Health and Wellbeing in Schools Project - Final Report

Conclusion

The Health and Well-being in Schools project provided an opportunity to review current ways of working and develop new models of practice to achieve positive impacts on the health and well-being of children, young people and their families.

The key messages and learning points from the project clearly demonstrate the importance of strong clinical leadership. They also emphasise the benefits of partnership working in developing multidisciplinary, multi-agency teams to address the health and well-being needs of school-age children and young people at local level. The new practice models emerging from the project will support teachers in meeting Curriculum for Excellence learning outcomes that are designed to positively influence children's and young people's development by increasing their understanding of what good health and well-being means.

Better utilisation of, and investment in, support worker staff has brought added value to health teams in schools. In addition to reinforcing key health messages by acting as the link health professional between home and school, support workers undertook screening and surveillance roles normally carried out by registered professionals. Registered professionals were consequently able to spend more quality time with vulnerable children and young people with identified health and well-being needs, particularly at key transitional stages: it is recognised that early intervention and prevention programmes that target the most vulnerable at key transitional stages will have a more positive impact on reducing health inequalities than crisis interventions delivered downstream.

The learning from many of the new models of practice introduced or supported by the project demonstrates that increased capacity can be achieved within existing resources. Working "better and smarter" and adopting a more targeted approach based on identified health needs will ensure that the most vulnerable children and young people receive support as and when it is needed. A "one-size-fits-all" approach will not adequately meet the needs of the school population or address the inequalities in health they face.

Health professionals and partnership agencies play a crucial role in promoting the health and well-being of school-age children and young people. The project has shown that the greatest benefits lie in professionals identifying the health needs, assets and strengths of their local school communities and matching these with the skills and the workforce required to enable children and young people to reach their full potential.