Healthy Schools Service

Encourage healthy eating by building knowledge, skills and confidence around food choices

Support emotional wellbeing by helping children and young people build resilience and understand their feelings

Get everyone moving by making physical activity fun and part of everyday life

Boost learning around personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), including relationships and sex education (RSE)

Promote active travel by encouraging walking, cycling, and scooting to school as fun, safe, and sustainable ways to stay active and reduce pollution

Improve oral health by building good dental hygiene habits and increasing awareness of the importance of regular brushing and healthy food choices

Raise awareness of air quality by helping children understand the impact of pollution and how they can contribute to cleaner, healthier environments

To earn the Bronze award, complete a self-assessment tool with standards in mental health, healthy eating, physical activity, and PSHE.

Assess policy, environment, stakeholder involvement, and community links. Provide evidence where applicable.

Building on Bronze, the Silver award encourages schools to conduct a needs analysis to identify health priorities and chosen interventions (universal – whole school and targeted group).

Define measurable outcomes, create an action plan, and outline how the project will be monitored, evaluated, and improved.

To achieve Gold, schools will record outcomes and impact from previous work, detail their approach, analyse results, and explain how activities are sustained. 

Demonstrate long-term commitment and continuous improvement in health and wellbeing.