Around 12 schools are selected each year to take part in the Health for Life in Primary Schools Programme in order to ensure that each school has a sufficient level of support.

Selected schools will take part in the programme for a period of four terms.  During this time they will receive support to plan and implement the programme to suit their particular circumstances.

We do require a level of commitment from each school joining the programme, because if a school drops-out halfway through the programme their place can’t be offered to another school.

Services For Education recruits schools in the summer term in order to start the programme the following September. Information is sent out by email, post and during an online briefing session to eligible schools.

Autumn Term

With the help of a Services For Education Adviser you will:

• Ascertain starting points and record them
• Get children involved to review current practice
• Complete on-line baseline surveys with pupils
• Complete a baseline audit of school practice
• Identify barriers and factors that hinder progress
• Develop ideas that will promote change
• Nominate a member of staff to attend the two funded training days
• Prepare an Action Plan that will structure and keep track of resources required, jobs, dates for completion and success criteria
• By the start of December submit your action plan to the steering group for approval. This will trigger the first part of the grant (£3,500 to be paid in two stages).

Spring Term 

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will:

• Start to implement your Action Plan
• Engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing).

Summer term

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will:

• Continue with implementing your Action Plan
• Attend the celebration event in June to help share good ideas (compulsory)
• Take part in BBC Gardeners’ world wheelbarrow event (optional)
• Continue to engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Continue to address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing).

Autumn term

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will:

• Continue with implementing your Action Plan
• Continue to engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Continue to address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Take part in the ‘Cookathon’ (optional)
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing)
• Repeat the online surveys with pupils
• Repeat the school audit
• Collate evidence of impact.

Spring term

You will:

• Continue with sustainable activities in your Action Plan
• Attend the Awards ceremony.

During the Autumn and Spring term there are four courses to be attended by an appropriate member of staff from each school.

• Growing food
• Physical activity
• Healthy eating/cooking skills
• Food safety qualification

Growing Food

The objective is to engage pupils in growing food to increase their knowledge and understanding of its links with a healthy lifestyle.

Example Activities:

• Create or extend a school garden for growing fruit and/or vegetables. Can also look at sustainability such as saving seeds; rotating  crops; harvesting rainwater; using school-produced compost, wormeries
• Use allotments for growing fruit and/or vegetables
• Fruit and vegetable growing in containers such as hanging baskets, troughs, ‘funny’ containers
• Planting fruit trees
• Build raised beds
• Build greenhouse

Physical Activity

The objective is to make a measurable increase in the amount of regular physical activity of pupils in order to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Example Activities:

• Active play in school grounds
• Play leader training (and implementation) for pupils
• Cycle training – Bikeability, Bike it
• Walk to school/scooter to school
• Build bike/scooter racks

Healthy eating/cooking skills

The objective is to make a measurable improvement in the diet of school children through cooking and healthy eating activities.

Example Activities

• Development of a recipe book for use in schools and at home
• Making healthy soups, drinks, picnics snack foods
• Cooking competitions between schools (with focus on healthy eating)
• Practical cooking lessons (with focus on healthy eating) with pupils
• Practical lessons on cooking through the ages (with focus on healthy eating)

Accordion Panel

Accordion Panel

The objective is to actively involve parents and families in promoting and adopting healthy, active lifestyles.

• Inspire workshops e.g. build-a-kite workshop
• Use of parent partnership workers
• Sharing of information through letters/emails/school website
• Train as walk leaders
• Family bike rides/family picnics
• Sending recipe home to cook as part of homework
• Sending seedlings home to grow at home

Accreditations and Partnerships:

The programme supports Change4Life and offers a range of opportunities to encourage families towards leading healthier lifestyles and works in partnership with Life Education Centres, Birmingham Adult Education Service, Sport Birmingham, Run Birmingham, Let’s Get Cooking, Grow to Learn, the Conservation Volunteers and more

The programme is funded by Mondelēz International. Health for Life is delivered in Primary and Nursery schools by Services for Education and the community programme is delivered by The Conservation Trust.

Testimonials:

“In less than 12 months of running the Health for Life programme, we’ve exceeded everything we hoped to achieve. It’s brought a whole community spirit back into school.”
– Teacher, Lakey Lane Primary

“In light of the statistics, it’s so important that children are educated on the importance of being active and eating healthily now more than ever. The Health for Life programme effectively engages young people in a fun and educational way.”
– Dr Adrian Phillips, Director of Public Health, Birmingham

“You feel really proud that you’ve helped to grow the foods that you’re eating.”  – Y5 pupil

“Health for Life has a really beneficial impact on the life of the school. This learning will stay with our children for the rest of their lives and hopefully they will build on what they’ve started here and it will be something that really will be health for life.”
– Teacher, Sladefield Infants School

The main documents that you will need through the course of the Health for Life programme can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.

Primary Schools:

• Health For Life Photo/Video Permissions Form
• Example Invoice for Health For Life
• Volunteer Request Form
• Expenditure Guidance For Schools

To mark this phenomenal achievement, three ‘10th Year Anniversary Grants’ have been offered to schools who could show that Health for Life truly is a part of school life. Successful schools will receive £5000 each in order to build on existing success in one of the strands of the Health for Life programme; Healthy Eating and Cooking, Growing Food or Physical Activity.

The panel had an immensely difficult but enjoyable task in reading through all of the applications and wish to commend all of those who applied.

The three successful schools (in no particular order) are (drum roll!)… …

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNING SCHOOLS

And a huge thank you to everyone who submitted an application. Family involvement still remains at the heart of Health for Life and we were delighted to have received so many creative and meaningful award submissions.