Healthy, Confident Individuals Liz Western Senior Public Health Officer Healthy Schools, Pembrokeshire

Opening discussion Draw a healthy person?

Definitions What is health? Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." WHO, 1948

Ottawa Charter 1986 Added that health is not just a state, but also "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities."

Strategic Opportunities Successful Futures: Healthy, confident individuals Estyn Supplementary guidance: Healthy Living Well-being of Future Generations Adverse Childhood Experiences Public Health challenge of childhood obesity

Healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society who: have secure values and are establishing their spiritual and ethical beliefs are building their mental and emotional well-being by developing confidence, resilience and empathy apply knowledge about the impact of diet and exercise on physical and mental health in their daily lives know how to find the information and support to keep safe and well take part in physical activity take measured decisions about lifestyle and manage risk have the confidence to participate in performance form positive relationships based upon trust and mutual respect face and overcome challenge have the skills and knowledge to manage everyday life as independently as they can

Estyn Supplementary Guidance: Healthy Living 1 Standards: How well do pupils develop creativity and their physical skills, for example through play and active learning in the classroom and outdoors? 3 Teaching and Learning: Are there enough opportunities for active learning across the curriculum, for example in the outdoors? .........and much more!

Future Generations Groundbreaking legislation Presents an exciting opportunity Focus on prevention

Well-being Assessment for Pembrokeshire The shores, coast, seas and varied landscape are integral to the character of the area and are vitally important to the local tourism industry, supporting a broad variety of jobs as well as offering opportunities for an outdoor learning environment for our children and young people, the potential for which has not been fully realised. Local landscapes also provide a fundamental link to our sense of community pride, culture and local identity.

Well-being Assessment for Pembrokeshire As well as the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Pembrokeshire has 77 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 10 Special Areas of Conservation and 4 Special Protection Areas. These designations cover marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats and the species dependent upon them. Habitat connectivity is essential for the long term sustainability of these sites and the resilience of the species they support, improving connectivity to the wider landscape will also provide multiple well-being benefits.

Tackling Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) ACEs are stressful experiences occurring during childhood that directly harm a child (e.g. sexual, verbal or physical abuse) or affect the environment in which they live (e.g. growing up in a house with domestic violence).

Resilience Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of difficult, challenging or traumatic life experiences Resilience helps us not to be overwhelmed Resilience helps us to keep going at difficult times Resilience helps us to accept circumstances that cannot be changed Resilience is a dynamic process Resilience builds from stressful, difficult situations

Resilience: a defence against ACEs Strengthen pre-frontal cortex Establish routines Mindfulness Nurture optimism and teach children how to reframe Model resilience Growth mindset Don’t rush to rescue Build a sense of mastery and competence Build their problem solving toolkit Make time for play and creativity Outdoor schools

Tackling Childhood Obesity Just over seven in every ten children have a healthy weight. Reception-age children are significantly more likely than the Welsh average to be obese, if they live in areas of higher deprivation. Highest prevalence of obesity is Merthyr Tydfil with 17.8% of children being obese. This is more than double that of the local authority area with the lowest prevalence – the Vale of Glamorgan at 8.3%. 26.2% of children in Wales are overweight or obese, compared to 22.1% in England in this age group Pembrokeshire 11.6% obese; 28.4% overweight and obese.

The Future! Source: Fisher Price.com

Evidence base in support of outdoor schools and healthy, confident individuals Higher level of physical health and sense of well-being Improved creative thinking & increased productivity Builds interpersonal relationships Builds resilience and confidence Encourages problem solving and builds resourcefulness Encourages empathy, tolerance, understanding, cooperation and collaboration Develops stronger bones, muscles and joints Good for eye health

Potential to promote health and well-being Outdoor learning is best described as an active, experiential approach to teaching and learning, open to all, that involves being outdoors as a central part of the experience. It seeks to use the outdoor environment as a vehicle for transforming the experience into knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions. Outdoor learning helps to develop knowledge of oneself, others, the environment and the curriculum; encourages empathy, tolerance, understanding, cooperation and collaboration; and fosters positive attitudes towards health, risk, the environment and community. Education Business

Inspirational quote to finish “I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Albert Einstein

Thank you for listening Liz Western Senior Public Health Officer Healthy Schools Liz.western@wales.nhs.uk 07971 304004