Health For Life

The Health for Life programme promotes an ethos and environment which encourages a proactive approach to developing a healthy lifestyle.

The Health for Life in Primary Schools programme is funded by Mondelēz International and delivered by Services For Education. It aims to make a sustained and demonstrable improvement in healthy lifestyles across Birmingham.

The Health for Life in Primary Schools programme supports primary schools in engaging their community in healthy active lifestyles and embeds the work in the school culture and curriculum to promote sustainability. It is intended to increase pupils’ knowledge and skills and effect changes in healthy lifestyle attitudes and behaviour.

Scroll down to find out if you’re eligible to join the Health for Life Programme starting September 2026.

Health for Life in Primary Schools promotes a change process based on 4 steps which aim to achieve results across the 4 strands of the programme.

The programme may be divided into four steps, each of which follows logically from the last. These are illustrated in the model below:

The programme is as much about changing attitudes and perceptions as it is about physical change. It is important to ensure that all aspects of change are considered and planned for in order to ensure short-term benefits are turned into long-term rewards.

Involving the children and other members of the school community will help them to feel ownership of their project, another key to success.

Get Thinking. This is the chance to review your current practice and involve children and staff in considering what is available in school for growing, learning about food, cooking and increasing physical activity.

Get Planning. Using the information gathered from the previous step and, with the support of your adviser, you will develop an Action Plan which outlines what you want to achieve and how you intend to do it.

Get Doing. This is the heart of the programme where you put your plan into practice and the activities for each of the 4 strands come together.

Get Reviewing. The final step involves monitoring and reporting progress, assessing achievements and celebrating success. Learning from this stage will also, of course, help you see how to move forward, sustaining and developing activities in the future.

Whilst following the 4 steps is key to meeting the targets we have tried to avoid setting out a rigid structure. Schools, teachers and pupils are all different so it is up to each school to decide how best to implement the programme.

HFL Timeline:

Autumn Term 1

With support from your SFE Adviser, you will:

Find your starting place as a school, highlight what you do already and start making a plan
Complete simple online baseline surveys with pupils
Carry out a gentle, reflective school audit
Develop practical, inspiring ideas for positive change
Choose a staff member to enjoy three funded training days
Create a clear, manageable Action Plan with achievable steps
Submit your Action Plan by early December to unlock the first part of the grant

Spring Term 1

With continued support, you will:

Begin bringing your Action Plan to life
Involve the whole school community in positive and manageable change
Approach all strands in ways that feel engaging and motivating
Collect evidence of progress along the way

Summer Term 1

You will:

Keep building on the great work in your Action Plan
Join the uplifting Celebration Event in June
Take part in our whole-school Cookathon
Take part in the BBC Gardeners’ World wheelbarrow event
Continue engaging the whole school in enjoyable, meaningful activities
Gather ongoing evidence of the difference you’re making

Autumn Term 2

With continued support, you will:

Start tying up and completing tasks on your Action Plan
Keep the whole school involved in positive, practical change
Repeat pupil surveys and the school audit to see your progress
Pull together evidence for your final to showcase your achievements

Spring Term 2

You will:

Celebrate your school’s achievements and receive your plaque at the Awards Ceremony

Celebration Event

Our mid-year Celebration event, held in late July/early July is a chance for our current HFL schools to come together and showcase the amazing things they have been doing in their schools. This event, held at the Heritage Suit within Mondelez HQ is full of laughter, learning and fun.

Children and staff from our schools share activities around the key themes of HFL- Healthy Eating and Cooking, Growing Food and Physical Activity. We’ve seen all manner of things from seed bombs and composting, salsa and mocktails to healthy pot noodles, rugby and even Drumba!

This event is one of the highlights of the HFL calendar and really brings demonstrates the difference the programme can make and the dedication of our schools!

Awards Event

Our Annual Awards Event, held in February, is the ‘Oscars’ of Health for Life and is the chance for all of our completing schools to be recognised and celebrated for their incredible efforts towards the HFL. This event, held in the stunning Cadbury Concert Hall is the perfect way to close out the programme and show off all the incredible hard work from our schools.

