On average only 12 schools are selected each year to take part in the Health for Life in Primary schools programme in order to ensure that each school has a sufficient level of support.

Therefore what we require from each school joining the programme is a level of commitment because if a school drops-out halfway through the programme their place can’t be offered to another school.

Selected schools will take part in the programme for a period of four terms.  During this time they will receive support to plan and implement the programme to suit their particular circumstances.

Services For Education recruits schools in the summer term in order to start the programme the following September. Information is sent out by email, post and ebriefing to eligible schools.

Autumn Term

With the help of a Services For Education Adviser you will

• Ascertain starting points and record
• Get children involved to review current practice
• Complete on-line baseline surveys with pupils
• Complete a baseline audit of school practice
• Identify barriers and factors that hinder progress
• Develop ideas that will promote change
• Nominate a member of staff to attend the two funded training days
• Prepare an Action Plan that will structure and keep track of resources required, jobs and dates for completion, success criteria
• By the start of December submit your action plan to steering group for approval – this will trigger the first part of the grant (£3,500 to be paid in two stages)

Spring Term 

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will

• Start to implement your Action Plan
• Nominate a member of staff to attend two funded training days
• Engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing)

Summer term

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will

• Continue with implementing your Action Plan
• Attend the celebration event in June to help share good ideas (compulsory)
• Take part in BBC Gardeners’ world wheelbarrow event (optional)
• Continue to engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Continue to address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing)

Autumn term

With the help of your Services For Education Adviser you will

• Continue with implementing your Action Plan
• Continue to engage the whole school community in progress and change
• Continue to address all strands in a way to encourage engagement
• Take part in the ‘Cookathon’ (optional)
• Collect evidence of impact (ongoing)
• Repeat the on-line surveys with pupils
• Repeat the school audit
• Collate evidence of impact

Spring term

• Continue with sustainable activities in your Action Plan
• Attend Awards ceremony

During the Autumn and Spring term there are four courses to be attended by an appropriate member of staff from each school.

• Growing food
• Physical activity
• Healthy eating/cooking skills
• Food safety qualification

Growing Food

The objective is to engage pupils in growing food to increase their knowledge and understanding of its links with a healthy lifestyle.

Example Activities:

• Create or extend a school garden for growing fruit and/or vegetables. Can also look at sustainability such as saving seeds; rotating  crops; harvesting rainwater; using school-produced compost, wormeries
• Use allotments for growing fruit and/or vegetables
• Fruit and vegetable growing in containers such as hanging baskets, troughs, ‘funny’ containers
• Planting fruit trees
• Build raised beds
• Build greenhouse

Physical Activity

The objective is to make a measurable increase in the amount of regular physical activity of pupils in order to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Example Activities:

• Active play in school grounds
• Play leader training (and implementation) for pupils
• Cycle training – Bikeability, Bike it
• Walk to school/scooter to school
• Build bike/scooter racks

Healthy eating/cooking skills

The objective is to make a measurable improvement in the diet of school children through cooking and healthy eating activities.

Example Activities

• Development of a recipe book for use in schools and at home
• Making healthy soups, drinks, picnics snack foods
• Cooking competitions between schools (with focus on healthy eating)
• Practical cooking lessons (with focus on healthy eating) with pupils
• Practical lessons on cooking through the ages (with focus on healthy eating)

The objective is to actively involve parents and families in promoting and adopting healthy, active lifestyles.

• Inspire workshops e.g. build-a-kite workshop
• Use of parent partnership workers
• Sharing of information through letters/emails/school website
• Train as walk leaders
• Family bike rides/family picnics
• Sending recipe home to cook as part of homework
• Sending seedlings home to grow at home

Accreditations and Partnerships:

The programme supports Change4Life and offers a range of opportunities to encourage families towards leading healthier lifestyles and works in partnership with Life Education Centres, Birmingham Adult Education Service, Sport Birmingham, Run Birmingham, Let’s Get Cooking, Grow to Learn, the Conservation Volunteers and more

The programme is funded by Mondelēz International. Health for Life is delivered in Primary and Nursery schools by Services for Education and the community programme is delivered by The Conservation Trust.

