Guidance

National Child Measurement Programme: information for schools 2024

Updated 1 October 2024

Applies to England

Introduction

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), also known as the school height and weight checks, is a mandated annual programme delivered by local authorities. It involves measuring the height and weight of all school children in reception and year 6.

Over 99% (17,000) of eligible state-maintained schools across England, including academies, usually participate in the NCMP. Over one million children in reception and year 6 usually have their height and weight measured in schools as part of the programme.

The importance of the NCMP

Support from schools is crucial to delivering the NCMP. This guidance provides information for school leaders, staff and governing bodies on tasks that schools can help with to ensure the programme runs smoothly.

Delivering the NCMP provides vital information that enables local authorities and their partners to plan for and invest in services to tackle obesity and its wider determinants. It also provides the opportunity to raise parents’ awareness of obesity, its consequences and healthy lifestyle choices.

Prevalence of childhood obesity

Although most children in reception and year 6 are a healthy weight, NHS England’s NCMP annual statistics reports consistently show that prevalence of obesity doubles between reception and year 6 (from around 10% to around 20%).

The overall change in prevalence levels has also been relatively small each year, with the exception of the unprecedented rise seen in the 2020 to 2021 NCMP  annual report, which showed an increase of around 4.5 percentage points. The 2022 to 2023 NCMP annual report showed that the prevalence of obesity in reception children has decreased compared to 2021 to 2022 and is one of the lowest levels since 2006 to 2007.

However, although the prevalence for year 6 children has decreased, it remains higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 to 2020. More than 1 in 5 children aged 4 to 5 years and more than 1 in 3 aged 10 to 11 years are overweight (21.3% and 36.6% respectively). This is unacceptably high.

There are significant inequalities between the prevalence of very overweight children from the most deprived compared with least deprived areas, and between different children from different ethnic groups.

The importance of healthy growth in children

Research (Caird and others, 2011) has shown that growing healthily and maintaining a healthy weight throughout childhood is important for physical, social and mental wellbeing and readiness to learn. It also lays a foundation for future wellbeing, learning and employment.

You can find more information about the evidence for this in the guidance The link between pupil health and wellbeing and attainment.

Having good oral health is also an important aspect of a child’s overall health. Children who have tooth decay may have:

• pain
• infections
• difficulties with eating, sleeping and socialising
• time off school for dental treatment

For more information, see ‘School-aged years high impact area 3: supporting healthy lifestyles’ in the guidance Supporting public health: children, young people and families.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s Voice matters project has found that children and young people may themselves recognise the benefits of being a healthy weight and having healthy teeth and gums. And some identify that they need help to make healthy choices to stay healthy, happy and well.

Physical health and mental wellbeing in schools

Since September 2020, health education has been a statutory requirement for schools to teach pupils about the importance of good nutrition and being physically fit and healthy to maintain their mental health and wellbeing as well as the benefits of having healthy teeth and gums.

By the end of primary school, pupils should know the characteristics of a poor diet and risks associated with unhealthy eating (including, obesity and tooth decay).

The Department for Education (DfE) statutory guidance Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education does not apply to independent schools, who must meet the Independent School Standards as set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. However, it does apply to academies and free schools.

The Ofsted Education inspection framework includes a judgement on the personal development of learners which includes evaluating the extent to which the curriculum and the provider’s wider network helps learners to know how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

Overview of the NCMP

Oversight and reporting

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has responsibility for the national oversight of the NCMP. The surveillance elements of the programme are a mandated public health function of local authorities and are funded through the public health grant.

Data collected through the NCMP is returned to NHS England, where it is analysed. NHS England publishes an annual report summarising local and national data. The data is used both nationally and locally to inform child health and obesity policy planning and service commissioning. It is vital to monitoring trends and progress at national and local levels, including the impact on inequalities and child health.

Maintaining the mental wellbeing of pupils in the NCMP

The importance of mental wellbeing during the NCMP

The wellbeing of children and families participating in the NCMP is a priority. We recognise that child weight and growth can be very sensitive for some children and parents. We have highlighted the importance of maintaining the mental and emotional wellbeing of children and families in all NCMP guidance and delivery resources provided to:

• the people that carry out the measurements
• schools
• local authorities

NCMP resources developed for children and families are designed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours and not focus on weight.

