Healthy Schools Cardiff Network

Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes – Cardiff Healthy Schools Team

The Cardiff Healthy Schools team within the Cardiff Education Service supports all schools across the Local Authority to achieve a whole school approach to promoting health and wellbeing. There are seven key health topics:

• Food and Fitness (including aspects such as food and drink provision, healthy eating and practical cooking, hydration, physical education and active play)
• Mental and Emotional Health and Well Being (including aspects such as pupil wellbeing assessments, universal and targeted provision, staff wellbeing, and anti-bullying)
• Personal Development and Relationships (including Relationships and Sexuality Education)
• Substance Use and Misuse (including aspects such as medicines, smoking, alcohol and drugs)
• Environment (linking to the Eco Schools programme, Fairtrade and the school environment)
• Safety (including aspects such as safeguarding, e-safety, sun safety, road safety)
• Hygiene (including aspects such as infection control, oral hygiene, hand-washing, toilet hygiene, food hygiene)

To develop and embed a whole school approach to each health topic, the following aspects are addressed:

• Leadership and Communication – Policy and procedures, staff training, linking with local and national initiatives
• Curriculum – Ensuring the use of relevant resources and linking to the new Curriculum for Wales, along with out-of-hours provision
• Ethos and Environment – Including pupil voice and participation, staff involvement and an environment that supports health and wellbeing
• Family and Community Involvement – involvement of parents/carers/families and governors, linking with local partner organisations  

Every school in Cardiff has a designated Healthy Schools Officer, who directly supports coordinators in each school to actively promote and embed these key topics into the school community. Schools progress through the scheme by creating action plans and completing accreditations at the end of each phase. Schools then continue their progression by achieving the National Quality Award (NQA). The NQA is a prestigious, independently assessed award, celebrating a school’s commitment to health and wellbeing of their pupils, staff and whole school community.

How do the Healthy Schools team support schools?

• School support visits to action plan around the 7 key health topics
• Complete local phase accreditations, where schools achieve a plaque of recognition
• Working with partner agencies and signposting schools to relevant support
• Deliver and facilitate staff training on a range of health topics.
• Developing resources and toolkits to assist with curriculum delivery
• Developing relevant policy templates
• Sharing and loaning resources to support these key topics
• Organising networking events for schools and partner organisations
• Sharing information through e-bulletins, newsletters and social media.

If your school would like further help with the scheme, contact your Healthy Schools Officer.

You can find us on Twitter: @CdfHealthySch

The Cardiff Healthy Schools team is a part of the Council’s Education Service and Public Health Wales’ – Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes (WNHSS). The WNHSS was launched in 1999 and ‘The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises the WNHSS as playing a key role in promoting the health of children and young people’.

For further information about the WNHSS please follow this link: https://www.publichealthnetwork.cymru/en/social-determinants/education/welsh-network-of-healthy-school-schemes-wnhss/