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Holy Family School is proud to promote the physical health and emotional wellbeing of all of our children. We work closely with services in the local community to help educate children so that as they grow, they can make informed decisions and prioritise their own health.
We ensure that our school environment includes access to different forms of healthcare, good nutrition, physical activity, fresh air and clean water.
Please see the information below detailing how we create a healthy school setting.
Accessing Healthcare
Throughout the year we work with staff from the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service – a hub which strives to support various families throughout the county. They assist in delivering the National Child Measurement Programme in school, providing newsletters and presentations so that we can circulate useful information to parents and also deliver ongoing community nursing care and advice to our school.
We also welcome many professionals into school such as a local dentistry team who are able to demonstrate to children the importance of good oral hygiene, teach them about oral health and, with parents’ permissions, even perform oral examinations.
Good Nutrition
As a school we strive to ensure that all of our children have access to a sustainable and balanced diet. Our Breakfast Club is on hand to provide children with a nutritious breakfast before the school day begins and our school kitchen delivers nourishing meals at lunchtimes that contain sufficient amounts of vegetables, fruit, dairy, protein and starchy foods. Unhealthy options are limited, with fresh fruit available to students should they need a snack throughout the day. Once school finishes we offer an after-school club where children are provided with a snack and a hot meal before home time.
We encourage all children to bring into school a drinking bottle, filled with water. There are also plenty of water fountains on site should children need a refill.
Our focus on good nutrition ensures that children have the focus and energy to progress through their school day.
Physical Activity
All year groups benefit from the use of our school’s outside gym, adventure playground, outdoor garden, large school field and even our outdoor swimming pool. We nurture physical health through high quality PE lessons, swimming lessons, before-and-after-school activity clubs (e.g. football, netball, streetdance, gymnastics, athletics) and, in Keystage 2, children take part in a daily mile.
Mental Health & Wellbeing
We take a school wide approach to mental health and we feel extremely lucky to have our very own in school counsellor who is always on hand to help children process through any difficult thoughts and feelings. We also follow the ‘Pupil Voice’ initiative which means listening to the views, wishes and experiences of all young people. We recognise that placing value on what children tell school staff about their experiences is vital to promoting a child’s wellbeing. Within our school we have created many spaces for children to express their emotions such as in our prayer area, our nurture room and in our brand-new Garden of Hope.
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