The Health for Life programme promotes an ethos and environment which encourages a proactive approach to developing a healthy lifestyle.
We focus on growing food, healthy eating and cooking, physical activity and try to involve families as much as possible in the process. See the tabs on the left hand side to find out more about these objectives.
Education Advisers will work with you to use the curriculum to embed an understanding of how to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
The Health For Life Programme:
Won the national award from FDF in Health and Well-being
Featured at the International Symposium on Healthy Lifestyles, Granada 2013 & Chicago 2016
Won the Regional Big Tick for Developing Sustainable Communities (twice)
Was shortlisted as a finalist in two national Health and Wellbeing awards.
By working with lots of schools we are able to share good practice and give you lots of ideas and support. Find out which schools have taken part so far, here.
Check to see if you are one of the schools invited to join the Health for Life programme for the academic year 2023/24…
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
Come along to the briefing to learn all about what the programme entails, the funding grant you will receive and how you can build HfL into your curriculum to benefit your pupils and staff in an exciting and dynamic way.
A Celebration Event is held half way through implementation phase – so in June – and is a way to share good ideas; motivate you all to continue and showcase the programme to VIPs – the Lord Mayor, MPs, people from Local Authority, Public Health and the next cohort of schools.
At the end of the implementation phase there is an Awards Ceremony in the Banqueting Suite to celebrate and recognise the work that you have all done.
We invite 2 members of staff and up to 4 children to each event to showcase what they’ve done that they are proud of.
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.
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
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.
Example Activities
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
What is the Health for Life Cookathon?
The Health for Life Cookathon is a chance to celebrate winter cooking by making some delicious soup and sharing it out with others.
You may wish to share your soup with the rest of your school or group, or hold a big event and share the soup with family, friends and other members of your local community.
After your event, we would love you to share your pictures and stories with us so we can see what you got up to.
Please tweet your photos and use #hflcookathon so we can see what you’re doing and tag us in @SFE_SS
On this page you’ll find lots of resources and activities to help you make Cookathon extra special.
Who can take part?
Any schools can take part.
Why should you take part?
We are very proud to have such an amazing community of schools across Birmingham as part of the Health for Life programme. We see the Cookathon as a chance to celebrate all your good work and do something together.
You can also use the Cookathon to:
Create or strengthen links with parents and families (if you invite them in to share the soup)
Promote your school to the rest of your school, group or community
Use our resources to help plan for your event and help you with what to do afterwards
Promote healthy eating to others
Our Cookathon – 2020
The 2020 Cookathon took place on Tuesday 11th February 2020. You can use our video and printable resources.
Schools vary enormously in the facilities they have – some schools have a classroom just for cooking, other schools will have portable cooking equipment that goes from class to class. It is up to you where it is best to do the cooking – we don’t mind so long as it is safe for the pupils and also that they have fun doing it.
It would be great for as many children as possible to be involved. You could have several classes either cooking at the same time or over the school day – it’s entirely up to.
Or you could have some children cooking the soup whilst other children make some bread to eat with the soup.
And if you are inviting in parents or other people you could have some children write the invitations, act as waiters/waitresses serving the soup.
When cooking in schools you do need to do a risk assessment ahead of the event. As part of the risk assessment you would need to check on food allergies of any guests that you might invite in for the soup sharing.
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.
For more information contact us here or call us on 0121 366 9950.
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
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!)… …
ELMS FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL
Judges’ comments: “The proposal and presentation was clearly pupil led and the video captured their enthusiasm and excitement to provide a long term resource for a greater variety of outdoor activity with fitness equipment which will also be available to the wider community and for school holiday clubs.”
“I loved that the submission was led by the children and their ambitious fitness area would be open to all – for the children, staff, families and wider community within school time but also during holiday time.”
HIGHFIELD JUNIOR AND INFANT SCHOOL
Judges’ comments: “The school submitted a comprehensive presentation with a proposal to provide a diverse outdoor classroom, linking with all key strands of the Health for Life programme, to be used throughout the school day, for lessons and at break-times, and also to be available to enrich family involvement.”
“Highfield had great vision for their outdoor classroom and recognised the positive health benefits from growing, cooking and physical exercise – they even thought about the benefits to the local wildlife!”
HILLSTONE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Judges’ comments: “The presentation demonstrated an embedded whole school approach to the programme and illustrated how the community is involved; the proposal to create a permanent kitchen for pupils clearly showed the school’s ambition not only to sustain but also to build upon what they have already achieved in Health for Life.”
“I was really impressed with the commitment from Hillstone to dedicate space for a kitchen classroom and provide additional investment to make it a reality, so that their children, staff and families will benefit from cooking lessons now and in the future – an important life skill.”
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.
The Health For Life competitions at BBC Gardeners’ World Live are an exceptionally popular annual feature at the show.
School Children can show off their creative flair, working as a team, with the satisfaction of seeing their final creations on display at the show, enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors.
This competition is a simple, hands-on and fun gardening activity that can be enjoyed by pupils of all levels. The children will need to nurture and care for their plants, so that they grow and thrive in their container.
The School Wheelbarrow Competition. School groups are encouraged to look at flora and fauna, garden styles, national heritage, architecture, cuisine and cultures from around the world, ultimately picking one country to be the inspiration behind the design and planting of their wheelbarrow. Download our factsheet here.
Useful Planters Competition – Early Year Foundation Stage. The Useful Planters Competition is a gardening competition for Early Years nurseries, pre-school settings and reception classes. This competition is a simple and fun gardening activity devised to complement the EYFS Statutory Framework. As well as the planting activity, the children will need to nurture and care for their plants for them to grow and thrive in their containers. Download the factsheet here.