Measuring children in a sensitive way

School nursing teams and NCMP delivery staff measure children in a sensitive way, in private and away from other children.

The weight and height information is shared with the parent or carer in a feedback letter (see ‘Deciding whether to provide parents with children’s measurements’ for further details on feedback letters). Where local authorities provide feedback letters, no individual information is shared with the children themselves, teachers or the school.

It is a parent’s choice if they share the information with their child. If a parent is concerned about their child’s growth, weight, body image or eating patterns, NCMP feedback letters provide national and local information to support parents and advise on when to seek further support from a school nurse or GP.

Communicating about child weight

Parents react in different ways to receiving their child’s NCMP feedback. So, guidance is available to help school nursing teams and NCMP delivery staff have supportive conversations with parents about the NCMP and their child’s health and growth.

Resources are available for professionals to help them talk to parents about their child’s weight, including the guidance National Child Measurement Programme: conversation framework from OHID. You can also watch the video ‘Parent and practitioner’ from Newcastle University below.

Parent and practitioner

Resources are also available to support parents on how to approach talking about weight with their child, including the guidance Talking to your child about weight from the University of Bath. You can also watch the video ‘Child and parent’ from Newcastle University below.

Child and parent

Use of supportive terminology

The term ‘very overweight’ relates to the clinical weight status ‘obese’. Although the word ‘obese’ is a clinical classification, we recognise the sensitivity and stigma around using this term. We encourage all conversations and correspondence with parents about their child’s weight status to use the more acceptable term ‘very overweight’ instead.

Research on the psychological and emotional impact of the NCMP

The psychological and emotional impact of the NCMP has been researched. Studies show there is insufficient evidence of a direct causal link that body image, self-esteem, weight-related teasing and restrictive eating behaviours change as a direct result of being measured or receiving feedback as part of the NCMP (Viner and others, 2020). More research is needed to understand the impact.

One study on the NCMP (Grimmett and others, 2008) found that most children (96%, 351 children) are indifferent or unconcerned about being weighed or measured. The small number of children (4%, 13 children) that disliked the process were mainly from year 6, children aged 10 to 11 years. This reinforces the need for sensitivity when weighing and measuring particularly in older children.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research funds a policy research programme that continues to commission research on this important issue.

Weight status in primary school

National data from the NCMP shows that the prevalence of children living with obesity doubles from around 10% of children at the start of primary school to around 20% at the end of primary school. Also, year-on-year data published in the OHID Obesity profile has shown that obesity prevalence in the most deprived 10% of areas in England is more than twice that in the least deprived 10%. This gap in obesity prevalence by deprivation continues to widen for both reception and year 6. And for those children with severe obesity, the gap rises to more than 4 times for both year groups.

Analysis of NCMP data to assess how weight status changes in individual children during primary school found that weight status tracks between reception and year 6. The findings suggest that excess weight is likely to persist or worsen during primary school and that children from the most deprived backgrounds and some ethnic communities may be at higher risk of retaining or gaining an unhealthy weight.

You can find this and related information in the OHID statistics Changes in the weight status of children between the first and final years of primary school.

You can find a chart of the findings to show changes in the weight status category of children between the first and final years of primary school in the OHID report Annex B: Changes in the weight status of children in the final year of primary school from the first year of primary school.

Achieving a healthy weight is important

When children are a healthier weight, they may feel better about themselves. They may find it easier to play and learn and they are more likely to grow up healthy too. Helping them to be a healthier weight when they are a child can set up their health and wellbeing for life.

Facts about childhood obesity

Children who are overweight or very overweight are more likely to develop a variety of illnesses in childhood and later life, such as:

• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• increased risk of type 2 diabetes
• breathing difficulties
• dental caries (tooth decay, often called cavities)
• bone and joint problems

You can find out more about this in OHID’s guidance Childhood obesity: applying All Our Health and the DHSC report Time to solve childhood obesity.

