With a rise in the number of children vaping, Better Health have created teaching resources aimed at helping Key Stage 3 children understand the impact that vaping has on their physical and mental wellbeing. The three curriculum linked resources feature:

• Information on nicotine, what vaping is and the impact it has
• Films co-created by young people
• Activities to prompt pupil discussion and reflection
• Content written and reviewed by teachers
• Guidance on teaching about vaping
• Flexibility of use as either short form time activities or a full lesson plan

Download Teaching Resources here .

Please share this information with your families:

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.  If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. Money will be added to this card every 4 weeks.
You’ll get:

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week
• £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1
• £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4

You will also be entitled to FREE healthy start vitamins for yourself and children.

Who can apply?
In addition, you must be receiving any of the following:

• Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
• Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

You will also be eligible for Healthy Start if you’re under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits.

How to Apply
You can apply online:  Please visit here .

Your school has access to a School Nurse if there are any health concerns and health promotion advice. In addition, the Barnet School Nursing team will offer health assessments, healthy weight management and oral health promotion to all school aged children and their parents/carers.
Currently the healthy weight nursing team are available to attend your school to deliver PHSE classroom workshops and assemblies on maintaining healthy lifestyles, healthy eating on any topic the school needs support with, this can include healthy breakfast, sugar, packed lunches, food labelling, portion sizes, processed foods and ultra-high processed foods. They offer both Parent and teacher training on a range of topics designed to promote healthy happy children in Barnet. They can also help to support you achieving your healthy schools award too!

Please contact the team directly. Healthy Weight and NCMP Team Lead 07483068101 or Tina.Roberts@solutions4health.co.uk to discuss your school’s needs.

Loneliness can have a huge impact on our wellbeing, but there are lots of simple actions you can take to help lift yourself or others out of loneliness.

Following the success of last year’s national campaign, which saw some very positive steps towards people taking action to help feelings of loneliness, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will soon be launching their new loneliness campaign activity as part of the Better Health - Every Mind Matters campaign.

The campaign primarily aims to reach 16-34 year olds by encouraging them to ‘Lift Someone Out of Loneliness’, knowing that this will likely help their own feelings of loneliness. This is based on recent research that shows that people in this demographic are at higher risk of feeling lonely compared to other age groups, but less likely to seek advice and support.

The Every Mind Matters loneliness webpage has advice for ways to help yourself or others who may be feeling lonely and suggested support routes.

The multi-channel, campaign will launch on 30th January and run until 13th March 2023.

The new and updated campaign toolkit for 2023, with updated key messaging, assets and draft social media copy is now available to download on the Campaign Resource Centre for you to use from 30th January.

They have also developed ‘Lift someone out of loneliness’ campaign posters which can also be downloaded on the Campaign Resource Centre.

If you require further information at this stage, please contact campaigns@dcms.gov.uk.

If you’re feeling lonely search ‘Every Mind Matters; for support and advice or go to https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/loneliness/.

The Central North West London (CNWL) Bi-Borough School Health Service delivers a universal service, including health promotion to all children and young people (CYP) in schools between the ages of five years old and eighteen years old. The service comprises of:

• Qualified School Nurses who have additional qualifications in Specialist Community and Public Health Nursing
• Registered nurses (School Staff Nurses)
• School Health Technicians
• Administrative team

The team also includes number of specialist practitioners leading the following specific areas;

• Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
• Relationship, Health and Sex Education
• Safeguarding
• Clinical Education

They work with the local schools and communities, the family and individual CYP to ensure CYP’s health needs are met. They offer health assessments to vulnerable children as well as advice and support for CYP and parents around health issues such as continence, behaviour, sleep and emotional health, healthy weight and lifestyle.   The offer to schools also includes:

• An annual Partnership Agreement between the school nurse and a member of the school’s leadership team to agree frequency of contacts, school needs and priorities, and the specialist support that can be offered.
• General medical needs training and support with care plan review
• Asthma training and support - including help in achieving ‘Asthma Friendly School’ status
• School Nurse drop-in/clinic service (frequency based on school need)
• Safeguarding support for all vulnerable children (Child in Need, Child Protection and those undergoing social care assessments)
• Universal Health Questionnaire for all children starting school and starting Year 7
• Health promotions assemblies
• Support in emotional and mental health and resilience training to school staff and young people
• Relationship, Health and Sex Education sessions
• Universal screening for reception age children (vision and hearing)
• Delivery of the National Childhood Measurement Program (NCMP) for reception and year 6 children

To make a referral or to find out who your school nurse is please click here

Otherwise please contact their duty line or generic email: cnw-tr.westminstershs.cnwl@nhs.net

Duty Phone: 020 3317 4460

School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) has recently published a document about School Nurses role to find out more please click here

How we can help residents manage their energy use, save money and get support

The Climate Change Team is working with the environmental charity Groundwork London to provide free phone consultations and home energy visits to support fuel poor residents to get on top of energy debt, switch provider, access grant and other support, and manage energy use in their home.

As part of the Council’s Homes4Health programme, they are organising a series of webinars to find out more about the fuel poverty service and how this can help RBKC residents.

The webinars are aimed at RBKC employees and anyone who works with young families, people who are on a low income, the elderly, and people with physical or mental illness or disability. They will be of particular interest to Housing officers, Adults and Social Care officers, frontline staff at the Council and at community organisations and voluntary sector across Kensington and Chelsea, community workers and social prescribing link workers.

How will the webinar help you in your work and the residents you work with?

The webinars will cover:

• What is Fuel Poverty?
• How the free telephone consultations/home energy visits work
• Who could benefit from the service?
• How to refer individuals?

Useful tips
All sessions will cover the same content, so please find the one that best fits your schedule. You can join us on the following dates:

• Wednesday 25th August at 9am
• Wednesday 8th September at 3pm

Book your place here:

If you cannot attend any of these sessions, we can attend your team meetings or we can organise bespoke sessions for you.

Attached is the Homes4Health leaflet for your information: Green Doctor Flyer Homes4Health telephone consultation