School Health & Wellbeing Service

In line with government guidelines, the School Health & Wellbeing Service aims to assess the health needs of all children, young people and their families in Warwickshire and involve them in how services and interventions are effectively delivered. The information collected through these assessments enables the service to offer one to one support to families and helps guide the wider priorities for the service of support to schools.

For children who started in Reception in September 2016, we have achieved a completion rate of approximately 45%. This is a really positive return rate, however we would like to increase this even further.

Please could we ask you to encourage parents of reception children in your schools to complete the health needs assessment through the portal at

https://idhealth.aql.com/warwickshire/school-entry

Each area has its own password:

North Schools (North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth) = North@1617

Central Schools (Rugby, Warwick, Leamington and Southam) = Central@1617

South Schools (Stratford, Kenilworth, Studley, Kineton, Shipston) = South@1617

If you are not sure which area your school is in, or you have a number of parents that require some support completing the questionnaire  please contact the team on 03300 245 204

Many thanks for your support with this.

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/16gN5xD for 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

 

Tackling antibiotic resistance - how can schools get involved?

If you’re a teacher or school nurse, or you work in an educational setting, you have the opportunity to educate young people about one of the biggest health threats we face globally - antimicrobial resistance.

Our antibiotics are under threat. Overuse and misuse of these drugs is making them less effective at treating infections and we face a future where they may no longer work at all.

Every year many children receive prescriptions for antibiotics and while it’s important they get these vital medicines when needed, research shows that prescriptions are often unnecessary and are given for illnesses that antibiotics can’t treat, like colds and flu.

But apart from that stark warning, why does this matter for schools and children?

Simple actions can slow antibiotic resistance.

Very basic knowledge about how antibiotics work or simple infection control (careful hand washing for instance) can make all the difference.

Children can even pass these messages on to parents and family at home.

So we need to share messages about the fight against antibiotic resistance throughout society, with health professionals, health leaders and the public.

That’s why we want to engage teachers, as you are best placed to spread the word in schools, talking to our children and alerting colleagues about available tools and learning resources.

Could you run an event or class in your school for instance, encouraging children to be ‘Antibiotic Guardians’?

How can you do this and what tools and resources are available?

This year we are introducing Junior and Family Antibiotic Guardian as part of our wider Antibiotic Guardian campaign.

This is the first time the campaign has focused on young children and students, making use of our free e-Bug educational resource and the digital badging website Make Waves.

Junior and Family Antibiotic Guardian have been developed in collaboration with Makewaves, for children, young people and their families/carers to complete tasks and earn badges.

Though the badges have been designed to coincide with World Antibiotic Awareness Week in November they are available to be earned all year round.

Junior and Family Antibiotic Guardian make use of e-bug; free online resources which provide educational material on microbes.

They also cover infection control and antibiotics and include pages dedicated to both teachers and students, broken down into material suitable for juniors and seniors. These include:

-Interactive games

-Online quizzes

-Lesson plans

-Handouts for students

-A homepage for teachers including links to training modules for educators

-Resources for running a community based course on microbes

Many schools are registered with Make Waves, but if yours isn’t, you can sign up easily online. Any questions about joining the Academy or earning these badges can be emailed to hello@makewav.es.

What can you do next?

As an educator, you can choose a pledge and sign up to become an Antibiotic Guardian yourself and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

You can also register your activity with us if your school plans on joining in with Junior Antibiotic Guardian by filling out this online form.

 

 

Dental survey of 5 year olds

Public Health England Dental Public Health Intelligence Programme.

National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England: Oral Health of five year old children 2016-2017

We are seeking your support for our NHS colleagues who will be carrying out the dental survey of five year old children over the next school year.

Tooth decay is a preventable disease. Toothache can cause pain, infection, difficulties with eating, sleeping and socialising and impacts on school readiness and school absence. Extraction of teeth under general anaesthetic remains one of the most common reasons for children to be admitted to hospital.

The national surveys provide benchmarking data that may be used by Local Authorities to plan and commission oral health improvement interventions and evaluate them. The surveys also inform national policy.

We have passed on your details to the very experienced local dental team at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust (Warwickshire Special Care Dental Service) who will be undertaking the survey. They will be selecting schools at random to participate in the survey; if your school is selected they will make contact in due course. They will be able to discuss the practicalities of the survey including the process for consent for each child, and how to make it an enjoyable and positive experience for all involved.