Health is not the only issue. Research (Rankin and others, 2016; Hill, 2017; Griffiths and others, 2010; Palad and others, 2019) has shown that children living with obesity are also impacted by emotional and social issues, such as:

• poorer emotional well-being
• being at a higher risk of depression
• developing an eating disorder in older children
• lower body image and self-esteem
• teasing or bullying
• behavioural problems
• avoidance of active play or learning opportunities in school sport and PE

Living with obesity can impact on a child’s:

• attendance, as they may need to miss school for medical appointments or treatment
• learning and academic achievement
• sleep (sleep-deprived children are less likely to perform well academically)

It can also affect staff training and expertise because staff may need to provide extra support to children with health problems arising from obesity, to ensure they manage their condition during the school day.

However, it’s important to note that many children living with obesity are psychologically well, have high self-esteem and do not suffer major depression.

The importance of school participation

Supporting the NCMP and making it part of a ‘whole school approach’ to health and wellbeing will:

• support pupils to gain the knowledge and skills required for good health and wellbeing
• support the delivery of the statutory health education curriculum
• help schools to show Ofsted that they are considering the health and wellbeing of their pupils and helping them know how to keep physically healthy

Supporting the delivery of the NCMP in your school ensures that vital information is available to help local authorities and their partners to:

• plan, target and deliver services to promote children’s healthy weight and growth
• manage both underweight and excess weight (overweight and obesity)
• address the issues set out above

Feeding back to parents

Local authorities may also share individual height and weight measurements and calculated weight category with each child’s parent, by sending a letter typically by post from the NCMP provider directly to the parent.

We have produced text for a parent feedback letter for local authorities, which can be used and adapted locally. This letter contains web links to the:

• NHS Calculate your body mass index (BMI) webpage
• NHS Better Health Children’s weight webpage
• NHS Children’s teeth webpage

All of these can support and encourage parents to monitor their child’s growth and to adopt healthier lifestyle behaviours.

Parents and health professionals often cannot tell just by looking at a child whether they fall within a healthy weight range. This is why taking an objective measurement by trained health professionals through the NCMP and sharing that information with parents is important.

Feeding back to schools

Local authorities can share information on the prevalence of school obesity, over a 3 year average, compared with local and national averages with schools through a bespoke letter. An example of these is available in OHID’s NCMP: school feedback letters.

The letter also includes details of resources to encourage whole school action to increase health and wellbeing, including healthy eating, increasing physical activity and having good oral health (see the resources section). In conjunction with action taken by local authorities, this can make a real difference in preventing the continued increase of excess weight in children from reception to year 6, benefiting not only the health and wellbeing of pupils but also their learning and achievement in school.

Healthy eating and food in schools

The University of Essex research report Impact of the universal infant free school meals policy found evidence that by the end of the school year, those exposed to universal infant free school meals:

• have significantly better body weight outcomes then they otherwise would
• are more likely to be of a healthy weight
• are less likely to be living with obesity
• have a lower BMI

The Nuffield Foundation’s research report The impacts of Universal Free School Meal schemes in England explored the impact of free school meal schemes on education, health (child BMI) and household expenditure on food outcomes. It found that for reception children, there was a 7 to 11% reduction in obesity prevalence. Obesity prevalence in year 6 children was reduced by 2 to 5%.

Government guidance on school food is designed to create a culture and ethos of healthy eating. See ‘Creating a culture and ethos of healthy eating’ in DfE’s School food standards: resources for schools.

Ofsted’s Education inspection framework includes a judgment on personal development, behaviour and welfare. As part of reaching this judgment, inspectors will look at the extent to which schools are successfully supporting pupils to gain “knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy” and “make informed choices about healthy eating, and fitness”. The DfE School food standards: resources for schools helps schools plan and provide healthy food.

Physical activity in schools

The guidance for headteachers What works in schools and colleges to increase physical activity brings together guidance and policy documents on increasing physical activity in children and young people alongside local examples. It was produced to support schools and colleges to develop and implement practical, effective evidence-based approaches using 8 principles as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: promising principles for practice to increase levels of physical activity in children and young people

Figure 1 shows the 8 ‘promising principles’ for practice from the guidance, presented in a circle diagram with ‘1. develop and deliver multi-component interventions’ at the centre. Around this core principle are the following 6 principles, arranged in a clockwise manner, numbered from 2 to 7:

2. ensure skilled workforce

3. engage student voice

4. create active environments

5. offer choice and variety

6. embed in teaching and learning

7. promote active travel

The eighth principle ‘8. embed monitoring and evaluation’ is considered to be a cross-cutting principle that encompasses all the above principles. This is shown as a circle around the whole diagram.

