Milefield Primary becomes the first primary school to be awarded the Healthier Futures Accreditation

On Friday 11 July, our Public Health team awarded Milefield Primary with the Healthier Futures Accreditation, making it the first primary school to achieve the accreditation.

Our Healthier Futures Accreditation recognises schools and educational settings that are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the children and families they work with.

Despite already having strong provisions in place, Milefield Primary has deepened their approach to healthy lifestyles through this accreditation. Achieving this award has helped their pupils better understand their own health and wellbeing.

The school has engaged with several Public Health initiatives, including supervised toothbrushing clubs for nursery and reception pupils to promote good daily brushing habits from an early age, and junior road safety officers to encourage road safety within the school. Additionally, the school is part of the Making Smoking Invisible initiative, which aims to create a smokefree generation in Barnsley by reducing the uptake of smoking or vaping and a commitment to helping smokers quit.

The accreditation has helped to strengthen links to a broad network of health and wellbeing services, helping the school to provide wide-reaching support for pupils and families.

Councillor Wendy Cain, Cabinet Spokesperson for Public Health and Communities, said: “We’re dedicated to helping schools promote healthy living and the best possible educational outcomes. Our Healthier Futures Accreditation plays a key role in making this happen.”

“We are really proud of Milefield Primary for being the first primary school to achieve this award. Their achievement highlights their strong commitment to creating healthy environments for their pupils and sets a positive example for other schools to follow.”

James McClure, Headteacher of Milefield Primary, said: “Milefield is a school which serves our community well. We are at the heart of the local community, and we pride ourselves on offering the highest possible education. To further develop this and strengthen our offer by better linking with external agencies was of vital importance to us.

“We are so pleased to be awarded the Healthier Futures Accreditation for all the hard work we do day in and day out to ensure our pupils and families have access to the best possible education and support.”

For Milefield Primary, they wanted to complete the accreditation process to make sure they were doing everything they could to support pupils and families to live well. Our Public Health team is always looking for more schools who want to commit to creating healthier futures.

Schools can achieve the accreditation through an online platform, where they will receive feedback on four key pillars of our Healthier Futures Barnsley approach:

·        Physical activity

·        Emotional health and wellbeing

·        Food, drink and oral health

·        Personal, social, health and economic education (PHSE)

Receiving this award provides assurances that schools meet accreditation standards across key areas and prepare pupils with essential life skills and experiences for the future.

You can learn more about Healthier Futures Barnsley, including resources available to help schools and more information about local services, on our website.