Written Question · S2W-23911 · Session 2
What action it has taken to improve the health of school pupils.
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to improve the health of school pupils.
The answer
The Scottish Health PromotingSchools Unit was established to develop awhole school approach to promoting the physical, social, spiritual, mental and emotionalwell-being of all pupils. This ensures not only that health education is integralto the curriculum but also that school ethos, policies, services and extra-curricularactivities foster mental, physical and social well-being and healthy development.All schools are required to be health promotingby 2007.
The agenda set out in AmbitiousExcellent Schools and A Curriculum for Excellence places an importanceon personal and life skills. Guidance for schools which support this agenda are:
The national review of guidanceHappy, Safe and Achieving their Potential, sets out the standards of supportfor all school staff in pastoral care.
Safe and Well, a handbook for staff, schools and education authoritiesprovides guidance on pupil safety and well-being.
Better Behaviour – BetterLearning, provides a framework for promotingpositive behaviour, respectful relationships, effective communication and emotionalintelligence.
Healthy Respect, the NationalHealth Demonstration Project on young people’s sexual health, funded by the Executive, aims to demonstrate how increasing young people’s knowledgeof sexual health issues through a multi-disciplinary approach to education, informationand accessible services in a variety of settings can lead to improved sexual healthand relationships. The learning from Healthy Respect will be shared across Scotland to enableother parts of the country to shape their own services according to local need.
To promote healthy eating, agrant of over £70 million for 2006–08 has recently been made available to continuethe implementation of the recommendations of Hungry for Success. These measureswill ensure that nutritious school meals are available to all children.
We are also funding initiativeswhich promote physical activity in schools and this includes: Active Schools whichaims to increase the range, frequency and quality of opportunity for daily physicalactivity in schools; working with Y Dance to provide in-servicetraining for teachers to develop dance work in schools and encourage participationin dance as a contribution to increasing physical activity, particularly among girls;Scottish Out of School Care Network which provides development of training and provisionof resources for after school clubs and Girls on the Move which providesgirls-only opportunities for sports coach and leader training.
The agenda set out in AmbitiousExcellent Schools and A Curriculum for Excellence places an importanceon personal and life skills. Guidance for schools which support this agenda are:
The national review of guidanceHappy, Safe and Achieving their Potential, sets out the standards of supportfor all school staff in pastoral care.
Safe and Well, a handbook for staff, schools and education authoritiesprovides guidance on pupil safety and well-being.
Better Behaviour – BetterLearning, provides a framework for promotingpositive behaviour, respectful relationships, effective communication and emotionalintelligence.
Healthy Respect, the NationalHealth Demonstration Project on young people’s sexual health, funded by the Executive, aims to demonstrate how increasing young people’s knowledgeof sexual health issues through a multi-disciplinary approach to education, informationand accessible services in a variety of settings can lead to improved sexual healthand relationships. The learning from Healthy Respect will be shared across Scotland to enableother parts of the country to shape their own services according to local need.
To promote healthy eating, agrant of over £70 million for 2006–08 has recently been made available to continuethe implementation of the recommendations of Hungry for Success. These measureswill ensure that nutritious school meals are available to all children.
We are also funding initiativeswhich promote physical activity in schools and this includes: Active Schools whichaims to increase the range, frequency and quality of opportunity for daily physicalactivity in schools; working with Y Dance to provide in-servicetraining for teachers to develop dance work in schools and encourage participationin dance as a contribution to increasing physical activity, particularly among girls;Scottish Out of School Care Network which provides development of training and provisionof resources for after school clubs and Girls on the Move which providesgirls-only opportunities for sports coach and leader training.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-23911 by reference.