Oral health in schools

Oral health is also part of general health and wellbeing and contributes to the development of a healthy child as well as school readiness. Although improving, OHID’s oral health survey of 5 year olds in England in 2022 showed that almost a quarter (23.7%) have tooth decay when they start school.

Children who are overweight and very overweight are more likely to have caries than those of healthy weight even when other potential influences such as deprivation are taken into account. This shows an association between children’s BMI and the prevalence and severity of caries.

For more on the evidence between dental caries and obesity in children, see the report Dental caries and obesity: their relationship in children.

The relationships education, RSE and health education curriculum supports schools with teaching pupils how to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing including the benefits of good oral hygiene and regular check-ups at the dentist.

NCMP and data protection regulations: advice for schools

The data protection regulations that apply to the NCMP are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). The DPA 2018 is the UK’s implementation of the GDPR. You can read more information about the DPA 2018 on the Data protection page.

Under the GDPR all processing of personal data must have a lawful basis. The legal foundation for the NCMP is provided in local authority regulations. The statutory authority for processing NCMP data is provided by:

• The Local Authorities (Public Health Functions and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) Regulations 2013
• The Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013

This statutory authority means that the lawful basis for the NCMP is provided by the articles of the GDPR covering:

• compliance with a legal obligation
• exercise of official authority
• provision of health or social care
• public interest in the area of public health

The NCMP regulations allow for the release of pupil personal information by the school to the local authority or to the person carrying out the measurement on behalf of the local authority, such as an NHS service provider.

Parental consent is not the lawful basis for the processing of NCMP data under the DPA 2018. Since consent is not needed, schools do not need to obtain the consent of parents to provide class lists to school nursing teams and NCMP provider. All parties involved should be following local information governance guidance regarding the secure transfer of personal data.

Regulations relating to the NCMP state that parents must be given an opportunity to withdraw their child from the programme. This requirement is covered by sending them a pre-measurement letter at least 2 weeks before being measured.

OHID has developed text for pre-measurement letters for local authorities to send to parents, which complies with the requirements of the DPA 2018 including detailed information on what happens to the child’s data and information on how to withdraw. Schools may be asked to support dissemination of this letter to parents (see the ‘Supporting delivery of the NCMP in your school’ section below). Further guidance on schools sharing information with NCMP providers or school nursing team is in the NCMP operational guidance.

Supporting delivery of the NCMP in your school

Your local authority is responsible for delivering the NCMP. However, the programme has been most successful in areas where schools have provided support. So, local NCMP leads may contact your school to ask for your help by doing the following.

Provide a class list for all children in reception and year 6

The class list should contain the school name and unique reference number. And for each pupil, their:

• name
• sex
• date of birth
• ethnicity code
• home postcode
• home address
• home phone number

It is lawful under the DPA 2018 for schools to continue to provide class lists to NCMP providers for the purposes of the NCMP. For more information, see ‘NCMP and data protection regulations’.

You should also do the following, as part of providing the class list.

Check there are no new starters missing from the class list. Some local authorities request the class list electronically so they can move towards a paperless way of working.

Advise if there are any children on the class list who are not eligible to participate in the height and weight checks because they are unable to stand unaided. The NCMP lead can make alternative arrangements for these children and should send them a letter with these arrangements. There is text for a letter for local authorities to send to parents of children unable to be measured unaided available in the NCMP operational guidance.

Advise if there are children with Down’s syndrome. Children with Down’s syndrome should be included in the NCMP activity on measurement day as appropriate. However, the NCMP provider will need to use a specialist growth chart and provide parents with an adapted feedback letter.

Support sending the pre-measurement letter to parents

The local authority is responsible for ensuring that parents are informed about the NCMP, including how their child’s data will be stored and processed. The pre-measurement letter also gives parents the opportunity to withdraw their child from the programme.

