School Public Health Update June 2019

Welcome to the last School Health bulletin for this academic year.

Firstly we would like to say thank you for all your support over the last year with undertaking the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), reception hearing and vision screening and the TLM health questionnaires.

We know every child has to ‘make the best of their potential, and grow up healthy’ (Article 6, United Nations Commission on the Rights of the Child) but not all do. In total, 18% of children and young people in Kent live in poverty. Many children in Kent grow up healthy and attain well at school, however, the difference between outcomes for children, for those from higher social groups and those from lower social groups, is increasing.

Engagement and attainment in education is a critical protective factor, which builds on the support from peers, families and communities to help mitigate such social and environmental risks to health and wellbeing. A whole school approach to health improvement in school builds on the community assets to achieve and maintain positive health and wellbeing for all. Health interventions target support for those who need additional help to address issues which may arise in Early Years, and to reduce personal and social challenges and prevent future ill health as young people enter adolescence. Health interventions in school contribute to improved educational outcomes.

Assurance

We can offer assurance that all School Public Health and Immunisation team members have the relevant DBS clearance and this is evidenced by wearing the KCHFT photo ID badge.

Screening and NCMP

We are on target to complete in all schools this academic year. We appreciate all your support with the programme by sharing information with parents and offering support to our Public Health Assistants when they are in your school.

Our Schedule Coordinators will be in touch in the next few weeks to arrange dates with you for the coming academic year both for NCMP and also Year 6 health questionnaires (TLM).

District School Health Plans

Good news, all schools can now view the District School Health Plans on the School Public Health Service page. There is a separate one for each district. This will allow you to analyse the information specifically for your district and compare with Kent wide data. They will be updated annually and we will inform you when this is completed.

Partnership agreements

A huge thank you to all of you who have signed and returned the partnership agreements so far this year. The agreements are filled with interesting information, timelines for activities and a breakdown of what you can expect from us as a service and the reciprocal arrangement from schools. For those schools that have not had an opportunity to view we have embedded an agreement in the bulletin for ease of access but you can also find one on the Kelsi website. Please do have a look and complete page 6 and returned the scanned copy as advised. We will be contacting those of you who have not completed them to remind you to do so over the next few months with the aim of having them all returned by October 2019.

If you have any queries or want to discuss the agreement, please contact us through the SPA on 0300 123 4496. Alternatively discuss your queries with a member of the team when they are next in school. This is an excellent opportunity to agree how we can support you and your students by working together.

• Primary school partnership agreement (DOCX, 925.4 KB)
• Secondary school partnership agreement (DOCX, 805.1 KB)
• Special school partnership agreement (DOCX, 928.0 KB)

Parents open evenings or summer holiday events

We know this is the time of year when you are planning transition events for entry into Reception class and for Year 6 transferring to Secondary school in September. Please do invite us to the sessions so that we can work in partnership and support children, young people and parents in a smooth transition to either Primary or Secondary school.

Chathealth

This is a confidential texting service that we offer to young people, this provides an opportunity for young people to access support directly with the school public health service, and this may result in a face to face meeting or be managed through texting or signposting to other agencies.

Feedback

If you have any suggestions or feedback on the content of these briefings we would like to hear from you

Is there a particular topic that you would like more information on, or would you like to know more about what the School Health Service can offer your school?

If so please email Karen.Dudley@kent.gov.uk or ioconnell@nhs.net.

Contact Details

The School Public Health Service would like to thank our partners in education for their continued support to our service delivery.

If you have concerns about a child’s health or wellbeing or would like further information on any of the above topics, please do not hesitate to contact our team on the SPA details below:

Telephone: 0300 123 44 96
Email: nem-tr.kentchildrenandyoungpeoplehealthservices@nhs.net
Website: Kent Youth Health website is available to all young people for advice, information and access to support.

We hope you all have a good summer break and look forward to working with you all in the new school year