Children's Healthy Weight - Everybody's Business

To improve knowledge of and access to affordable, healthy food and drink both in and out of home. Adopting healthy eating patterns as a family helps children reach and maintain a healthy weight as they grow. From preconception and pregnancy to infant feeding and introducing solids, childhood and through adolescence, eating a varied and healthy diet sets the whole family up for optimal health. 

To improve access to opportunities for everyday movement and physical activity, including active travel. Enjoying time being active and moving as a family helps children to be more physically active, have stronger muscles and bones, better cardiovascular fitness, and lower body fat than those who are inactive. Support for children to move more and meet the Physical Activity Guidelines as a family; walking to school, riding bikes, and playing outside all count toward physical activity. 

To improve knowledge and support for good health and wellbeing, including sleep. Good health and wellbeing leads to good sleep, and quality sleep is important for everyone. Sleep directly impacts on children’s emotional wellbeing, mental and physical development. It is easier for children to stay a healthy weight if they sleep well. It’s been shown children who don’t have the recommended amount of sleep are more likely to be overweight. Good sleep helps to improve attention, behaviour, learning and memory. 

To improve the environment we live in, reduce unhealthy influences and to enable healthy choices to be an easy choice. Where we live, work and play has an impact on our choices and abilities. Health promoting environments enable communities to engage in positive change. Recognising where you live has an influence on your weight and health. The basis of a whole system approach.

All families want the best for their children and empowering parents and carers to make informed decisions supports this; while recognising where you live has an influence on your weight, health and the choices we make.

Sleep Well, Health & Wellbeing

Feel Good Suffolk

Feel Good Suffolk is offering free support for those wanting to manage a healthy weight, stop smoking or be more active. The website contains tons of information which will support you to make small changes and details of support services that may be available to you and your families. 

Find out more at feelgoodsuffolk.co.uk/

Family Hubs in Suffolk

The Family Hubs in Suffolk (formerly known as the Children's Centres) are a place for families, parents, carers and young people in Suffolk to find support and advice.

Learn more and find your local centre at www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/family-hubs

'Sleep Hygiene'

The lead-up to and routine around your child’s bedtime is referred to as ’sleep hygiene’. Having good sleep hygiene can help your child to settle to sleep and to stay asleep.

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) explain this well and have a number of useful resources available at www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/procedures-and-treatments/sleep-hygiene-children/

Move Well

Bikeability

Bikeability is today’s cycle training programme - It’s like cycling proficiency, but better! Help equip children and young people in Suffolk with the skills and confidence to cycle on todays roads.

Visit www.bikeability.org.uk/

Discover Suffolk

Want to get the family out enjoying what our rural county has to offer?

Look no further than Discover Suffolk Whether it is walking or cycling trails you are after, Discover Suffolk offer lots of information about trails that can be accessed across Suffolk, plus they even have an app which will support you to find them when out and about!

Learn more at www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/

The Green Bike Scheme

The affordability of equipment or programmes to support our children to be more active can sometimes be a barrier, however the Green Bike Scheme offers more affordable bikes. Better yet, they are upcycled old and unwanted bikes that have been given a second chance!

Find out more at www.orwellmencap.co.uk/greenbike/

Healthy Start

If you’re pregnant or have children under the age of 4 you can get free payments every 4 weeks to spend on: Cow’s milk Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables Infant formula milk Fresh, dried, and tinned pulses You can also get Free Healthy Start vitamins.

To check if you can apply or to find out more speak to your Midwife or Health Visitor or visit www.healthystart.nhs.uk You can also call the Healthy Start helpline on 0345 607 6823

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

The Holiday Activity & Food (HAF) Programme is funded through The Department for Education and it enables children and young people to access enriching and fun activities (particularly those who receive free school meals) during the school holidays.

To learn more about HAF in Suffolk and to enquire visit infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/advice.page?id=Zj4vWQtEbvA

Junior Road Safety Programme

Having the confidence to cycle safely is important, without it young people and their families are unlikely to consider cycling for transport or to be more active. Schools across Suffolk can take up the Junior Road Safety programme.

Learn more and register your school today at suffolkroadsafe.com/education-home/junior-road-safety-officer/

parkrun and Junior parkrun

In Suffolk there are now 25 weekly parkrun and 9 Junior parkrun events to choose from! The event consists of a free, weekly, volunteer led running or walking route, supporting the local community to get together, enjoy the outdoors and be active.