We are lucky to get the share the event not only with staff and children from schools, but also members of the Services For Education team, staff from Mondelez International and even very special guests such as the Lord Mayor of Deputy Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

Each school is presented with a beautiful plaque to recognise their achievement, which can be displayed in their school for years to come!

During the Autumn and Spring terms, your school will be invited to take part in four uplifting and practical courses, with at least one staff member attending from your team.

The courses will focus on:

Growing food
Physical activity
Healthy eating and cooking skills

These days are designed to be inspiring and enjoyable. You’ll have the chance to explore a variety of activities and meet organisations, charities and companies who can offer ideas and support to help Health for Life flourish in your school.

In previous years, guests have included brilliant partners such as Aston Villa, Birmingham Adult Education Service, The Conservation Volunteers, Skip2Bfit and many more. These sessions are invaluable for discovering practical ways to weave HFL into your school life, your curriculum, and your wider community, making the journey both achievable and exciting.

Quotes from delegates:

“There was a wealth of ideas, tips and tricks. I’ve come away with a headful of ideas to engage parents, staff, pupils and the community!” Staff member – All Saint’s Primary

“The practical aspect of the training is the jewel in the crown. It was planned with great thought as to how it can be transferred in a manageable way back to school” Deputy Headteacher – Corpus Christi Primary School

“I have gained confidence in my own abilities in cooking and in my ability to teach skills and techniques in a safe and appropriate way. In addition, the food was amazing!” Headteacher – Red Boots Primary

Let’s Cook Training:

The expert team from Let’s Cook work directly with school staff, delivering a fun, informative and interactive workshop designed to build knowledge, confidence and long‑lasting healthy habits. This hands‑on approach supports the Health for Life project by bringing the programme to life in your school and helping participants understand why healthy choices matter and how to make them part of daily routines.

Accreditations and Partnerships:

The programme supports the NHS Better Health- Healthier Families initiative and offers a wide range of enjoyable opportunities that help families move towards healthier, more active lifestyles. It works in partnership with fantastic organisations including Birmingham Adult Education Service, Spark Active, Aston Villa, The Conservation Volunteers, and many more.

These partnerships bring rich expertise, hands on activities, and inspiring experiences that help embed healthy habits across the whole community.

The programme is generously funded by Mondelēz International and is delivered in Primary schools by Services for Education, and the wider community programme is delivered by The Conservation Volunteers.

Health for Life has raised awareness across the school community about making healthy choices. All of our pupils have been involved in growing fruit and vegetables and the programme has totally transformed our DT curriculum with children cooking more in school and engaging parents with take home pots.

We are offering a broader range of physical activities, particularly at lunchtimes with the support of our young leaders. Brain and movement breaks in class have also greatly improved children’s mental health and emotional regulation.

ANDY HOLMES – HEADTEACHER, HOLLYFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL

What a fantastic programme HFL has been- we, as a school, have embraced everything about it and our children, staff and families are all come on board joyfully and with gusto.

All four areas of HFL are embedded positively within school life and it’s exciting to know that more can be added to enhance our curriculum further. Thank you for your support! We are invested!

SHARMIN ROBINSON – STARBANK SCHOOL

Health for Life has been brilliant in that it has enabled us to new cooking equipment. The cooking lessons have been fabulous and to see the joy on the children’s faces has been wonderful. Our garden has also been a huge success and the enthusiasm of the children is infectious! They have loved growing and cooking food!

DONNA PAWLEY – ASSISTANT HEAD, SAINTS PETER & PAUL CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Are you eligible to take part in the 2026 Health for Life Programme?

Every year, we invite a select number of schools to apply to take part in our Health for Life Programme and gain £3,500 in funding, but there are only twelve places available!

Use the search box below to find out if your school is eligible to take part in the next cohort, and if you are interested in applying, sign up to our Briefing on Thursday, 18th June. If you can’t make this date, but would like to apply, please email us here.

Use the tabs to find out more about the Health for Life Programme, including how the process works and videos showing what previous participant schools have achieved.