Healthy School

A Healthy School is one that is successful in helping pupils to do their best and build on their achievements.  St Stephen’s CE Primary School is committed to ongoing improvement and development in this area.  It promotes physical and emotional health by providing accessible and relevant information and equipping pupils with the skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health.  A Healthy School understands the importance of investing in health to assist in the process of raising levels of pupil achievement and improving standards.  It also recognises the need to provide both a physical and social environment that is conducive to learning. This allows them to make informed choices about physical activity throughout their lives.

We work in partnership with a number of organisations which support our healthy schools program including Healthy Schools London and Transport for London.  In October 2015 we achieved a Bronze Healthy Schools Award, followed by a Silver Healthy Schools Award in January 2017.  We are now working towards Gold certification from the same governing body.  In 2016 we were awarded Bronze TFL Stars Accredited award, followed by Gold in July 2017.  We are now working towards maintaining the Gold from the same governing body.

Our healthy school aims and objectives are embedded within all aspects of school life through direct lessons, assemblies and whole school events.

These aims and objectives are to:

  • To promote a whole school approach to a healthy lifestyle.
  • To encourage children and staff to make informed decisions on a healthy lifestyle based on positive attitudes and information.
  • To provide high quality PE and school sport, promoting physical activity as part of a lifelong healthy lifestyle (see Healthy Schools and PE sections).
  • To develop the teaching of Food Technology aspect of the Design and Technology curriculum with regards to healthy eating.
  • To develop the awareness of how food is grown and linking this to the development of the kitchen garden.
  • To help children develop greater confidence, motivation, self-esteem and have the skills, information and understanding to make important life and health choices.
  • To provide children with the tools to develop good relationships, and respect the differences between people.
  • To encourage active travel to school, promoting sustainable travel and fostering a caring ethos towards the environment.

Through all of the teachings we provide children will be able to learn about and explore:

  • The values, beliefs and views of other people – past and present
  • The environments, lives and cultures of other people – past and present
  • The beauty and wonder of people, places and events – past and present

Lessons, events, visiting speakers and visits are designed to ensure that our children learn about the vital aspects of healthy living and citizenship. Through activities such as Circle Time children are encouraged to share and solve problems. We encourage our pupils to play a positive role in contributing to the life of the school and the wider community. At St Stephen’s we have a School Council made up from children from each year who take an active role in researching and making decisions around the school.

St. Stephen’s takes its status as a Healthy School very seriously indeed! Here is a bit of information about some of the things we do in and around the school to encourage our pupils to live a healthy lifestyle:

Gymnastics

St Stephens’s works with Paul and Fiona from Benchmark Gymnastics to deliver top quality teaching across all years groups.  Benchmark Gymnastics is affiliated to British Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the UK, and complies with the policies and procedures set out by British Gymnastics to ensure the welfare, safeguarding and development of children when learning gymnastics.  All Benchmark staff are members of British Gymnastics.

Alongside class lessons, Benchmark also run a Highly Able session during the school day and clubs before school starts.

Kick London

St Stephen’s works with Kick London in delivering national curriculum PE lessons in football, rugby, netball, hockey, cricket and athletics. Kick London is a charitable organisation that works in over 30 boroughs across London. Most of its work is done in primary schools, where they take PE lessons, lunchtime and after-school clubs. They also work in secondary schools, concentrating on mentoring, using sports to build relationships with young people and make a positive contribution to their lives. Recently, they have taken on dance coaching.  All their coaches are experienced in taking PE lessons and clubs and not only seek to teach children PE, but also promote values and life skills too.

All coaches have extensive experience in working in PE lessons and are carefully selected to ensure they are good role models who can manage behaviour as well as teach PE and coach sports.

