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Press release: The majority of schools visited are making a positive contribution to the health and well-being of pupils

National Healthy School Programme has had a positive impact on schools

The majority of schools are making a valuable contribution to pupils’ health and well-being, according to a new report published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) today.

Healthy schools, healthy children? The contribution of education to pupils’ health and well-being concludes that the National Healthy School Programme and the introduction of the Every Child Matters agenda have had a positive impact on schools and made them more active in dealing with pupils’ health and well-being.

The schools that contributed most effectively to pupils’ health and well-being had leadership teams which recognised the link between physical well-being and the readiness to learn and achieve. They created an ethos which promoted health and engaged pupils, parents and staff. The most successful schools were those where theory was reflected in practice, for example through the school fruit and vegetable scheme and ensuring pupils had two hours of physical activity each week.

The survey found many examples of positive work, including guidelines for parents on healthy lunches, out-of-school physical activities organised by parents’ associations, ‘walking buses’, ‘healthy school’ groups where staff, students, parents and governors jointly planned events, and creative use of the visual and performing arts to communicate health-related messages.

In all the schools visited pupils felt that bullying was dealt with effectively, but Ofsted found that mental health issues were not tackled sufficiently across the curriculum. A minority of schools focused too little on the potential impact of drugs, smoking and alcohol on pupils’ lives.

In the schools visited for the survey personal, social and health education (PSHE) played a positive role in promoting pupils’ health and well-being but effective assessment of this area of learning, linked to clear objectives and outcomes, was absent.

The survey identified areas of weakness in some schools, including a lack of consultation with parents and pupils to help promote healthier lifestyles; the continuing poor quality of school meals where they are not produced on the premises; and a lack of importance attached to facilities for physical activity.

Ofsted’s Director of Education, Miriam Rosen, said:

"The majority of schools are making a valuable contribution to pupils’ health and well-being. Now is the time for the government to focus on those schools that are not making such a positive contribution to their pupils’ health and well-being, and support them through the National Healthy School Programme. Local authorities should improve the quality of school meals that are not prepared on school premises."

In all the schools where food was not produced on the premises, there was continuing poor nutritional value in some of the school meals. All the schools surveyed directly for this report provided a good range of opportunities for pupils to be physically active, although three of them were limited by a lack of outdoor facilities, as were other schools in the wider sample of schools whose physical education provision was scrutinised.

The report recommends that schools:

• involve pupils and parents more closely in promoting healthier lifestyles

• set clear learning objectives for PSHE and assess the extent to which they have been met using the guidance from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

• develop strategies to maintain pupils’ mental health through National Healthy School Status or the PSHE curriculum

• place greater emphasis on teaching about the negative social impact of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse.

Secondary schools should:

• coordinate more effectively the transition from primary school and the different aspects of the secondary curriculum to maximise the impact of messages about healthy living.

Notes For Editors

1. Healthy schools, healthy children? The contribution of education to pupils’ health and well-being survey was conducted in 18 schools (10 primary, six secondary and two special schools) between summer 2005 and spring 2006. The survey was supplemented by evidence from Ofsted’s surveys of individual subjects in 102 schools during the same period. On these visits, inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of health education in relation to the subject they were inspecting.

2. Ofsted is a non-ministerial government department established under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 to take responsibility for the inspection of all schools in England. Its role also includes the inspection of further education, local authority children’s services, teacher training institutions and some independent schools. During 2001, Ofsted became responsible for inspecting all 16-19 education and for the regulation of early years childcare, including childminders.

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