Healthy Schools June Celebration
Wednesday 29th June 2016
This week Wiltshire schools which have found innovative ways to help and improve the health and wellbeing of their pupils have been recognised at a special awards ceremony.
Eight schools which recently completed the Wiltshire Healthy Schools Programme were invited to attend a special celebration event at Corsham Primary with those attending receiving bronze or gold plaques to mark their achievements.
Corsham Primary and Woodlands Primary (Salisbury) are the first primary schools in Wiltshire to achieve the gold award. To achieve the gold award, schools have to show how their work has made a positive impact.
Corsham's special project work focussed on improving internet safety which helped reduce incidents of cyber bullying including additional support for Pupil Premium children .
At Woodlands, the project demonstrated significant increases in hand washing which helped increase school attendance over the same period and also helped children feel more positive about their playground experience by structuring activities using new playground markings and play equipment.
A number of schools have also achieved bronze status - Cherhill Primary, Downton Primary, Larkrise School, Seend Primary, Wylye Valley School (Warminster) and St Mary's Roman Catholic School (Chippenham).
Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children's services said: "Congratulations to all the schools which have gone the extra mile and have improved their students' health and wellbeing in this way. They fully deserve these accolades and I wish them well as they continue the good work into the future."
A total of 64 schools have achieved Wiltshire Healthy Schools at bronze, silver or gold level since it was launched in 2012, replacing the previous National Healthy Schools Award.
Schools participating in the programme can aim for bronze, silver or gold standard. To be accredited schools need to meet certain standards based on local and national priorities.
The quality assurance group is multi-agency including the police, school representatives, Wiltshire & Swindon Sports Partnership and others. The council and agencies support the schools as they work towards the standards.
Further information about Wiltshire Council's Healthy Schools programme can be found at http://www.wiltshirehealthyschools.org/about/
