Introduction

Welcome back to the start of a new school year, and a crucial year for the health and wellbeing of staff and pupils in your school. We hope you had a restful and happy summer and have come back refreshed and ready to tackle some of the challenges young people will face around changing schools, their mental health and physical fitness and, for some, six weeks where they haven’t had access to good food or play. 

This newsletter contains some important information, so please read and action accordingly. We look forward to seeing you at the Connecting Changemaker events on 28 September (London), 05 October (Leeds) and 07 October (Worcester). As a reminder, you can download the Lead H&WB School prospectus here.

ACTIONS

Connecting Changemakers Conferences

If you haven’t registered for your place at the nearest event yet, then please do. These events are critical in providing you with the opportunity to understand your role this year and connect with other schools in the network.

It will also be where we kick off the Boys Move CPD. We have invited our two Boys Move tutors to come and deliver the first session LIVE at each of the venues. It is really important to be there, so please make sure the colleague leading on the Boys Move project is attending.

Booking links:

• London (28 September) - Book here
• Leeds (05 October) - Book here
• Worcester (07 October) - Book here

UPDATES

Well Schools Big Give Projects

We were able to recruit 25 schools to access funding, resources and support for developing a staff wellbeing project using the funds we raised through The Big Give. For those schools that have an active interest in addressing staff wellbeing concerns, you can follow the guidance and thread in the Well School community and will be able to access the case studies they produce over the next few months.

You can follow the thread here

Active Recovery

We are still committed to providing support for schools and practitioners in helping children and young people make an active recovery post-Covid. We see the recovery from the pandemic, and effects of the upheaval we have all been through lasting for the next two years at least, so there is a need to maintain the position and messaging about the importance of PE, sport and physical activity in helping that recovery happen.

We have made some changes to the Active Recovery Hub with the introduction of video content and playlists for use in lessons, in the playground, in the sports hall and in the home, ensuring every child gets the physical, social and emotional benefits of moving.

STORIES

40,000 kids start school obese as figures lay bare damning North/South divide - Mirror

Concerns are now being raised as the health inequality gap widens with almost 15% of reception pupils in Middlesbrough obese or severely obese.

Athletes’ Mental Health Puts Focus on Their Social Media Use - Bloomberg

The growing focus on mental health at the Olympic Games is bringing attention to the pitfalls and benefits of social media use by athletes, for whom platforms like Instagram and TikTok help them stay connected with fans amid the isolation of the pandemic while also leaving them vulnerable to abuse.

Marcus Rashford: Poor families missing out on food vouchers - BBC

Footballer Marcus Rashford is calling on health professionals to do more to persuade families in need not to miss out on government food vouchers. In an open letter in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), he says more than 40% of those entitled to claim have not signed up.

Stand Up for Louis - BBC Three Counties (listen again at 35:10)

Louis' Dad is interviewed about the campaign, the dangers of being sat down for long periods of time while gaming, and spotting the signs of DVT. He references working with YST.