Healthy Schools

At Pembroke Dock Community School we are a Pioneer School for the new curriculum.  We offer pupils an extensive range of cross curricular activities encouraging them to become:

·      Ambitious, Capable Learners

·      Healthy, Confident Individuals

·      Enterprising, Creative contributors

·      Ethical, Informed Citizens

We complete daily bilingual check-in/out sessions in school where we are able to gauge how pupils are feeling. We are working with Empathy Lab in order to encourage pupils to empathise with others and explore their own feelings more and to be able to put names to them. We use texts to explore these feelings and have ‘Read for Empathy’ sessions at the end of every day. We have also linked these texts to our newly developing RSE curriculum.

Pupils in the Upper School use the Wheel of Well-Being in their lessons and this was used successfully in Home Learning too. The wheel provides a structure for teaching and learning, embodying the emphasis of keeping our minds and our bodies healthy.

We are a Visible Learning School and encourage all pupils to have a growth mindset and a ‘can do’ attitude. We are also a Gold Rights Respecting School and uphold the values of the rights of the child and the UNCRC. Pupil voice is vital to the running of the school and pupil well-being.

We have carried out pupil well-being surveys Post-covid in order for staff to understand pupils needs on return to school. We use this data to plan the health and well-being lessons delivered to each year group in order to focus on their needs.

We encourage pupils to lead an active lifestyle, all year groups complete a daily 1km run around the school grounds and courts. All staff make a conscience effort to set a good example of a healthy lifestyle to our pupils. Several members of staff have taken part in sporting events including Iron Man, sponsored runs, cricket matches and playing football for local teams. We encourage pupils to use the outdoor environment as much as possible in their lessons.

All food and drink prepared for the children during school time and in Breakfast Club/After School Club follows Pembrokeshire County Council healthy eating guidelines. During break times we have a fruit only policy. Children may bring in fruit from home, we also provide fruit for pupils. We reward children for positive behaviours and reading challenges, however, we do not give out sweets or confectionary as rewards. If birthday cakes are brought in for celebrations these are taken home to eat and not consumed in school. We also ask parents of children who bring a packed lunch to school to make every effort to ensure that the packed lunch contains healthy selections to be consistent with our Health Promoting Policy.  

https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes

All classes have sinks and pupils have their own individually named beakers or bottles so they can access fresh water regularly throughout the day. We encourage pupils to drink water as it helps to develop concentration skills.

At Pembroke Dock Community School we are ‘Proud to be a community school striving for success for all’ with Health and Well-Being of the whole school community at the heart of everything that we do.

The Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes was launched in 1999 to encourage the development of local healthy school schemes within a national framework.

At Pembroke Dock Community School we are proud to have achieved the National Quality Award (NQA) in 2009 and NQA reassessments in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Read our 7th re-assessment document above.

The Healthy Schools Team led by Mrs Kate Clarke and Miss Coral lewis works with pupils, teachers, parents and a range of partners to improve the health of whole school community. Our primary aim is to continue to develop a whole school approach to health through these 7 key areas:

         *      Food and Fitness

         *      Mental and Emotional Health and Well-being

         *      Personal Development and Relationships

         *      Environment

         *      Substance use and misuse

         *      Safety

         *      Hygiene