The National Healthy School Standard and Safety Education
The National Healthy School Standard (NHSS) is an accreditation scheme which allows schools to gain recognition as "Healthy Schools" and to use the healthy schools logo. The scheme has clear opportunities for safety education .
The national scheme
The scheme was launched nationally in England in 1999 by the government. Two ministers, Tessa Jowell (Health) and Jacqui Smith (Education), emphasised its importance in promoting the health of young people and communities.
The concept of healthy schools is not new. Pilot schemes have been running in different areas for some time. The NHSS builds on these and aims to involve the majority of schools by March 2002.
How does the scheme work?
Local partnerships of Education Authorities (LEAs) , Health Authorities (HAs) and other agencies provide support to local schools and assess their achievements against national criteria.
Schools audit their existing provision and involve the whole school community in devising an action plan. The action plan must address the health and well-being of everybody, staff as well as pupils. Schools must involve pupils in planning and find out their priorities and ideas. Schools must also work closely with their wider communities and relevant partner agencies. Safety professionals and organisations could be involved in the overall planning of a school’s scheme.
Which health issues are involved?
Following their audit, schools plan to work on issues chosen from the following themes:
- Personal, social and health education
- Citizenship
- Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
- Emotional health and well being
- Healthy eating
- Physical activity
- Safety
- Sex and relationships education.
Several of these themes give opportunities for safety work.
What does the safety theme involve?
The criteria include both health and safety management and the teaching of health and safety in the curriculum, including:
- schools must have a health and safety representative and must carry out regular risk assessments
- pupils should learn about first aid and how to assess risks
- play and recreation areas should be designed with health and safety in mind
- child protection and domestic violence should be discussed in the curriculum and staff must know the procedures for dealing with any incidents
- staff and pupils should be encouraged to walk or cycle to school and there should be a programme of safety training to support this.
Progress to date
NHSS schemes are up and running around the country and many schools are already involved. However, there is some evidence that schools are less likely to choose to focus on safety than the other themes.
How to find out more
Contact the NHSS national team who can put you in touch with your regional co-ordinator Tel: 0207 413 1865 or visit the Wired For Health website at www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk
This article is taken from the Safety Education Journal (Spring 2001).
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