Objective: Health and self-care education to 5- to 11-year olds is key to disease prevention and health promotion. This study aimed to evaluate how self-care education is delivered to primary school-aged children in England. Design: Non-participant ethnographic observation. Setting: A sample of primary schools, extracurricular clubs and religious…

In 2018, reflecting in this journal on the arrival of the 'age of consent' into sexuality education, Jen Gilbert questioned what would happen to a concept drawn in part from legal contexts, but partly also driven by the passion of feminist activists, when it met the demands and logics -- the learning outcomes and lesson plans -- of the classroom.…

Objectives: Increased recognition of the need for health education in schools has seen advances in health literacy in recent years. Most of these have focussed on physical health, whereas education about mental health is generally lacking and focussed on tackling stigma rather than promoting good mental health. This study evaluated a pilot…

Purpose: This study is based on previous research which suggests that the Dudes programme increases children's fruit and vegetable consumption for school-provided meals by assessing its effectiveness in increasing the provision and consumption of fruit and vegetables in home-provided meals. Design/methodology/approach: Two cohorts of children…

In Australian schools, one significant component of whole-school learning in sexuality education is to provide students with developmentally appropriate curriculum and learning opportunities, with the intention of influencing positive health and well-being. In the situation where the usual classroom teacher is under-prepared or unwilling to teach…

The need for schools to support children and young people's mental and emotional health is increasingly emphasised in policy initiatives, yet the role of teachers in this has been under explored. This paper reports findings from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 14 school staff at eight secondary schools in England, examining emotional…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of educating adolescents in practical ways of looking after their backs to reduce the incidence of back-pain, with particular focus on the use and carrying method of ergonomically designed schoolbags. Design/methodology/approach: An educational leaflet containing a range of back care…

This article focuses on a neglected topic in the historical sociology of childhood, namely health education, and explores a neglected theme, namely the gendered character of (re)constructions of childhood. Drawing on primary sources, the article argues that while health education for children played an important role in a broader set of British…

The purpose of this article is to trace development of the National Healthy School Program (NHSP) from a global concept to implementation at the local school level in England with a view toward clarifying and, more importantly, determining if implementation is proceeding as planned, as evidenced by the presence of process evaluation. The NHSP is…

Notes that findings presented by Mayall and Storey raise important concerns about school health services: (1) expanding scope of program and declining workforce to deliver services: (2) lack of marketing about school health; (3) loss of infrastructure for school health; (4) need to improve relationship between school health and other staff; and…

The Children's Health in Primary Schools Study used questionnaires from 620 schools and six case studies to examine school health services in England and Wales. Findings revealed variation in quantity and quality of service. This article argues, on grounds of efficiency, convenience, and complementarity, that children should have access to school…

Objective: To assess the sexual health knowledge of teachers who contribute to secondary school sexual health education in order to determine whether teachers are adequately prepared to implement present government education and public health policies. Design: Results were obtained from a questionnaire as part of a two-phase intervention study.…

As part of a commitment to eliminate child poverty, the British government has established Sure Start programs across the country. Sure Start programs are very similar to U.S. Early Head Start initiatives; their stated aim is to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged families and children before and from birth. The article describes…

Behaviour and Education Support Teams (BESTs) are multi-agency teams, which bring together a range of professionals, working to support schools, families and children (aged 5 to 18) who present or are at risk of developing emotional, behavioural and/or attendance problems. Teams include professionals from the fields of education, social care,…