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ITEM LC12
JOINT HEALTH
OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 4 NOVEMBER 2004
HEALTH PROMOTION
IN SCHOOLS
Report by
Head of Democratic Services
- At each of the
last three meetings of the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny
Committee, presentations have been given to members about various aspects
of health promotion in schools. The individuals who have addressed the
OJHOSC are as follows:-
- Kate Riddle, Clinical
lead for School Nursing – SE Oxon PCT
- Gail Stockford,
Professional Lead for School Health Nursing – SW Oxon PCT
- Monica Hanaway,
Head of Youth Service, Learning and Culture Directorate, Oxfordshire
County Council
- Giti Paulin, Schools
Adviser for PHSE – Learning Advisory and Improvement Service, Oxfordshire
County Council
- Bill Russell,
School Drugs Education Consultant, School Development Service
- Julie Garner,
Healthy Schools Co-ordinator
- Carrie Jackson,
Smoking Cessation Adviser, Smoking Advisory Service to the Oxfordshire
PCTs (telephone and written submission)
- Members have been
impressed by the amount of well established partnership working that
is already exists. It has been agreed that the information gleaned so
far had been very useful but that resources did not permit the Committee
to proceed further with a full in-depth review. It had been decided
therefore at the last meeting of the OJHOSC that members should be invited
to consider what conclusions they had drawn on the information presented
to them.
- The following
findings have emerged from the investigation:-
- In respect of
Learning and Culture:-
- That there
is a need to focus attention on particular areas of PHSE teaching,
to help reach the target for reducing teenage pregnancy in Oxfordshire.
- That more
schools need help and support to take up the option of having
a ‘BodyZone’ advice service (particularly in respect of finding
the necessary space for the service to operate), especially within
those areas of greatest need (for example more family planning
nurses in areas of high teenage pregnancy).
- That School
Consultation Teams (a multi-agency group of professionals who
regularly meet on school premises) work well in delivering aspects
of the PHSE curriculum but this system does not yet exist in all
schools.
- That ‘Lead
Practitioner Schools’ can be very effective in the dissemination
of best practice, and in the support they can provide to heavily
pressed schools (suffering from ‘initiative overload’) in continuing
their participation in the Healthy Schools Initiative.
- That those
schools which employ counsellors are much better placed than those
which do not, in addressing the mental health needs of their students.
- That recognition
of mental health needs of school students on the part of school
staff (teaching and otherwise) appears to be inconsistent.
- That there
is considerable room for raising awareness of the Healthy Eating
Programme in schools and of improving the nutritional value of
school meals.
- Less than
half the schools in Oxfordshire have signed up to the Healthy
Schools Initiative in spite of the fact that the it can do much
to improve healthy living.
- That there
are considerable advantages to be gained from making use of Police
Liaison Office work in schools.
b. In
respect of the local NHS system:-
- That the
‘BodyZone’ service is very well regarded, but that its availability
and opening hours (and/or those of school health nurse services
in schools which do not have ‘BodyZone’) are insufficient to fully
address the level of need for drop-in advice sessions, particularly
within secondary schools.
- That the
current two-days-per-week smoking cessation post in the Smoking
Advisory Service allows insufficient time to allow for adequate
contact time with students in schools and colleges.
- That the
effectiveness of the Smoking Advisory Service is inhibited by
the current inflexible approach to the times and places in which
its smoking cessation services are offered to students of schools
and colleges.
- That school
nurses are not currently funded to work during the school holidays
and that this can inhibit the ability of GP’s and Health Visitors
to maintain contact with them.
- That the
possibility of a new dedicated Children’s Trust presents an excellent
opportunity to develop new ways of working and that wide input
to the discussions should be encouraged.
- That there
is insufficient public information available (in particular in
Accident and Emergency units) on the health effects of binge drinking
and on where patients might be able to go for further advice.
- That more
could be done at national level to provide good quality information
resources, particularly ICT based resources such as videos and
CDs, for schools and colleges on the subject of health promotion
and healthy living.
- The Joint Committee
is asked to agree the following recommendations:-
- that
the findings outlined above be drawn to the attention of the
Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee in order that they
be fed into the planned review on ‘Children and Healthy Eating/Healthy
Living’ (Jan 2005); and to the Learning and Culture Scrutiny
Committee in order that they be fed into their possible review
on ‘Health in Schools’ (no date agreed);
- that
a letter be sent to the Secretary of State for Health to argue
in favour of more ICT based information to be made available
nationally in support of existing work on health promotion in
schools.
DEREK
BISHOP
Head of Democratic
Services
Background
Papers: Nil
Contact
Officer: Julie Dean, Tel: (01865) 815322
October
2004
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