The Healthier Child Project is an initiative funded by the Public Health Northamptonshire and is delivered by Northamptonshire Sport in partnership with the Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT). It has been designed to respond to the growing childhood obesity challenge within Northamptonshire. The visionary Directors of Public Health and Northamptonshire Sport wanted to provide an intervention to influence and change the behaviour of our young people. The outcome of the project is that there is a generation of young people who have the skills, knowledge and desire to improve their health and well being, leading to a reduction in their levels of obesity.
The project started in October 2014, with 74 Primary Schools signing up. The project targets years 4 -6 but also strives to embed a whole school approach to health and well being. A team of 4 Healthy Child Advisors (HCA) were recruited and deployed through the NHFT Schools Nursing team to provide tailored 1:1 support for schools with a focus on 3 key areas: Healthy Eating; Physical Activity (including PE & Sport) & Mental Health & Wellbeing. The project starts with an initial meeting between the school’s senior management to collectively establish the current position of the school, using a Framework for Discussion document. Agreement is made as to the school’s start point in the 3 areas, with the HCA then provides a bespoke action plan, which identifies key partners and outcomes.
Every school is unique so the bespoke nature of the intervention means that the work undertaken can be truly focussed on where each school (and therefore the pupils within the school) need assistance. For many it is advice and support regarding improvements in the culture of healthy eating within the school; for others it is about mental health and well being; for some it is assistance and advice regarding physical health and levels of activity. Now in its third year, the Healthier Child project continues a pace. There are now 128 schools engaged in the programme. Overall, the project has helped schools to:
- implement healthy eating policies /deliver cooking classes for children, parents and staff,
- set up Change 4 Life clubs & Family Funs clubs
- access active play ground initiatives and redevelop outside areas
- access funding for captial projects to improve schools physical landscape
The Healthier Child Project is an initiative funded by the Public Health Northamptonshire and is delivered by Northamptonshire Sport in partnership with the Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT). It has been designed to respond to the growing childhood obesity challenge within Northamptonshire. The visionary Directors of Public Health and Northamptonshire Sport wanted to provide an intervention to influence and change the behaviour of our young people. The outcome of the project is that there is a generation of young people who have the skills, knowledge and desire to improve their health and well being, leading to a reduction in their levels of obesity.
The project started in October 2014, with 74 Primary Schools signing up. The project targets years 4 -6 but also strives to embed a whole school approach to health and well being. A team of 4 Healthy Child Advisors (HCA) were recruited and deployed through the NHFT Schools Nursing team to provide tailored 1:1 support for schools with a focus on 3 key areas: Healthy Eating; Physical Activity (including PE & Sport) & Mental Health & Wellbeing. The project starts with an initial meeting between the school’s senior management to collectively establish the current position of the school, using a Framework for Discussion document. Agreement is made as to the school’s start point in the 3 areas, with the HCA then provides a bespoke action plan, which identifies key partners and outcomes.
Every school is unique so the bespoke nature of the intervention means that the work undertaken can be truly focussed on where each school (and therefore the pupils within the school) need assistance. For many it is advice and support regarding improvements in the culture of healthy eating within the school; for others it is about mental health and well being; for some it is assistance and advice regarding physical health and levels of activity. Now in its third year, the Healthier Child project continues a pace. There are now 128 schools engaged in the programme. Overall, the project has helped schools to:
- implement healthy eating policies /deliver cooking classes for children, parents and staff,
- set up Change 4 Life clubs & Family Funs clubs
- access active play ground initiatives and redevelop outside areas
- access funding for captial projects to improve schools physical landscape
- strengthen links with community groups that address health and wellbeing
- develop links with parents to improve family health and wellbeing
- embed a culture of healthy eating, targeting lunchboxes and embedding a ‘fruit only’ culture at break times in schools
- encourage healthy and sustainable breakfast and after school clubs to improve the health and wellbeing of students in all areas of the county
Each HCA has a number of schools to work with (up to 50 each) and a small development budget. However, the HCAs are encouraged to deliver projects that identify sources of funding from elsewhere, so the HCAs have become very effective at levering in funds from other funders. Examples of this include
- £11,500 from A Friends of and a Parish Council for the redevelopment of a school’s external play space so children can be more active at lunchtime
- £6000 to help a school fund the redevelopment of it’s dining hall so lunchtime becomes an inclusive experience for all pupils
- £600 from a local Co-Op store to provide cooking classes for parents and children
- £120,000 from a local community interest company to develop a park and school facility, including the development of a group of pupils to act as community champions
- For every £1 of the development f spent, £10 secured from other sources.
The Healthier Child Project is an example of an effective partnership approach. Northamptonshire County Council fund it, Northamptonshire Sport project manages it, NHFT employ the staff and the University of Northampton monitor the impact. This multi agency approach has been designed to embed the project both strategically and operationally within the 3 main partners. The project also operationally linked with partners including local housing charitites / organisations, Mental Health Services, Grow your Own, local supermarkets, local sports clubs (amateur and professional), Northamptonshire Police and the Fire Service.
In order to identify the impact of the programme, the University of Northampton has been commissioned to run a 3 year programme of monitoring and evaluation which begins when a school signs up to the programme via a pre participation questionnaire. This is completed by children, staff and parents. End of Year 2 data has not been released as yet, and year 1 was a base line gathering exercise, but indications are that the project has helped schools implement new strategies and interventions that will enable the school, families and children to promote and live healthier lives.
Comments from Head Teachers regarding the Healthier Child project include:
- Increased resources for health and well being and more awareness of services available
- Provided some matched funding
- Improvement in staff wellbeing
- Introduction of Change 4 Life clubs
- Health and wellbeing now seen as a high priority for pupils, parents and staff
- The healthy lunch box leaflet and campaign has helped my parents understand what they should be putting in their children’s lunch boxes
The research concluded that whilst children are in the main positive about health and wellbeing, this attitude does not always translate into positive behaviour. The Healthier Child Project will continue to promote engagement in health-enhancing behaviour and embed a cultural change across Schools. This has also included influencing the take up of school dinners, improvements in the quality of school dinners by working with local catering providers and the publication of a healthy lunchbox leaflet and an accompanying healthy lunch box design competition.
Other benefits to engaging in the project include:
- Free support & advice on health, physical activity & wellbeing for the school
- Links school up with local partners to deliver healthy lifestyle activities within the school (e.g. School Sports Partnerships, School Nursing & Weight Management)
- Provides access to a wide range of services & free resources
- access funding for captial projects to improve schools physical landscape
- Helps children perform better through schemes of wellbeing & behaviour management
- Develops skills of staff team (Continuous Person Development opportunities)
- Helps schools to apply for additional funds and grants available from local businesses
- Help with OFSTED preparation, meeting guidelines and standards for Health & Wellbeing
The impact of the project has been significant in that the KPIs achieved to date have exceeded targets and, more importanrtly, there is a strong network of schools who have taken massive steps forward in cultural behaviours and attitude to health and well being. There have been challenges, including parents who refuse to accept a new school policy that bans chocolate bars from lunch boxes or rewarding good behaviour with trips to McDonalds, but the county has a strong network of dedicated school staff who are using the project to change children’s lives.