NEWSLETTER Issue 1, 2011

Transcription

1 EACH SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH 46 WARRANDYTE RD BUILDING C2. RINGWOOD 3134 PHONE Health Promoting School Inside this issue: Wonderful Walking at Tinternvale Primary School Wonderful Walking at Tinternvale Primary School Bayswater Nth Primary School: The journey to becoming a Health Promoting School. Re-imagining the Healthy Environment at Maroondah Secondary College Cooking up a storm at Bayswater Nth Primary School Background A number of parents at Tinternvale were interested in star ng a Walking School Bus. Unfortunately funding for this project had finished, so it was proposed that the school hold an inaugural Walktober Walk To School Day. Every year VicHealth holds Walk to School day and awards prizes to schools that have a significant number of students who walk to school on the day, as a percentage of the total number of students enrolled. Who was involved? This was a whole school event involving EACH Social and Community Health, a Walk To School day commi ee of parents, volunteers from the local church and the local MP. What happened? Using mul ple strategies Tinternvale Primary School in East Ringwood achieved a 109 % increase in the amount of students walking for their inaugural Walk To School Day event, Wednesday October 22nd. A spot survey conducted the day before Walk To School Day showed that only 44% of students walked to school that morning. However on Walk To School Day, 92% of students managed to walk to school. Strategies to assist in increasing the amount of children walking included: sta oning teachers and volunteers at strategic posi ons around the roads leading into the school which enabled busy parents on their way to work to drop their children off in the care of a responsible adult to walk the rest of the distance to school, promo ng the event with ar cles in the school newsle er about the benefit of walking and promo onal posters around the school, 6 A Partnership Approach Blackburn English Language School (Maroondah campus) & EACH Social & Community Health 8 Helpful Information: Websites and Articles 11

2 Health Promoting School awarding pedometers to the class level with the greatest increase in walkers, and the award of a perpetual golden shoe trophy. Morning ac vi es for the walkers included a healthy breakfast organized by staff, parents and volunteers. David Hodge, local MP was on hand to award pedometers to the students from Level 4 who registered the greatest increase in the number of students walking to school. Level 4 received the golden shoe trophy which will be awarded on a yearly basis to the year level that records the greatest increase in walkers on annual Walk To School Days. What we learned? VicHealth reports that this year 322 schools and 60,004 students par cipated in Walktober Walk to School Day. Tinternvale Primary School has been listed as one of the top 10 performing schools in the state with 200 to 349 students enrolled. Discussions are currently being held within the school community about how to encourage more students to walk to school on a regular basis. Walk To School Days will be held each term to keep the momentum about walking to school at a high level in the school community. Bayswater Nth Primary School: The journey to becoming a Hea Background Bayswater Nth Primary School (BNPS) is a medium sized primary school, in a lower socio-economic community. The school is situated in an area of Community Renewal. Community Renewal programs are State funded and target neighbourhoods in areas experiencing growth or decline or facing difficul es such as falling employment, or run down community facili es. The local community health service EACH Social and Community Health (EACH), which is a partner organisa on in the Community Renewal project approached the principal of the school to discuss the idea of a partnership between the two organisa ons. Who was involved? As part of the partnership agreement, the school agreed to commit staff to par cipate in a HPS steering commi ee, to par cipate in a school audit, and to engage with program evalua on. EACH provided support the school by appoin ng a Health Promo on Officer to work at the school one day a week. What happened? A school audit for the school community, parents, teachers and students from grades 3 to 6, was developed based on an audit from the Health Promo ng Schools Toolbox 9. The audit asked two ques ons: 1. What are the three best things about BNPS? 2. What would you like to see changed at BNPS? A er the audit was collated, follow up focus groups were held. All students in grades 3 to 6 present on the day the audit was administered par cipated. Staff and parents also answered the ques onnaire. Staff indicated that the most highly valued a ribute was the a ributes of their fellow staff members (41%). Qualita ve comments included; Staff are very open and caring. I enjoy the camaraderie at the school. The second most highly rated aspect by staff was the physical environment of the school. Grades 3 to 6 all indicated that their most highly rated area of the school involved the outside environment. In response to the ques on What would you like to see changed to promote the health of BNPS? 37% of the staff indicated that they were concerned with their own physical ac vity levels and that of their students. Qualita ve comments included; I would like a staff exercise program A treadmill in the staff room would be good The students need more access to sport equipment at lunch me Grades 3 to 6 were concerned with the outside environment, canteen and sport. Grade 3 also had concerns with the toilets (19%). From the audit three key areas of concern were iden fied. These were priori zed and plans of ac on developed. 2

