Advice for healthy schools strategy managers in local authorities

Strategy guide Meeting strategic education goals in England through study support Advice for healthy schools strategy managers in local authorities Local authorities are under increasing pressure to deliver the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, extended services in and around schools, and other initiatives designed to raise standards, such as healthy schools and personalised learning. Study support (also known as out-of-school-hours learning – oshl) can help to address many of these initiatives simultaneously. Study support offers children the opportunity to take part in a range of informal and imaginative activities and projects outside normal lesson time, and has been shown to offer a range of benefits – for example, improving pupils’ attendance and levels of achievement. The government recognises the important contribution study support can make to a range of educational strategies. It is, therefore, working with key partners to embed study support within strategy documents and planning at both local authority and school level. This strategy guide highlights how: • • study support can assist the delivery of the healthy schools strategy • • study support can be built into the support you, as a strategy manager, already offer to schools • • schools can use study support to benefit pupils, schools and communities. About study support What is study support? ‘Study support is learning activity outside normal lessons which young people take part in voluntarily. Study support is, accordingly, an inclusive term, embracing many activities – with many names and guises. Its purpose is to improve young people’s motivation, build their self-esteem and help them become more effective learners. Above all it aims to raise achievement.’ (DfES, 1998; quoted in Study support: a national framework for extending learning opportunities, DfES, 2006) ‘Study support’ is a broad term that includes almost all activities that happen outside normal lesson time, including: • breakfast clubs • creative/performing arts and crafts • design technology and ICT • special interest groups or clubs • homework, revision and drop-in sessions • activities linked to the curriculum • peer mentoring and peer tutoring schemes • summer schools • residential experiences • visits to museums, galleries and heritage sites • modern foreign languages • environmental projects • volunteering. This is not an exhaustive list, and a key factor should be what engages and interests children and young people. There should be scope for the members to suggest, run or lead particular activities. The Study Support ETC pages of the ContinYou website provide more information on how to develop and sustain study support activities (www. continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc). The benefits of study support Study support is recognised as a key contributor to school improvement and the development of the whole child/young person. The greatest impact is seen when study support is strategically rooted, valued, planned and evaluated at both school and local authority level. For more information about study support and evidence of its impact, visit www.continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc and www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/studysupport. Study support has been shown to help to: • raise standards • improve behaviour and attendance • encourage parental and community involvement • ease transition • improve motivation, and attitudes towards, and engagement in, learning • increase self-esteem and confidence • tackle social exclusion. The grid on the next page, showing the key elements of the healthy schools strategy, gives more information on how study support links to its delivery and implementation. Funding study support programmes Although there is not one ring-fenced source of funding for study support, money can be used from a number of sources to support the delivery of activities. These include the core budget, the school standards grant (SSG), and money attributed to personalised learning. Schools that apply for designation as specialist schools are now required, as part of their strategic planning, to show how their activities contribute to the achievement of Every Child Matters and the core offer of extended services – thereby enabling the money associated with this designation to be used to support extended learning opportunities. How study support can help healthy schools strategy managers As a healthy schools strategy manager, you can help develop and sustain study support activities that will contribute towards achieving your targets. You might support activities aimed at particular groups of children, or you may find ways to incorporate study support into your mainstream strategy. How does study support promote healthy schools? Key elements in promoting healthy schools How study support fits with these elements or complements them Promote a school ethos and environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle Study support can have a dramatic impact on children’s confidence and on their enthusiasm for learning activities. Study support activities can boost relationships among children and between children and teachers, and can help to promote a whole-school approach to healthy living. They can also boost children’s confidence, enabling them to make better lifestyle choices. Use the full capacity and flexibility of the curriculum to achieve a healthy lifestyle Study support can help embed the healthy schools agenda within a child’s broader learning – for example, through using physical exercise to reinforce their understanding of maths, or through using science to reinforce their understanding of health issues – and linking these with the outside community and other schools. Ensure the food and drink available across the school day reinforces the healthy lifestyle message Initiatives such as cookery clubs, breakfast clubs and growing clubs (in which children grow vegetables that are prepared for school meals) teach children about diet, nutrition, food safety and hygiene, food preparation and where food comes from, in creative and engaging ways. Promote and ensure time and facilities for physical activity and sport, within and beyond the curriculum Study support clubs offer children a broad range of activities to help them discover what they enjoy and what they are good at. They help schools meet provision targets by offering activities before and after school, and at lunchtimes and weekends. They also offer activities that target disaffected young people. School sports clubs can create links with community sports clubs to help ensure that young people are physically active for life. Provide comprehensive PSHE, to develop an understanding of the full range of issues and behaviours that impact on lifelong health Study support can be specially designed to contribute to young people’s personal and social development and well-being, by enabling them to learn about peer values, risk, self-esteem and