Lucie Welch taught in primary schools for over 13 years, holding the roles of Assistant Head of School, Designated Safeguarding Lead, Designated Teacher for Looked After Children, Attendance Lead as well as many subject lead roles.
Through the role of DSL, Lucie has garnered huge experience and knowledge of safeguarding which she is passionate about sharing with schools both across Birmingham and nationwide. With a strong understanding of policies and procedures, as well as safeguarding in schools at a day-to-day operational level, Lucie can provide bespoke consultancy and training on a host of safeguarding related topics.
Lucie also leads on PSHE and RSE and has a focused interest in children's emotional health and wellbeing, understanding how trauma and adverse childhood experiences can impact children, as well as educating staff and pupils on Sexual Violence, Sexual Harassment and Harmful Sexual Behaviour in schools.
Lucie is also a part of our Health for Life team and helps deliver the Early Career Framework on behalf of the Best Practice Network.
Jo Perrin taught PSHE in schools for over a decade and held the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead and pastoral lead. She currently works as an Education Adviser for Services For Education which allows her to combine her experience in schools with a personal knowledge of childhood trauma as a former foster carer.
In addition, Jo worked as a West Midlands’ Adviser for a national PSHE resource, has delivered a presentation to the Sex Education Forum National Members’ Event and has created a variety of RSE resources as part of her role for Services For Education.
Jo’s advisory experience is not limited to training school staff as she works with non-education based organisations to support them in safeguarding and emotional health and well-being aims and is an affiliated trainer for Mental Health At Work.
Tricia Bunn - Former Adviser, Services For Education
Over a career spanning 20 years, Tricia has been involved in primary education in a variety of contexts – as a teacher; senior leader; headteacher (within an LEA and within an Academy) and teacher educator. She is an experienced, successful headteacher, having led two schools since 2010.
For three years Tricia was Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at the University of Wolverhampton. In this role she was Module leader for English and Lead Tutor for the PGCE. Tricia is part of our School improvement team and is a tutor on the SFE primary initial teacher training programme.
She is the Lead English Adviser and co-leads on our curriculum development programme. Another key part of her most recent work has been embedding an understanding of cognitive theory into CPD, and ensuring this is the basis of work going forward.
After teaching for 25 years, Liz worked as an advisor with Services For Education for over 10 years leading on Mental Health, Emotional Health and Wellbeing before becoming an independent consultant. As well as working with schools Liz has presented key note talks, workshops and research findings at national conferences.
Liz has written 4 books and teaching resources that are used across the country by schools and other professionals working with children. Liz also works as a schools’ engagement trainer for the Anna Freud Centre, a Wellbeing Award advisor for Optimus Education and is a Protective Behaviours practitioner and trainer.
Charlie Laffan – Independent Integrative Counsellor
Charlie is an Integrative Counsellor who works with adults and children, delivering family support, mentoring and counselling.
She has extensive experience of providing specialist support with families and individuals in schools, and across a wide range of sectors.
Charlie’s counselling has a holistic approach and is tailored to the client’s needs. She brings this philosophy to mentoring and family support, providing therapeutic and practical interventions for young people and families.
Julia brings over 20 years experience in Education and Social Care. Her roles have included school advisor, national safeguarding programme developer, strategic lead in SEND and Safeguarding and qualified systemic supervisor in multiple contexts. With understanding of the daily challenges of a DSL in a school setting and wider safeguarding considerations, Julia brings knowledgeable and sensitive insights alongside practical tools, to generate solution focused actions for individual cases and the whole school system.
Edwina Langley – Lead Attendance Officer, Birmingham City Council
Edwina Langley is the Lead Attendance Officer for Birmingham City Council. A qualified social worker with a Masters’ degree in Social Science, and experience in family support, Edwina has worked in the city for 26 years, working directly with schools. Currently, Edwina leads the Education Legal Intervention Team providing statutory support and advise to schools relating to school absence, legal processes and related early help.
Sandra Passmore – Former Adviser, Services For Education
Sandra has extensive experience in safeguarding, health and wellbeing and evidence based practice. She has worked nationally with key government departments (Departments of Health and Education) to help shape strategy and policy whilst still retaining the focus on working for the best outcomes for children and young people.
She has a PhD on the psychology of health related choices which has informed the development of award winning, evidence based programmes such as Health for Life in primary schools and Health for Life in nursery schools which have been proven to have a sustainable impact on improving the health and wellbeing of children and families.
Sandra led the development and delivery of the DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) training for SFE. She was pivotal in expanding the remit of the safeguarding work to also include issues such as domestic abuse and sexual violence and harassment within the education context.
Sandra’s passion for improving the lives of children has led her to develop work within Public Health and managed RCT (Randomised Control Trials) on the effectiveness of interventions such as the daily mile. Additionally, Sandra has written books for teachers and pupils as well as peer reviewed academic journal papers.
Marsha Blissett - Adviser, Former Services For Education
Marsha has over 18 years’ experience of teaching and senior leadership in schools within the West Midlands. She is passionate about the power of education to create knowledge, build confidence, and break down barriers to opportunity. She works with senior leaders, middle leaders, and governors to develop capacity and bring about rapid improvement through supporting them in effective self-evaluation, evaluating the impact of the curriculum and conducting quality assurance across the school.
Her particular areas of focus are Personal Development and Culture and Ethos, including Safeguarding.
Marsha works closely with SEND – the platinum thread, providing advice and guidance on the most effective ways to promote desirable outcomes. She helps to develop an understanding of best practices and processes, as well as appropriate tools and resources.
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