3 lth Promoting School These three areas are: 1. Canteen and Healthy Ea ng, 2. Physical Ac vity 3. Staff Health. All of the plans sit within the three HPS domains iden fied in the Na onal Framework for Health Promo ng Schools. Areas of implementa on include: a Pilates class for school staff, the school canteen has been re-vamped, funding for a fitness track has been acquired along with more lunch me sports equipment for the students. Student toilets have also been refurbished. What we learned? This case analysis demonstrates that in order for schools to embed the HPS framework into the fabric of the school, substan al support is required. Staff with the me and commitment to see the changes implemented, strong leadership and professional development for the staff are all integral to the success of the HPS model. Schools and those working with schools need to be prepared for a long term commitment. 3

4 Health Promoting School Re-imagining the Healthy Environment at Maroondah Secondary College Background Maroondah Secondary College wanted to promote healthy ea ng through involving the students in running the canteen, working in the vegetable garden and developing a marke ng program. However, resources and skills were needed to do this. EACH (EACH) Social and Community Health and Maroondah Secondary college were successful in obtaining a Schools First Seed Funding award to help resource this project. Who was involved? The Re-imagining the Healthy School Canteen project aimed to establish a sustainable healthy ea ng environment for the school community through the development of a kitchen garden, improved canteen facili es, whilst enhancing student engagement through hands on learning. This project has involved the students through the Student Services Commi ee and by working in the garden and the school canteen. Others involved in the project include the canteen manager, the student welfare coordinator, a gardening worker from Cul va ng Communi es, Bunning s Warehouse staff and a health promo on officer from EACH. What happened? Students worked to develop a kitchen garden. The produce from the garden has been used in the canteen in recipes. Crews of students work in the canteen gaining valuable skills such as improved mental maths, confidence in working with people, and food handling skills. New garden furniture for around the school canteen has been purchased. What we learned? To engaging with the students and parents to embed healthy ea ng throughout the school community takes me and a mul -model approach. 14

5 Cooking up a storm at Bayswater Nth Primary School Background Bayswater Nth Primary School (BNPS) wanted to a ract parents into the school. A number of recent seminars had been poorly a ended. A number of months earlier, the school community par cipated in an audit where parents had indicated that they were interested in healthy ea ng. Taking into account the results from the school audit, and the popularity of shows such as MasterChef, BNPS offered a series of Healthy Cooking and lunch box classes for parents. The cooking classes were based on a workshop run as part of the Healthy Families in Monash project. The Reclaim the Lunchbox workshop was offered by Nutri on Australia. Funding for the workshops was provided by School Focused Youth Services. Who was involved? Chef, Suzi Rogers- Wilson was engaged to provide two cooking classes. The first, with an emphasis on quick healthy meals for the family. The second to be held at the end of the year will have the theme of Christmas cooking and the emphasis will be on fun and celebra on. A nutri onist also a ended to talk to the parents about the products being used by the chef and to answer the parents ques ons about their families diet. What happened? Twenty-two parents a ended the Healthy Cooking workshop and 19 parents a ended Reclaim the Lunchbox workshop. The chef demonstrated quesidellors and sweet corn fri ers among other dishes. Both workshops were a great success; however the parents in par cular enjoyed the cooking class. More classes have been booked for next year. What we learned. Has this seminar assisted you with Time management Increased your ideas Increased mo va on 89% found the session very informa ve 73% find it difficult to prepare a nutri ous evening meal 57% said the seminar improved me management a lot 63% said their meal ideas were increased Yes % No % A Li el % Improved confidence in using fresh ideas 52% said their confidence in using fresh produce was increased. 5