Testimonials:

“In less than 12 months of running the Health for Life programme, we’ve exceeded everything we hoped to achieve. It’s brought a whole community spirit back into school.”
– Teacher, Lakey Lane Primary

“In light of the statistics, it’s so important that children are educated on the importance of being active and eating healthily now more than ever. The Health for Life programme effectively engages young people in a fun and educational way.”
– Dr Adrian Phillips, Director of Public Health, Birmingham

“You feel really proud that you’ve helped to grow the foods that you’re eating.”  – Y5 pupil

“Health for Life has a really beneficial impact on the life of the school. This learning will stay with our children for the rest of their lives and hopefully they will build on what they’ve started here and it will be something that really will be health for life.”
– Teacher, Sladefield Infants School

The main documents that you will need through the course of the Health for Life programme can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.

Primary Schools:

• Health For Life Photo/Video Permissions Form
• Example Invoice for Health For Life
• Volunteer Request Form
• Expenditure Guidance For Schools

What is the Health for Life Cookathon?

We invited schools to share in our love of healthy eating by cooking along with celebrity chef, Poppy O’Toole (aka Poppy Cooks), and fellow schools/settings on 17th March 2025.

Poppy created a recipe specifically for Cookathon participants and recorded a cooking masterclass in time for the event. Poppy also joined students at a chosen school for a live Cookathon demo, taking pupils through her Pea and Broccoli Alfredo recipe, teaching them invaluable cooking skills.

 Why take part in the Health For Life Cookathon?

We are very proud to have such an amazing community of schools across Birmingham. The Cookathon is an exciting event which offers a chance to celebrate and promote healthy lifestyles, whilst working safely and collaboratively. 

 You can also use the Cookathon to: 

• Create or strengthen links with parents and families (if you invite them in to join in).
• Offer your pupils a real-life opportunity to embed your DT curriculum in an inspiring way.
• Inspire your pupils to consider future careers in catering and hospitality, whilst experiencing fun and healthy eating.
• Promote your school to the rest of your school, group or community.
• Promote healthy eating to others.

  Share your successes!

We would love you to share your pictures and stories with us so we can see how you got on, on the day and after the event.

This will also help us to create a real healthy eating buzz on social media in the education community and beyond!

Please tweet your photos and use #Cookathon2025 so we can see what you’re doing and tag us in @SFE_Tweets & @SFE_SS

   Who can take part?

Any schools can take part, in fact the more the merrier! The recipe and instructions will be made accessible to all.

  Cookathon FAQs

We know the thought and preparation that go into organising school events, so we will make this as easy as possible for all to take part. Please see our FAQs below for some info.

  Previous Cookathons

Our Cookathon 2024

The 2024 Cookathon took place on Tuesday 28^th February 2024, with celebrity chef Poppy Cooks at the helm. You can still use our video, below.

Our Cookathon 2020

The 2020 Cookathon took place on Tuesday 11^th February 2020, with Birmingham’s own Michelin Star Chef Glynn Purnell at the helm. You can still use our video and printable resources, below.

Download Glynn Purnell’s Winter Vegetable Soup recipe here

Our Cookathon – 2018

On 23rd October, our Health For Life schools took part in a cookathon to promote healthy living. The cooking is demonstrated by award winning chef Marcus Bean. You can watch the video and download the recipes, below.

To mark this phenomenal achievement, three ‘10th Year Anniversary Grants’ have been offered to schools who could show that Health for Life truly is a part of school life. Successful schools will receive £5000 each in order to build on existing success in one of the strands of the Health for Life programme; Healthy Eating and Cooking, Growing Food or Physical Activity.

The panel had an immensely difficult but enjoyable task in reading through all of the applications and wish to commend all of those who applied.

The three successful schools (in no particular order) are (drum roll!)… …

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNING SCHOOLS

And a huge thank you to everyone who submitted an application. Family involvement still remains at the heart of Health for Life and we were delighted to have received so many creative and meaningful award submissions.