Learn more and discover your local events at www.suffolk.gov.uk/culture-heritage-and-leisure/getting-active/parkrun-in-suffolk

P.H.O.E.B.E

The Green Spaces team at Suffolk County Council have teamed up with P.H.O.E.B.E to deliver on their shared goal, to bridge the gap between black, migrant and minoritised women and accessing green spaces. 

Learn more about the Ambling African Women's group which is supporting women and their children to be active and access green spaces in Suffolk phoebecentre.org.uk/project/womens-health/

Eat Well

Eat Well, Feel Well

Eating well is a Suffolk campaign which focuses not just on what we eat, but how we go about maintaining a good relationship with food too!

Learn more about eating well, download activity sheets, discover the link between our diet and mood and learn how healthy your relationship with food is, plus much more at www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/eat-well-feel-well-campaign

Children's oral health and dentistry

Any child in Suffolk under the age is 18 is eligible for NHS dental treatment, or up to the age of 19 if they are in full time education.

Find out more at www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/suffolk-family-hubs/health-support-at-family-hubs/childrens-oral-health-and-dentistry

Discover affordable or free food in Suffolk, find local food banks, access healthy recipes and discover offers or opportunities for cheaper food.

Visit infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/advice.page?id=aZx7joZnmRU

Healthy Start Scheme

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.

Find out more and apply for the scheme today at www.healthystart.nhs.uk/

Simply Veg

Engaging kids with veg is an easy way to take a step closer to them actually eating it! Whether it’s starting out with crafts and science experiments, or moving on to sensory exploration or even getting kids in the kitchen, we have expert tips for you on how to do it the easy way!

Learn more, discover useful resources and download crafts and activities to do at home at https://simplyveg.org.uk/engaging-kids/

Move Well

Discover Suffolk App

Download the new Discover Suffolk app and explore walking, cycling and riding routes throughout Suffolk. Freely available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Visit www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/

Exercise for kids at home

Exercise for kids is fitness app is one of the best Family Workout with different exercises & warm up exercises and specifically designed for kids.

Download for android at play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.exerciseforkids.kidsworkout&hl=en&gl=US

Download for Apple at apps.apple.com/us/app/exercise-for-kids-at-home/id1584420243

Eat Well

The NHS Food Scanner App

With a speedy scan of your family's favourite foods, you can find healthier swaps for next time you shop.

Download for Apple of Android at www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/food-facts/nhs-food-scanner-app/

Sleep Well

Moshi

The Moshi app is a healthy form of entertainment, full of games that support active play and stories that inspire fun, exploration, relaxation or sleep.

Find out more and download at www.moshikids.com/

A short information video about the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for children, parents, carers and schools

Childhood obesity: Applying 'All Our Health' Guidance

All Our Health’, is a resource that helps health professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. This guide supports frontline health and care staff to use their trusted relationships with patients, families and communities to promote the benefits of a healthier weight and reduce childhood obesity, whilst also recommending important actions that managers and staff holding strategic roles can take.

Discover more at www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-applying-all-our-health/childhood-obesity-applying-all-our-health

The Daily Mile

The Daily Mile is an inclusive, free initiative for schools to support their children to run or jog – at their own pace – in the fresh air with friends. There are 81 Suffolk schools registered with the Daily Mile, providing 18,306 children with the opportunity to get involved with a Daily Mile on every school day.

Find out more about The Daily Mile and how you could involve your Suffolk school at thedailymile.co.uk/

Eat Well, Feel Well

The 'Eat Well, Feel Well' campaign is a partnership between Suffolk County Council, Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) which aims to raise awareness to families and schools of the importance of eating well and building good relationships with a variety of food in order to maintain good mental and physical health, and prevent eating problems in children.

Learn more, download resources and access tips and advice at www.suffolk.gov.uk/eatwell

The Free School Meals Evidence Pack

The food foundation have published this Evidence Pack which presents key data and evidence on Free School Meals (FSM) gathered from a range of independent sources. The intention is to demonstrate to policymakers the evidence that investment in FSM makes sense socially, morally and economically.

Discover more at foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/superpowers-free-school-meals-evidence-pack

Local Government Association

The Local Government Association is the national voice of local government, working with councils to support, promote and improve local government.