Your local NCMP lead may seek your support to send pre-measurement letters electronically or give to children to take home. Local authorities may also ask for the pre-measurement leaflet for parents and dental health tips leaflet for children (see ‘Resources’ for more information on these) to be sent along with the pre-measurement letter for parents. These leaflets help parents understand the NCMP process and why healthy weight is important for a child’s health and wellbeing.

Tell the local authority if any parents withdraw their child

Parents will be asked through the pre-measurement letter to let the local authority or service provider know if they have chosen to withdraw their child. However, some parents may respond directly to the school. Relaying this information to the NCMP delivery team will ensure that parents’ wishes are respected.

Confirm convenient days and times

You should confirm convenient days and times for NCMP staff to come into the school to measure the height and weight of children in reception and year 6.

Provide rooms and supervision

You should provide a room (or rooms) where children’s height and weight can be measured and a member of staff to help with supervising children’s movement to and from the room.

It is important that each child’s height and weight is measured in privacy, without being seen or heard by other pupils. Schools will need to identify a private area, with adequate space and appropriate flooring, such as a level, non-carpeted flooring to ensure that scales give an accurate reading. If a separate room is not available, a screened-off area can be used.

Children are not given their height, weight or weight category by staff delivering the programme.

Raising awareness of the NCMP

The NCMP has been successful in areas where governors, parents and children have a good understanding and awareness of the programme and its importance. The local NCMP lead may work with you to arrange engagement sessions such as:

• planning an assembly where the NCMP lead can talk to children about the programme
• including an article on the NCMP in the school newsletter
• sharing information on the programme with governors

Have NCMP as part of a whole school approach to health and wellbeing

A ‘whole school approach’ is one that goes beyond the learning and teaching in the classroom to include all aspects of the life of a school. Research (Langford and others, 2014) found that this includes:

• culture, ethos and environment: the health and wellbeing of students and staff is promoted through the ‘hidden’ or ‘informal’ curriculum, including leadership practice, the school’s values and attitudes, together with the social and physical environment
• learning and teaching: using the curriculum to develop pupils’ knowledge, attitudes and skills about health and wellbeing
• partnerships with families and the community: proactive engagement with families, outside agencies, and the wider community to promote consistent support for children and young people’s health and wellbeing

Using the NCMP as part of a whole school approach to health and wellbeing can complement teaching about physical health, oral health, fitness and healthy eating which are an integral part of statutory health education.

Make full use of curriculum linked teaching resources

Resources on the School Zone are available for head teachers, reception and year 6 teachers, to help them teach pupils about leading healthy lifestyles in the years in which they are weighed and measured as part of the NCMP. There are ideas for whole school activities and suggestions for engaging parents.

Provide parents with contact details if they have any questions

Some parents want to discuss their child’s result with someone. So, giving the parent the correct details that the NCMP lead has provided to you will help them receive support quickly.

The role and responsibilities of local authorities

What local authorities are responsible for

Delivery of the programme, including the height and weight measurements and returning relevant data to NHS England, is a statutory function of local authorities set out in legislation.

Local authorities, or the provider organisations they commission, will be responsible for:

• ensuring that either a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse (such as school nurse), or a registered dietitian oversees the implementation of the programme
• securing the class list information on children in reception and year 6, by liaising either directly with schools or with their local authority education officer.

A parent’s email address and phone number may also be required if digital communication methods are being used and proactive feedback calls are planned by the local authority or NCMP provider

It is lawful under GDPR and DPA 2018 for schools to provide class lists to the local authority, or those working on behalf of the local authority, to carry out the height and weight measurements. For more information, see the ‘NCMP and data protection regulations: advice for schools’ section.

Developing and disseminating a pre-measurement letter to parents

As consent is not the lawful basis for processing NCMP data under GDPR and the DPA 2018, there is no requirement for schools to obtain the consent of parents to provide class lists to school nursing teams and NCMP providers. However, local authorities are required to take steps to ensure parents understand the value of having their child measured and are provided with a reasonable opportunity to withdraw their child from participating in the programme.

OHID has developed text for a pre-measurement letter to parents, which ensures that the information provided to parents on the processing of their children’s height and weight data meets the requirements of GDPR and the DPA 2018. The letter also acts as the privacy notice and must be sent to all children eligible to take part in the NCMP. Parents must be sent this letter at least 2 weeks before the measurements are scheduled to take place.