Christian values-based coaching is integral to what Kick London do. These values, some of which are based on SEAL, include: forgiving mistakes, perseverance/determination, self-control, being fair, making the right choice and having the right goal in life. Each lesson taught has a value linked to it. For example, a lesson on passing is linked to making the right choices in the game. This is then broadened further to allow children to consider their choices in their attitudes to their work and behaviour. Kick London extend the learning so that it impacts not just the sports field, but the children’s everyday lives.

Kick London’s ‘values-based’ approach bring the following benefits:

A reinforcement of our school’s values and ethos

Tailored programmes to suit our school

The promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle

An increase in confidence and self-esteem for our pupils (as well as other life skills)

Alastair Park has been with Kick London for 6 years and has been working full time at St Stephen’s for 5 years.  He oversees all PE curriculum lessons throughout the school and is responsible for several after school sports clubs as well as all the inter and intra school fixtures.  For more information on Kick London, please look at their website at www.kicklondon.org.uk

Cricket

St Stephen’s works with Jonathan Payne in delivering our cricket sessions. Jonathan is an ECB level 2 qualified cricket coach who played cricket For Kent at Under-13 and Under-15 levels. He also played in the Kent Premier League for 20 years.

For the past ten years, Jonathan has been coaching in local schools, promoting cricket, and also works at Shepherd’s Bush Cricket Club where he is the senior coach for all primary age children, managing Under-10 and Under-11 teams (hard ball) in a local league. He also helps to run the before school girls and boys cricket clubs.

Swimming

Year 3 classes attend weekly swimming classes at the nearby Phoenix Fitness Centre & Janet Adegoke Swimming Pool. At the start of the year, children’s swimming abilities are assessed and they are placed into one of three ability groups, each designed to maximise their potential. These groups are reviewed throughout the academic year, with appropriate changes being made. We have found that this method has proved highly effective in developing competent, confident swimmers.

Dance

Our dance teacher is Miss Whiting. She has been dancing since the age of 3 and trained at the Arts Educational Schools London and The Urdang Academy where she gained a BA (Hons) in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre. Following this, Miss Whiting performed in various professional productions as well as being a Britain’s Got Talent vocalist. She has been teaching Dance and Musical Theatre to the school for 5 years. Children cover a range of dance styles such as jazz, street and tap. Miss Whiting choreographs St Stephen’s annual summer productions, the Christmas Nativity and the Gym and Dance display.​

Healthy Schools Status

We have galvanised our Healthy Schools status by working closely with the Health Education Partnership (http://www.healtheducationpartnership.com/) who have assisted us in attaining Bronze and Silver awards. Several exciting new schemes have been implemented, or are in the process of being introduced, as a result of this working relationship. This includes the provision of water bottles to every pupil in Key Stage 1 and 2, as well as fine motor skills workshop for pupils who struggle with coordination. We are currently working towards our Health Education Partnership Gold award.

Links with QPR

St. Stephen’s are fortunate enough to have established and maintained links with Queen’s Park Rangers, our local football Club. In implementing its ‘Health Stars’ community outreach scheme, QPR has delivered topic units on Healthy Living. They have done this through a combination of team teaching with existing class teachers (all lessons being tied into national curriculum objectives) and physical activities designed to consolidate the classroom learning.

Through our links with QPR, we are also in the process of starting up a series of Healthy Living workshops for parents and carers, where nutritional and exercise tips for both adults and children will be given in a fun, non-judgemental environment.  We have been invited to take part in local inclusive (age, gender and ability) tournaments to promote Healthy Living.

Links with Sustrans

St. Stephen’s has a working relationship with Sustrans (http://www.sustrans.org.uk/), a prominent cycling charity. Collaborations with Sustrans have included ‘Love Your Bike’ and puncture repair workshops, where children are afforded the opportunity to refine their bike maintenance skills, as well as slightly more off-the-wall, yet memorable, ideas that are designed to raise the profile of cycling at the school, such as the ‘smoothie bike,’ where children pedalled their way to a refreshing blended fruit drink! Sustrans have also run cycling proficiency tests for St. Stephen’s students.