emotional and mental health in a relaxed environment. Activities can be designed to focus on individuals or groups that experience particular difficulties, and can offer culturally appropriate ways to address specific issues, such as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, sexuality and relationships. Support communities to work together – include parents and pupils in the decision-making process High-quality study support activities reflect the needs and wishes of the user group, on everything from what time the activity starts to what actually takes place. To achieve this, it is necessary to undertake robust and appropriate consultation, and know how to respond to the requests made. Approaching study support activities in this way helps to ensure sustainability, and also creates a sense of empowerment and increased confidence within the user group. It also helps to dissolve barriers that may exist between the community and the school. Some study support programmes offer accreditation for parents’ involvement, which can form part of a family learning programme. Case studies A healthy start to the day Redriff Primary School, Rotherhithe Children love the pineapple, watermelon and smoothies they have at the breakfast club in this small school in south-east London. The club, funded by the charity HealthFirst, was set up in early 2004 to provide children with healthy food and a safe, calm environment where they could play and meet their friends – and to meet the childcare needs of working parents. The club is open to any children from reception age upwards, with numbers ranging from fifteen to 28. It also focuses on the needs of some children who have a problem with attendance. Breakfast includes the usual toast and cereal, but the club organiser uses it as an opportunity to introduce pupils to new foods. Sometimes the children play games with fruit and vegetables. There is also a wall display of photographs of children and parents saying what their favourite fruit or vegetable is. Redriff Primary School is tackling these health improvement strategic objectives: • promote a school ethos and environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle • ensure the food and drink available across the school day reinforces the healthy lifestyle message. The effect The club helps the school to meet the dawn-to-dusk childcare requirement, and many of the children who attend the breakfast club go to after-school clubs too. But primarily it plays a vital part in the school’s health agenda by offering the children healthy food and developing their awareness of nutrition and healthy lifestyles. It also boosts children’s emotional health and well-being by offering shy children, or those with behavioural difficulties, a relaxed environment where they can socialise with other children. Cooking up success Norham Community Technology College, Newcastle The ability to cook a basic meal is a useful skill for any child, but the cookery club at Norham Community Technology College benefits children in a host of ways. It boosts their confidence, improves their team-working skills and builds their self-esteem. The local authority has encouraged the school to ‘have a go’ with the club and has provided a lot of help. It began as an activity to ease Year 7 students through transition from primary to secondary school, focusing on those who lacked confidence; but, as it evolved, the decision was made to include any student from Year 7 or 8 who wanted to attend. Because of its informal, friendly atmosphere, the club can be particularly beneficial to children who experience problems in other areas of their life. The children stay at school until 5pm on Mondays and learn simple skills and how to use basic equipment. They learn to cook dishes such as pasta, jacket potatoes and salads. Norham Community Technology College is tackling these health improvement strategic objectives: • promote a school ethos and environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle • ensure the food and drink available across the school day reinforces the healthy lifestyle message. The effect The children also learn about nutrition and healthy eating. ‘They become able to look at their packed lunches and feed back the healthy diet message into their home,’ says learning mentor Colin Thompson, who runs the club. The children also do ‘taste tests’ to compare the flavour of full-fat foods with low-fat alternatives. ‘They’re suddenly aware of what they’re eating and learning to taste the difference.’ ‘We know it’s having an effect because of what the children tell us about what they’re eating with their parents or carers. Sometimes they come in and say: “My dad was cooking this, but I told him to do it this way instead.”’ Study support and government policy on children and young people Study support plays a key role in a range of national policies and initiatives, including: • extended schools – study support contributes extensively to the delivery of the ‘core offer’ of extended services in and around schools to which every community should have access by 2010. The ‘varied menu of study support activities’ can also contribute to the delivery of the other four areas: childcare; community access, including adult learning; parenting support, including family learning; swift and easy referral; and shared use of facilities (www.teachernet.gov.uk/extended schools) • Every Child Matters (www.everychildmatters.gov.uk) • Personalised Learning (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/personalisedlearning) • Department for Culture, Media and Sport strategies (www.culture.gov.uk) • DfES Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners (www.dfes.gov.uk/publications) • Healthy Schools (www.healthyschools.gov.uk) • Learning Outside the Classroom (www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/resourcematerials/museums/ outsideclassroom) • Ofsted (www.ofsted.gov.uk) • PESSCL (www.youthsporttrust.org/page/pesscl/index.html) • Youth Matters (www.dfes.giv.uk/publications/youth) • 14–19 Strategy (www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/14to19) • Playing for Success (www.dfes.gov.uk/playingforsuccess). More information on how study support meets the challenges and targets presented by other initiatives can be found at www.continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc. Friday Fun Manor School, Nottingham Clearly, trampolining is the way to the hearts of members of the girls-only Friday Fun club. The girls, from Years 7 to 11, take part in activities ranging from giving each other facials and nail painting to street dance and Tai Chi. But trampolining wins hands down every time they give feedback. Friday Fun, previously known as the Friday Five, is an after-school club focusing on girls at risk and their friends, who have problems such as non-attendance, low achievement and emotional or behavioural difficulties. The club activities aim to help the girls become a cohesive, supportive group. Activities are based around holistic approaches to health that raise the girls’ self-esteem and belief in