Health Education Policy

Health Education will be a key part of every pupil’s curriculum. The essential features of this policy are the promotion of quality of life and the physical, social and mental well being of the individual both child and adult. The Health Education curriculum at Greenway School will cover the provision of information about what is good and what is harmful and will involve the development of skills that will help individuals to use their knowledge effectively.

Specific health concerns such as smoking, drugs and personal safety will form part of a coherent Health Education Programme. Pupils will be encouraged and challenged to establish healthy patterns of behaviour to acquire the ability to make healthy choices and to contribute to the development of a healthy population. Some areas of Health Education will be taught discretely however most will be covered in a cross curriculum approach. Health Education strands will be identified specifically in curriculum plans.

The Governing Body at Greenway School has decided that Sex Education will be delivered as an integral part of the Health Education programme of study. This decision is reviewed on an annual basis. Parents are given the opportunity to view and discuss the materials used in this specific area. Parents are then notified in advance as to when the materials will be used and they have to confirm that they wish their child to participate. In the event of non-confirmation from a parent their child will not attend any of the sessions.

Two recent Government initiatives ‘Every Child Matters’ and ‘Healthy Schools’ clearly reflect that the responsibility for Health Education is shared with others apart from schools. Provision for Health Education will include opportunities for involving Governors, parents, families and the community so that what is learned at school can be supported by appropriate experiences at home and in the community.

The emphasis in the Health Education curriculum will be on encouraging individual responsibility, awareness and informed decision-making. This will require the use of a balanced range of teaching methods. Opportunities will be provided for pupils to assess evidence, make decisions, negotiate, listen, make and deal with relationships, solve problems and work independently and with confidence. The use of ICT, visits and contributions from visitors, will ensure that much of the teaching in health Education will be based on the active involvement of pupils. The school will adopt teaching methods particularly suited to this kind of approach including games, simulations, case studies, role play, problem-solving exercises, questionnaires, surveys, open-ended questions and sentences and group work of various kinds.

Health Education takes place both in and out of the classroom.

The relationships between staff and pupils and those among staff themselves are important elements of Health Education. Standards, attitudes and patterns of behaviour convey powerful messages and their significance is often underestimated. This school’s generic teaching approach of ‘accelerated learning’ is underpinned by the need to support a child’s emotional intelligence. Lessons will promote courtesy, concern, respect and acceptance of responsibility for self and others. These qualities will be valued consistently in ever aspect of school life. The school reflects it level of expectation of all pupils by a single school rule ‘Always do your best.’ Health messages have a more significant impact if they are supported by opportunities to exercise skills learnt in the classroom through, for example, appropriate systems of reward. The focus at Greenway School is to promote and foster the positive.

Those individuals who are happy with their images are able to take increasing control of their lives, including decisions relating to healthy lifestyles. The organisation, management structures, personnel and teaching methods encourage the development of self-confidence and self-esteem.

The quality of relationships between Greenway School and the local community is also important. Opportunities are sought on a regular basis both to go out into the community and to draw people in from the community.

The physical environment of Greenway School will also promote effective health education. The installation of an activity trail at the front of the school sends a powerful message that exercise, through play, in a structured environment is important. Similarly the availability of water in every classroom is consistent with best practice in optimising the brain’s capacity to operate.

The school’s food policy will also help to ensure that the entire school community and the wider community understand the ethos of the school in relation to food and drink, both within the curriculum and in food and drink provision.

Key areas that will be covered include

Substance use and misuse

• Know that all medicines are drugs but not all drugs are medicines.
• Know that there are over-the counter, prescribed, legal and illegal substances and have some understanding of their effects.
• Know how to make simple choices and exercise some basic techniques for resisting pressure from friends and others.
• Know the important and beneficial part which drugs have played in society.

Sex Education

• Begin to know about and have some understanding of the physical, emotional and social changes which take place at puberty.
• Know the basic biology of human reproduction and understand some of the skills necessary for parenting.
• Know that there are many different patterns of friendship; be able to talk about friends with important adults.

Family Life Education

• Understand what is meant by “relationships” within families, between friends and in the community.
• Know how children develop from birth to 5+ and be aware that there are different patterns of child-rearing; understand the importance of good parenting.
• Know about the needs of the old/ill and understand what happens with death.
• Know about helping agencies which can support families and individuals in different circumstances.

Safety

• Be able to keep safe and use basic safety procedures.
• Be able to accept responsibility for the safety of themselves and others.
• Acquire a knowledge of and be able to practise basic first aid.

Health-related Exercise

• Know that exercise strengthens bones, muscles and organs and keeps the body supple.
• Know that if energy intake is greater than expenditure of energy the body stores the excess as fat.

Food and Nutrition

• Know that a diet is a combination of foods, each with a different nutrient content.
• Know that different nutrients have different effects on the body and the amounts in the diet and balance between them, can influence health, e.g. sugar and dental health.
• Know how to handle foods safely and recognise the importance of additives in food safety.

Personal Hygiene

• Understand the needs and, where allowed to, accept responsibility for personal cleanliness.
• Know about different cultural practices in personal hygiene and food handling.
• Know and understand how changes at puberty affect the body in relation to hygiene.
• Know about the factors which bring about dental decay and practise good dental hygiene.

Environmental aspects of Health Education

• Know that within any environment there are people with different attitudes, values and beliefs and that these influence people’s relationships with each other and with the environment.
• Recognise some environmental hazards and identify some ways in which these may be reduced, e.g. passive smoking.

Psychological Aspects of Health Education

• Recognise that individuals belong to many groups in which they will have different roles.
• Understand that individual responses to events will vary and respect other people’s emotions and feelings.
• Understand that actions have consequences for oneself and others.
• Understand the meaning of friendship and loyalty and begin to develop skills needed to form relationships.

INSET

As with other subject areas opportunities will be available for staff to increase their knowledge and expertise in delivering an effective Health Education curriculum. The school will continue to draw heavily on these outside agencies

• School Nurse
• School Doctor
• Educational Psychologist
• Physiotherapist
• Horsham Leisure Link