Raising awareness of the programme

Many NCMP leads will seek to raise awareness of the programme among parents, school leaders and staff, children and governors. To do this, they can help people understand what this programme involves and why it is done by:

• including short articles in school newsletters
• providing governors with information
• delivering assemblies

The local NCMP lead is your first point of contact and could be your local authority public health team or an NCMP provider, such as a school nursing service or commissioned service that delivers the height and weight measures.

Planning for and carrying out the height and weight checks

NCMP leads plan the logistics of measuring children’s height and weight and work with schools to arrange appropriate days and times to take measurements.

Feedback to parents and schools

Check with your local NCMP lead whether the local authority provides feedback to parents and feedback to schools, as outlined below.

Feedback to parents

Feedback to parents will be provided within 6 weeks of measurement, either in the form of a feedback letter or a phone call.

The feedback provides parents with individually tailored information on their child’s height, weight and weight category, which will be one of:

• underweight
• healthy weight
• overweight
• very overweight

The feedback also signposts to sources of local and national support and advice, such as the:

• NHS Better Health Children’s weight webpage
• NHS Better Health Easy ways to eat well and move more webpage
• NHS Children’s teeth webpage

Feedback to schools

Feedback to schools will be on how overweight and obesity prevalence at their school compares with the local or national average. Local authorities will feed this back to schools using the National Child Measurement Programme: school feedback letters .

Resources

NCMP delivery resources

NCMP operational guidance   

This information for schools is part of the NCMP: operational guidance, which is for local commissioners, providers and schools to help them run the NCMP.

The publication has several parts. The main part is the operational guidance for local authority commissioners and providers involved in delivering the programme.

There is also text for letters that local authorities can adapt based on local arrangements. These letters are:

• pre-measurement letter to parents
• letter to parents of children unable to be measured unaided
• parent feedback letter templates
• pre-measurement letter to head teachers

Leaflets for parents

NCMP pre-measurement leaflet: this leaflet is to send to parents with the pre-measurement letter. It helps parents understand the NCMP process and why a healthy weight is important for a child’s health and wellbeing.

‘Top tips to keep your family healthy and happy’ leaflet: this leaflet is to send to parents with the parent feedback letters. It provides simple tips to help families eat well and move more and highlights the additional ideas available on the NHS Better Health: healthier families website.

You can download both these leaflets from DHSC’s campaign resource centre. You will need to sign in or register for an account to do this.

NCMP school feedback letters

National Child Measurement Programme: school feedback letters: these are letter templates for local authorities to send to schools participating in the NCMP. They are intended to be edited, to include details of any local primary care providers, weight management and support services.

Better Health: healthier families resources

A downloadable suite of curriculum-linked healthy teaching resources are available on the School Zone. These resources include toolkits and calendar wallcharts. There are also other teaching materials for head teachers, reception and year 6 teachers to help them teach their pupils about healthy lifestyles.

Resources include ideas for whole school activities to encourage eating well and moving more, keeping teeth and gums healthy as well as suggestions for engaging parents.

There are also useful resources for teaching mental wellbeing to key stage 1 and key stage 2, such as kindness and recognising and expressing emotions.

Teachers can subscribe to the School Zone to keep up to date with new materials and campaigns.

The School Zone also has resources for school nursing teams and other NCMP providers delivering NCMP locally to help them support children and their families to engage in healthier lifestyles.

The NHS Better Health Children’s weight webpage has information for parents. It provides support and advice when they receive their child’s feedback letter, after the child’s school height and weight check.

Resources to encourage healthy eating

NHS Food Scanner app: teaching resources to help pupils explore what is in their food and drink, and swap unhealthy foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt. It enables healthier choices as part of wider lessons on healthy eating. The app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.

Healthy Steps – guidance for schools: guidance for schools to support a ‘whole school approach’ to healthy eating and supporting families.

Standards for school food in England: DfE guidance on the standards for planning and providing food in schools.

School food standards: resources for schools: DfE resources to help schools plan and provide healthy food in schools. Includes the guidance Creating a culture and ethos of healthy eating, which supports pupils to learn how to keep themselves healthy and make informed choices about healthy eating and fitness.

