Healthy Lifestyle
Healthy School Award 2007 - 2010
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING (SEAL)
This year Mr Rosier is developing a SEAL programme which will be delivered in assemblies and key follow up lessons led by the form teachers. There are 5 broad social and emotional aspects of learning: self awareness; managing feelings; motivation; empathy and social skills.
Self awareness enables children to have some understanding of themselves and how they relate to others.
Managing feelings is about using a range of strategies to manage for example, anxiety or anger.
Motivation enables learners to take an active and enthusiastic part in learning. Motivation enables the learners to set goals and work towards them.
Empathy involves understanding others and seeing things from another’s point of view.
Social skills enables the children to relate to others, take an active part in a group, resolve differences and support the learning of others.
We also have three of our teaching assistants who are qualified in social and emotional learning and they work on a 1:1 basis with several of the children covering the aspects listed above.
Travel Plan
At St.Joseph's we have a well established Travel Plan which has been approved by both the DCSF and the Local Authority.
The Travel Plan encourages all the children who live in Hexham to regularly walk to and from school.
Currently 92% of eligible children are supporting the Plan. This term with parental support, we would hope that the total is nearer to 100%.
The benefits of the Plan are two-fold:
Firstly, the children are getting much needed exercise and secondly, there are fewer cars on the so-called "school run" which reduces congestion on Hexham's roads and in the school car park.
We have now established a Five Minute Walking Zone around our school. The plan was drawn up by Sam Volpe and Imogen Lovell, who were members of our School Council in 2007-08. The plan was put out for consultation with parents and is supported by both the Local Authority and Hexham Town Council.
The idea is for those children who are brought to and from school in a car to walk at least five minutes to and from school. It will also reduce congestion around the school and provide the children with much needed exercise.
The outer limits of the zone are:
Alexandra Terrace (referred to as Hellpool Lane on the map) to the north
Hextol Terrace to the east
Bishopton Way & St. Matthew's Road to the south
Shaw's Lane to the west
Cycling to and from school is a great way of providing exercise, especially if you live in Hexham, but you should follow our Safe Cycling Guide:-
- Learn what road signs mean and take a cycling proficiency test.
- Check that your lights and brakes work, and your tyres are pumped up.
- Use cycle lanes where you can, and avoid really busy roads.
- If you have to cross a busy road, get off and walk across, checking there is no traffic coming.
- Always find a safe place to cross.
- You should wear a helment, and bright reflective clothing.
A National Standard Cycle Training course took place at St. Joseph's on 19-22 October 2009 with 28 Y5/6/7 pupils involved. They all passed the Level 1 grade and many of them achieved the Level 2 grade which clearly demonstrates an understanding of safe riding. Another group of over 20 pupils completed their course 23-27 November. All passed Level 1 with many also passing Level 2.
Fresh Fruit Stall
Every week apples, satsumas, pears and bananas are sold at breaktime for only 10p. We want the children to eat healthy snacks instead of such things as crisps or chocolate bars.
The stall has been very successful with over 80 items being sold each week.
Water
We encourage the children to drink water throughout the day to avoid getting dehydrated. We have two water coolers in school and the children should bring in their water bottles and refill them during the day.
It is recommended that children should drink the equivalent of 6-8 glasses per day.
Sports activities
Throughout the school year there are opportunities for all the children, regardless of their ability, to take part in a range of sporting activities at lunchtime or after school.
They include: football, rugby, dance, netball, cricket, rounders, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, canoeing and athletics. Details about the different clubs and activities are displayed on the PE notice board in the hall and are listed on this website under the Clubs section at the top of this page.
These activities are in addition to the two hours of PE taught each week.
School lunches
The government introduced new food based standards for school lunches with effect from September 2006 and our school lunches conform to these standards. For those children who bring packed lunches to school we ask parents to refrain from including confectionery, crisps or fizzy drinks.
This year the percentage of children eating our school lunches has risen from 41% to 47%.
For further advice and guidance on packed lunches do not hesitate to contact Catering Services at County Hall 01670 533409 or go to the Schools link on the County website: www.northumberland.gov.uk which will also list the menu choices for the current term.
We also have a School Food policy which aims to ensure that all aspects of food and nutrition promote the health and well-being of pupils, staff and visitors to our school. For further information about the national standards go to their website:www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk
Northumberland County Council is launching Fuel for Life which is a campaign to encourage children to eat a school meal at lunchtime. The campaign will target parents as well as pupils themselves, in order to highlight the importance for children to eat well-balanced, nutritious food in school.
The campaign aims to turn around the falling up-take of school meals amongst pupils of all ages. Although school meal take-ups is marginally better in Northumberland than the national average, the Fuel for Life campaign aims to further increase the take up, through the promotion of the benefits of school meals compared to packed lunches or other alternatives. The benefits of children eating a healthy balanced meal at lunchtime are well documented and research by the Soil Association has shown that "Healthy school meals lead to better behaved pupils who are more alert in class."
The campaign aims to increase school meal take up by 6% year on year for the next two years:
- From 47% of pupils eating school meals to 53% in 2008
- From 53% of pupils eating school meals to 59% in 2009
The campaign is supported by a Fuel for Life microsite www.fuelforlife.co.uk This site will be developed further as the campaign develops. Initially it will provide background to the campaign and the benefit of eating a nutritious midday meal, and will link to other relevant sites.