Responsibilites for the core themes

As a school governor you can make a real difference to the whole school community. 

The Healthy Schools Programme is divided into core themes. You will be aware of certain areas of responsibility you hold as a governor but unless you are specifically responsible for Healthy Schools, you may not realise their significance to the Healthy Schools Programme or how you can help your school in the Healthy Schools process.

Each of the core themes can be accessed in detail through the website but here are some possible examples of where a governor responsibility may support a Healthy Schools issue.

• A member of staff will have responsibility for the PSHE within the school, developing policies and ensuring their implementation through a whole school curriculum. A governor will also often be assigned this responsibility and there is a huge amount of information on this website to support PSHE. Just follow the links but feel free to contact us for further support if you need it.
• Healthy Weight is possibly the most publicised of the four core themes. The governors should be involved in encouraging a positive approach to healthy eating throughout the school and have a responsibility to promote a whole school ethos towards healthy eating. This includes not only the school meals, but also lunchboxes and snacks available throughout the school day. Healthy Eating is often covered within the science curriculum and may be linked with other criteria such as physical activity, and emotional wellbeing. If you are a governor with responsibility for science you may be able to support your school's Healthy Schools Co-ordinator. Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) is also often within the science curriculum and forms an important part of PSHE. Physical Activity is larger than PE but the governor with responsibility for PE will be important in the physical activity package available to children at the school. The criteria within the physical activity core theme encourage participation in activities outside the compulsory PE curriculum, including after-school clubs and walking/cycling to school. The Swindon School Travel Plan can provide valuable data regarding quantitative outcomes for Physical Activity for Healthy Schools validation and governors involved with the travel plan may be able to support the Healthy Schools process by managing this data.
• Emotional Health and Wellbeing which runs throughout all other themes. It covers everything from the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of the school to anti-bullying policies and staff wellbeing. All Governors, including those with responsibility for health and safety could be involved here.