusts (MATs) will receive funding directly from the DfE, whilst single and small academy trusts will have the opportunity to bid for HPCF through the Condition Improvement Fund.
WSCB warn of the threat to Warwickshire pupils from organised crime groups
Warwickshire Safeguarding Children’s Board is urging professionals working with children and young people to be vigilant for signs of vulnerability or involvement in organised crime and to raise awareness of the dangers with children, parents and carers.
There is a growing threat to young people in Warwickshire, with school pupils being targeted and exploited by organised crime groups operating in the area.
There are known cases of gangs involved in organised crime operating in the north and south of the county, and children as young as 13 years being exploited by County Lines groups based in Birmingham and Coventry.
This important briefing provides further information about the County Lines groups operating locally, the signs to watch out for to spot if a child or young person might be at risk, and what to do if you have serious concerns. There are also some helpful links to information and guidance on the Children's Society and Gov.uk websites.
We would strongly encourage you to share this with all staff to help them to spot the signs and so they can also make pupils aware of the dangers.
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Awareness Day – 18 March 2019
Warwickshire multi-agency CSE, Missing & Trafficking team and its partners are supporting the NWG Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day on Monday 18 March. They will be highlighting the ongoing partnership work and long term approach to tackling CSE in Warwickshire with a series of activities and social media messages between 17 and 22 March.
The week is an opportunity to encourage everyone to think, spot and speak out against abuse. In recognition of the links to wider threats, there will be a particular focus on County Lines and Criminal Exploitation on Thursday 21 March.
Please support the day by sharing our messages across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and take time to recognise the signs of abuse here: www.somethingsnotright.org
Twitter @WarksCSE
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/warwickshirecse/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/warkscse/
Warwickshire youngsters help county to stub-out smoking near schools
Schools in Warwickshire are hoping to persuade parents not to smoke outside the school gates when taking their children to and from school by introducing smoke-free zones with the help of some artistic pupils. School gates are an overlooked part of the school where pupils can be exposed to smoking behaviour. Current evidence shows that children exposed to smoking on a regular basis are significantly more likely to start smoking themselves, with around 200,000 children under the age of 15 taking up smoking each year in the UK.
Designs from two children are being used by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) for smoke-free zone signs on school railings throughout the county. Their installation coincided with national No Smoking Day on 13 March - an annual health awareness day to help smokers who want to quit smoking.
The winning designs were selected by WCC Portfolio Holder for Health and Adult Social Care, Cllr Les Caborn; Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services, Cllr Jeff Morgan and Deputy Director of Public Health Helen King. A total of 30 entries were received from 15 schools with Ruby (Year 2 at Exhall Cedars Infant School) and Amelia (Year 6 at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Studley) having their creations chosen for the official no smoking signs. They each received £100 for their class to spend as they wish.
If you would like to introduce no smoking zones around your school gates then please contact WCC’s Public Health team at phadmin@warwickshire.gov.uk. Interested schools will be provided with two no smoking signs and a toolkit that has been designed to equip schools with the information they need to adopt or update current smoke-free policy.
For those who would like to stop smoking, you are four times more likely to quit for good with the help of a trained Stop Smoking Advisor. There is support available in Warwickshire - go to quit4good.warwickshire.gov.uk to find out more.
Update from School Health
National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)
Mop up sessions for the 2018-19 National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) will finish at the end of the month. School Health would like to thank schools for their assistance in the smooth running of this programme. Following a review of the NCMP results we are continuing to contact parents of children who have been recorded as “very over weight”.
We are suggesting that families access the Fitter Futures programmes which run throughout the county supporting children and families with weight management concerns.
Upcoming event
Our contact details
ChatHealth - young people can contact us directly using our confidential text messaging number: 07507 331525
ChatHealth Parentline - parents can contact us directly using our confidential text messaging number: 07520 619376
Referrals to the service - referral forms have been sent to schools and are on the Warwickshire School Health and Wellbeing website
Reading for Meaning - Reading for Life course
