The Healthy Schools Award standards have been specifically designed and tailored to Northamptonshire by the Healthy Schools Service at WNC, and recognise schools that adopt a whole-school approach to promoting physical and mental health, including healthy eating, physical activity, mental wellbeing, and PSHE education, making them unique compared to other healthy schools awards. The service is committed to empowering schools to improve the health and wellbeing of students, staff, and the wider community, enabling people to live healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives across the region. There are three levels to the Healthy Schools Award - bronze, silver, and gold - which must be completed in sequential order.

The Silver Award follows our Bronze Award achievement in early January and reflects the our continued dedication to improving health outcomes for our community. The accolade is the result of strategic planning, consistent implementation, and a school-wide effort involving students, staff, parents/carers, and external partners.

Michelle Bloyce, Healthy Schools Officer for West Northamptonshire Council, congratulated us, saying:

This achievement is a fantastic reflection of the collective efforts at Guilsborough Academy. Their success in reaching the Silver Healthy Schools Award is thanks to their clear focus on healthy eating, involving students in menu planning and cooking demonstrations, and fostering strong collaboration with staff and external partners. The support from local health services and community organisations has also been instrumental. I’m delighted with the progress they’ve made and encourage them to continue this fantastic work as they set their sights on the Gold Award.

As part of the Silver Award process, we submitted a detailed action plan, clearly outlining how we addressed the health priorities identified during our Bronze Award assessment. This included a blend of universal and targeted interventions, tailored to meet both general and specific health needs within the school community.

Our submission was reviewed by a Quality Assurance Group (QuAG) comprising:

• Michelle Bloyce, Healthy Schools Officer
• Henna Parmar, Public Health Principal (Mental Health)
• Becky James, NHFT Paediatric Specialist Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Early Intervention Eating Disorder Service)
• Emily Cox, Public Health Practitioner (Children & Young People)

The panel commended our commitment and impact. In their joint feedback, they stated:

We were very impressed with your work and want to acknowledge and commend your dedication to making a difference. The action plan was clear, evidence-based, and demonstrated the effectiveness of your interventions. Congratulations on this well-deserved Silver Award.

Mr Simon Frazer, Principal of Guilsborough Academy, said:

This Silver Award is a testament to our entire school community’s hard work and shared belief in the importance of health and wellbeing. I’m particularly proud of our students, who have taken real ownership of this journey by helping promote healthy habits amongst their peers. We are grateful for the ongoing support from our staff, parents/carers, and external partners and remain firmly committed to working towards achieving the Gold Award.

Mrs Nicky Lauder, Head of Art & Design Technology, and the team now turn their attention to the next phase of the Healthy Schools journey - evaluating and embedding long-term improvements and sustaining the impact of interventions in preparation for the Gold Award.