Schools need support to improve health of pupils

A new report calls for more support for schools to "fix the broken school food system" and boost children’s physical activity in order to tackle issues such as childhood obesity and food insecurity.

The report, published by the Centre For Young Lives, and produced in collaboration with the N8 Research Partnership, Child of the North, Health Equity North and a number of universities including three Northumbria University academics, outlined overwhelming evidence that the health of children and young people in the UK is getting worse and children’s education, as well as physical and mental wellbeing, is being impacted by inactivity and unhealthy diets.

According to the report, statistics show that 2.2 million 5–16-year-olds do not get 30 minutes of activity a day and that this physical inactivity is costing the UK an estimated £7.4 billion every year.

The findings of the report also outline that young people from the most deprived backgrounds are the least likely to be active with only 44 per cent achieving 60 minutes of physical exercise daily.

This is being compounded by the current cost of living crisis which is impacting on purchasing decisions and leading people to cut back on nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish, dairy and eggs.

The report sets out evidence-based recommendations to give schools the power to develop their own holistic approaches to improving diets and physical activity and urges the government to support schools in diversifying the curriculum, developing teacher training and putting the health and wellbeing of pupils at the centre of the school environment.

Speaking about the report, Professor Greta Defeyter, one of the core writing team of the report, said: “Schools are underfunded. The services currently in place are not being maximised to their full potential due to lack of funding or poorly designed systems, for example 11 per cent of people entitled to free school meals are not applying for them for a myriad of reasons and this equates to around 250,000 children missing out on a hot meal they might really need.

“The government needs to fund initiatives such as national auto-enrolment for free school meals, improve the nutritional and dietary content of school meals, provide additional opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day, and opportunities for children and young people both before and after school, such universal school breakfast clubs and holiday provision.

"Such initiatives, if properly funded by government, could form the foundation of a coherent programme of school-led health and wellbeing interventions and go a long way to tackling some of the issues we’re seeing, such as childhood food insecurity, childhood obesity and poor concentration and behaviour in school.

"However, schools need the resources, the funding, the support and the power to develop and implement plans that work for their children in their communities."

The report goes on to state that providing schools with the support and resources they need to deliver more than just lessons in the classroom should be a priority. However, it warns that teachers, school staff, and current school budgets cannot be expected to deliver this ambition all on their own. 

Through seven key principles, including putting children first, addressing inequity, adopting place-based approaches, working together effectively across public services, putting education at the heart of public service delivery, establishing universities as the ‘research and development’ departments for local public services and using and sharing information across public service providers effectively, the report evidences how a collective approach could help overcome the overwhelming challenges faced by children and young people across the UK today.

The report also identifies a number of innovative and impactful approaches already being utilised to improve the health of children and young people through schools including, auto-enrolment for free school meals, the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and The Creating Active Schools (CAS) programme.

The authors of the report are currently running a petition to encourage the Government to ‘Prioritise Children and Young People in the UK’s Next Political Cycle'.