6 Health Promoting School A Partnership Approach Blackburn English Language School (Maroond & EACH Social & Community Health A key component of the Health Promo ng Schools framework is Partnerships. Over the last 12 months Blackburn English Language School (Maroondah campus) (BELS) and EACH Social & Community Health (EACH) have been working together to benefit the health of the BELS school community. A highlight of this partnership in prac ce is the Healthy Living in Australia lunchbox project. This project was developed out of both published data and anecdotal evidence. The published data suggests refugee and migrant communi es o en experience food insecurity; and in newly arrived communi es food insecurity includes key elements such as, adap ng to new food knowledge, skills and u lisa on 1. Similarly, our anecdotal suggested that the English language students at BELS wanted more typically Australian lunches to bring to school. It was felt that, as well as a nutri on component within the BELS curriculum, the school was in an ideal posi on to promote prac cal and low cost strategies for healthy ea ng in Australia to the parents of BELS students, as the primary decision makers for food choices. Two interac ve, health educa on sessions were developed with a Deakin University Master of Diete cs student. The sessions focused on the A balanced diet the five food groups, making healthy lunches, and affordable snacks for the lunchbox. These topics aimed to address the project objec ves which included: 1. To increase knowledge and confidence of parents in buying and using healthy foods in Australia 2. To increase awareness in parents about services and support available to help maintain a healthy lifestyle 3. To increase the inclusion of healthy food choices in student lunchboxes, and decrease the inclusion of prepackaged snacks and sweet drinks. Other strategies included a health service informa on table with relevant brochures and pamphlets describing services available; a Food Sor ng ac vity before and a er the educa on sessions to gauge understanding and awareness of healthy foods in Australia; and anonymous lunchbox audits to assess changes in 1 Renzaho, A. & Mellor, D. (2009) Food Security measurement in cultural pluralism: missing the point or conceptual misunderstanding? BELS Student Welfare Coordinator The Partnership: Blackburn English Language School (BELS), Student Welfare Coordinator EACH Social & Community Health, CALD Health Promotion Deakin University, Dietetics Student EACH CALD Health Promotion Officer Parents of BELS students Deakin University Dietetics student 6

7 ah campus) lunchboxes before and a er the parent sessions. The Healthy Lunchbox project enabled BELS, EACH, and Deakin University to come together in crea ng a learning environment; in which parents and families of BELS students had the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills about nutri ous healthy lunches. The project has enabled a comprehensive approach to learning by linking curriculum with the school community. A major outcome of the Healthy Lunchbox project development, implementa on, and evalua on is the stronger working rela onship that has been built between BELS and EACH. There is an informal understanding that EACH and BELS will con nue to work together, and staff are currently inves ga ng poten al projects and partners for

8 Health Promoting School Helpful information EACH SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH 46 WARRANDYTE RD BUILDING C2. RINGWOOD 3134 HEALTH PROMOTION CONTACT DETAILS: LIZ SENIOR PHONE Webpages Health Promoting Schools Toolbox h p:// Achieving Health Promoting Schools: Guidelines for Promoting Health in Schools h p:// Australian Health Promoting Schools Association h p:// Schools For Health in Europe h p:// Articles Mũkoma, W and Flisher, A., (2004) Evalua ons of health promo ng schools: a review of nine studies, Health Promo on Interna onal Volume19, Issue3Pp Tang, K.W, Nutbeam, D et al(2009),schools for health, educa on and development: a call for ac on. Health Promo on Interna onal Volume24, Issue1Pp Sun,J, Stewart,D., (2007), How effec ve is the health-promo ng school approach in building social capital in primary schools? Health Educa on, Volume 107 issue 6 8