We would be very grateful for your cooperation and support with this survey as the data collected will be very useful locally. If you have any questions about the survey, please direct them to the dental team (contact details below) in the first instance.

Warwickshire Special Care Dental Service,
Whitnash Lodge,
Leamington Hospital
Heathcote Lane,
Warwick
CV34 6SR
Tel: 01926 317778

Are you anxious, down or struggling to cope?

Big White Wall is a free 24/7 online support service, here to help people living in Warwickshire

It’s a fact that one in four of us will experience anxiety, depression or other common mental health problem during our lives. We also know that talking about it can be difficult. But people no longer have to struggle alone. Whether you’re dealing with a mental health issue or just feel burdened by everyday worries or concerns, Big White Wall provides safe, anonymous online support 24/7 to people living in Warwickshire.

Big White Wall provides a supportive, online community to give help when you’re feeling down. Trained counsellors are available 24/7, and there’s a choice of safe therapeutic services, including self-help courses, also accessible online. So anyone who may be struggling can get support at a time that suits them, from the comfort of their own home.

Big White Wall is available free in Warwickshire, funded by Warwickshire County Council. Residents can simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and enter their Warwickshire postcode to join.

New videos for parents talking to teenagers about relationships and sexual health

Warwickshire County Council’s Respect Yourself has launched three new videos to help parents talk to their teenagers about relationships and sexual health respectyourself.info/parents/talking-to-your-children/.

The Respect Yourself programme  aims to give young people the power to make positive, informed decisions about their relationships and sexual health. Volunteers help to develop content for the website.The young people who volunteer are vital to making Respect Yourself a success; they give their time freely and are motivated to improve things for others.

Recently, volunteers have turned their attention to improving information in the ‘parent’ section of the website. This includes the three videos:

• Talking to young people about sexting
• Talking to your child about sex and relationships
• What you need to know about child sexual exploitation (CSE)

The tips in the videos include advice such as treating questions about sex and relationships seriously, and praising your children for asking you for information. They do not tell parents what they should or shouldn’t do, but are packed with practical information which they may find useful when talking to their children on this subject.

To watch the videos, or find out more information about Respect Yourself, visit: respectyourself.info/parents/talking-to-your-children/.

You can also download the leaflet ‘Talking to your children about relationships and sex’ at: apps.warwickshire.gov.uk/api/documents/WCCC-859-136.

Kenilworth students join dementia friendly campaign

A group of over 200 sixth form students from Kenilworth School and Sixth Form became ‘Dementia Friends’ recently, as part of a campaign to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding around the condition.

The group attended a free one-hour Information Session delivered at Kenilworth School run by local Dementia Friends Champions, Keeley Waldron and Claire Taylor.

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, talks and acts about the condition. The charity wants there to be four million Dementia Friends with the know-how to help people with dementia feel understood and included in their community.

There are currently 850,000 people living with the condition in England.

Raising awareness of dementia, creating dementia friendly communities and supporting people to live well with dementia are key aims of Warwickshire’s Living Well with Dementia Strategy (2016-2019). To support people to live well with dementia and to raise awareness and understanding of the condition, Warwickshire County Council and partners are aiming to create 30,000 Dementia Friends across Warwickshire by 2019.

If other schools or colleges (or any other organisation) are interested in hosting a one hour information session, please contact Keeley Waldron from the Alzheimer’s Society for more information Keeley.Waldron@alzheimers.org.uk

For further information or to become a Dementia Friend online, go to dementiafriends.org.uk

For support for people living with Dementia in Warwickshire, visit:warwickshire.gov.uk/dementia 

Change4Life will be launching an exciting new healthy eating campaign in early January 2017

School resources

Every primary school that is part of the School Fruit and Veg Scheme (SFVS) will receive new healthy eating teaching packs from early January. These schools will also receive copies of the consumer pack for pupils to take home in their book bags. The SFVS list of primary schools will be available on the CRC in the School Zone section from early December.

The teaching packs have been designed for Key Stage 1 and 2 and include lesson plans, assembly presentations and suggestions for how to get the whole school involved. Teachers will be able to download further copies in January directly from the School Zone.

Our latest teacher newsletter is available here for you to share with your school networks, letting them know the new teaching packs are coming.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thank you for your support.

The PHE Partnerships Team

partnerships@phe.gov.uk