Free school meals: guidance for schools and local authorities: guidance for schools and local authorities about providing school meals including information on free school meal eligibility.

The Eatwell Guide: summarises government recommendations on eating healthily and achieving a balanced diet.

Let’s Get Cooking: a hub of information about providing healthy children’s food offering 15 training courses for schools and caterers related to improving food for children.

Connects-food: a resource to support primary schools develop a ‘whole school approach’ to food.

Resources to encourage physical activity

What works in schools and colleges to increase physical activity: brings together guidance and policy documents on increasing physical activity in children and young people alongside local examples. It was produced to support schools and colleges to develop and implement practical, effective evidence-based approaches.

Active mile briefings: OHID guidance that provides information about the evidence on active mile initiatives, ideas for how to implement them and examples of practice. It recommends that schools deliver at least 30 minutes of the recommended daily 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity for children.

School Games: a programme to put physical activity and school sport at the heart of schools, giving young people the opportunity to learn through competition.

PE and sport premium for primary schools: DfE guidance on how to invest in sport premium funding to increase physical activity levels.

Physical activity guidelines: children and young people (5 to 18 years): a printable infographic explaining the physical activity needed for general health benefits for children and young people aged 5 to 18 years.

Physical activity guidelines: disabled children and disabled young people: a printable infographic explaining the physical activity needed for general health benefits for disabled children and disabled young people.

The Daily Mile: a simple and free initiative to encourage children to run, walk or jog for 15 minutes every day.

Resources to encourage emotional health and wellbeing

Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education: this DfE guidance sets out expectations about what pupils should know by the end of primary and secondary school and includes content on mental wellbeing.

Teaching about mental wellbeing: this DfE guidance supports its statutory guidance on RSE and health education. It contains practical materials for primary and secondary schools to use to train staff about teaching mental wellbeing.

Better Health: every mind matters: resources for schools offers lesson plans for key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 to support the RSE and health education curriculum and enable teachers to support the wellbeing of students.

Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing: this guidance from OHID and DfE sets out 8 principles of a ‘whole school or college approach’ to promoting good mental health and wellbeing. DfE’s guidance Learning outcomes for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges (pdf, 172kb) is aligned with these principles.

PSHE Association: the national body for PSHE education. Their resource library has lesson plans and assessment tools to help teach on mental health and emotional wellbeing.

MindEd: a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health for all adults. It includes content specifically for education staff in schools to support and promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Oral health resources

Science lesson PowerPoint – Keeping our teeth healthy: these dental lesson plans are part of a set of school resources to help pupils and their families learn about healthier eating habits.

Improving oral health: supervised tooth brushing programme toolkit: a toolkit to support commissioning of supervised tooth brushing programmes in schools.

e-Bug key stage 1 oral hygiene: lesson plans on oral hygiene to help children learn how plaque forms and why and how sugary food and drink can damage your teeth.

e-Bug key stage 2 oral hygiene: lesson plans on oral hygiene to help children learn how they can prevent tooth decay.

The NHS Children’s teeth webpage has information for parents and provides support and advice on how to take care of children’s teeth.

‘Top tips for teeth’ dental hygiene dental resources for dental professionals are available by searching ‘top tips for teeth’ on the DHSC campaign resource website. You have to sign into the site to download the leaflets. These resources encourage parents and carers to help children learn good dental hygiene. One main message is that sugar reduction has a clear role to play in maintaining oral health in children.

References

Griffiths LJ, Parsons TJ and Hill AJ. Self-esteem and quality of life in obese children and adolescents: a systematic review. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity 2010: volume 5, issue 4, pages 282 to 304.

Grimmett C, Croker H, Carnell S and Wardle J. Telling parents their child’s weight status: psychological impact of a weight-screening program. Pediatrics 2008: volume 122, issue 3, pages e682 to e688.

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Langford R, Bonell CP, Jones HE, Pouliou T, Murphy SM, Waters E, Komro KA, Gibbs LF, Magnus D and Campbell R. The WHO Health Promoting School framework for improving the health and well-being of students and their academic achievement. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014: issue 4, article number CD008958.

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