themselves. The financial support has come from the Big Lottery Fund, and the local authority and other schools have shown an interest in this club. Manor School is tackling these health improvement strategic objectives: • provide comprehensive PSHE, to develop an understanding of the full range of issues and behaviours which impact on lifelong health • promote a school ethos and environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle. The effect Now in its fourth year, the club has developed a strong student voice. ‘It’s now more about identifying student need than establishing activities from a teacher perspective,’ explains study support co-ordinator Stuart Greenwood. The students now sit on an organising committee and take on many roles in the organisation, including managing budgets, which builds their confidence. As a designated healthy school, Manor School has a number of clubs based on healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. By taking a holistic approach to young people’s well-being, tying exercise in with healthy eating, exercise, and activities such as Tai Chi for a healthy mind, Stuart believes that the scheme enables the girls to make considered judgements on issues such as drugs, alcohol and pregnancy. ‘We’ve had testimonies from girls who left the school saying how important the club had been for their confidence and self-belief. It gives them the confidence to go on and access better education or work opportunities.’ Quiet place Stocktonwood Community Primary School Domestic violence, bullying or other stresses at school or at home can have a huge impact on young children’s performance and all-round development. By providing a safe, calm space, someone to talk to, and strategies for dealing with their emotions, the Quiet Place scheme offers children and their families therapeutic solutions to help them cope. Stocktonwood is one of many schools around Liverpool running the scheme, through the Cheiron Trust. ‘The social and environmental deprivation in the local area causes stress and anxiety among families, and this impacts on the children,’ says headteacher Susannah Stacey. ‘This therapeutic provision can help. It works with the children in school but also provides advice and support to parents so they can find new strategies to use at home with their children. In the long term, the children engage more successfully with the curriculum at school, so it has an impact on overall attainment.’ The programme, paid for in 2004 through the extended schools grant via the local authority, consists of six weekly sessions offering psychotherapy and other therapies, such as massage. A ‘heart maths’ programme shows children how to measure their heart rates and how to calm themselves when it’s beating fast. The sessions take place in calm sensory areas with painted murals, aromatherapy oils and soft lighting. The impact is monitored and evaluated by the Cheiron Trust every year, looking at how the children engage with the school following the programme. Stocktonwood Community Primary School is tackling these health improvement strategic objectives: • promote a school ethos and environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle • provide comprehensive PSHE to develop an understanding of the full range of issues and behaviours which impact on lifelong health • use the full capacity and flexibility of the curriculum to achieve a healthy lifestyle. The effect The scheme helps teachers gain awareness and understanding of all the factors that affect children’s classroom performance. ‘The ethos of our school is to support children in all aspects of their lives – emotional as well as academic,’ says Susannah. ‘We’ve been awarded healthy school status, so this scheme complements that. We also prioritise inclusion, and the Quiet Place helps ensure that every child can access the curriculum and succeed.’ Where to now... What you can do next • Contact your study support (out-of-school-hours learning) or extended services co-ordinator. • Include study support in your healthy schools strategy plans and link it to your wider strategy for becoming an extended school. • Find out what study support activities schools in your area provide and how these can complement your healthy school strategy plans. • Consider how community partners could add value to study support provision to help improve your achievement of healthy school status. • Support schools in embedding study support by including it your INSET provision. • Host a workshop for headteachers to discuss how to develop study support that helps children and their families to realise the importance of making healthy choices and of working together to become a healthy school. • Link with the school sports co-ordinators/partnership development managers in your area to see how their work towards the PESSCL strategy could link with your work in healthy schools and study support. Useful resources Websites 4 Nations Child Policy Network www.childpolicy.org.uk Children’s University www.childrensuniversity.org DfES Study Support Team www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/studysupport Every Child Matters www.everychildmatters.gov.uk Extended schools www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/extendedschools Food in Schools Programme (DoH) www.dh.gov.uk/foodinschools The Healthy Living Blueprint www.teachernet.gov.uk/healthyliving Healthy Schools www.healthyschools.gov.uk Healthy School Lunches for Pupils in Primary Schools www.dfes.gov.uk/schoollunches/juniors.shtml Progress on England’s Children’s Rights Commissioner www.unicef.org.uk/youthvoice Quality in Study Support (QiSS) www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/departments/professional-development/ centres/quality-in-study-support/ teachernet www.teachernet.gov.uk Training and Development Agency for Schools www.tda.gov.uk University of the First Age (UFA) www.ufa.org.uk Publications 14–19 curriculum and qualifications reform, DfES, 2004 Building the future of learning, Big Lottery Fund, 2004 Learning outside the classroom manifesto, DfES, 2006 Study support: a national framework for extending learning opportunities, DfES, 2006 The study support code of practice (England), DfES, 2004 For information about useful resources for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, see www.continyou.org.uk/strategyguides. Acknowledgements Extra Time Strategy Guides are published by ContinYou, 17 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PJ. Tel: 020 8709 9900 Fax: 020 8709 9933 Email: info.london@continyou.org.uk Website: www.continyou.org.uk Copyright © ContinYou 2007 Edition 2. First published 2006. Revised 2007. ContinYou uses learning to tackle inequality and build social inclusion. ContinYou is one of the UK’s leading community learning organisations. Registered charity 1097596 ContinYou supports the strategic development of study support activities in schools, local authorities and their communities. There is a wide range of information and advice available at www.continyou.org.uk/extratime – or phone 020 8709 9900.