Learn more about what other councils are doing across the country to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people at www.local.gov.uk/topics/children-and-young-people/children-and-young-peoples-health

The Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

The HAF programme provides support to children in receipt of free school meals through the school holiday periods. Local authorities receive grant funding to deliver the HAF programme in their area via the government.

Detailed information and guidance for local authorities can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/holiday-activities-and-food-programme/holiday-activities-and-food-programme-2023#overview

'Move More to Feel Better' Suffolk's Physical Activity Strategy

The Physical Activity Strategy for Suffolk 'Move More to Feel Better' has been developed by Active Suffolk. It has been recognised that in Suffolk, we are not moving enough. This is having a negative effect on both our physical and mental wellbeing. The strategy developed and launched in May 2024 has been designed by Suffolk’s physical activity and movement system, and sets out eight key priorities to support our people, places and partnerships in creating a healthier and happier Suffolk

Read the strategy at move-more-to-feel-better.pdf (activesuffolk.org)

National Child Measurement Programme

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), also known as the School Height and Weight Checks, is a mandated annual programme delivered by local authorities, which involves measuring the height and weight of all school children in reception and year 6.

Information for school and professionals is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-child-measurement-programme-operational-guidance/national-child-measurement-programme-2022-information-for-schools

National guidance on children's oral health

The child oral health guidance is part of the ‘All Our Health’ resource designed by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which helps health and care professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice.

View the guidance at www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-oral-health-applying-all-our-health/child-oral-health-applying-all-our-health

National Guidance on Obesity, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Primary Schools

In August 2016, the government published Childhood obesity: a plan for action. As part of the plan, Ofsted has reviewed obesity, healthy eating and physical activity in schools.

Learn more at www.gov.uk/government/publications/obesity-healthy-eating-and-physical-activity-in-primary-schools

National Planning Policy Framework

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012 (latest update Dec 2023). This sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these should be applied. It provides a framework within which locally-prepared plans can provide for sufficient housing and other development in a sustainable manner. This should be considered so that collectively children’s healthy weight is recognised in all future neighbourhood, local plans and/or supplementary planning documents.

You can find the  National Planning Policy Framework at www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework

PE and Sport Premium

Every year schools are are given funding via the Department for Education which is to be spent on PE and Sport. Schools should use the PE and sport premium funding to help children and young people to achieve the physical activity recommendations set by the UK Chief Medical Officers

Understand the funding and how it should be used effectively at www.gov.uk/guidance/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools

The Poverty Strategy

Suffolk County Council has developed a Tackling Poverty Strategy and Action Plan with the aims of supporting people born into poverty, and those who fall into poverty, to be able to move out of poverty and maintain their position outside of poverty.

Find out more at www.healthysuffolk.org.uk/tackling-poverty/tackling-poverty/poverty-strategy

Physical Activity Guidelines

How much physical activity do children need?

Check out the governments guidance at www.gov.uk/government/publications/physical-activity-guidelines-early-years-under-5s

Sport England - New Active Design Guidance

This guidance has been developed with planners, urban designers and developers in mind, and is centred around a foundational principle of 'activity for all'. It provides guidance on how the design of our environments can help people to lead more physically active and healthy lives.

You can access the guidance at www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/new-active-design-guidance-published

Superzones

The School Superzones concept was piloted during 2018 and 2019 with 13 London Boroughs. The idea is to create a healthy environment around the school to help promote and improve the health and wellbeing of children and their families. Although piloted in London this is something that could be considered elsewhere. 

Learn more about this pilot at www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/health-and-wellbeing/school-superzones

Sustain

Sustain is a powerful alliance of organisations and communities working together for a better system of food, farming and fishing, and cultivating the movement for change

They are supporting a number of campaigns aimed at improving the diet and health of children and young people across the country. 

Learn more at www.sustainweb.org/what-we-do/

Communication Toolkits

Sharing advice, information or support with families or young people about achieving a healthy weight can be a sensitive and difficult topic to discuss.

Frame works UK have produced 5 top tips for communicating about children's health and food which can be accessed at frameworksuk.org/resources/5-tips-for-communicating-about-childrens-health-and-food/

Urban Health have pulled together an interactive toolkit which helps us all to reframe the way we talk about children's health and food. This can be accessed at urbanhealth.org.uk/our-work/childrens-health-and-food/framing-toolkit-talking-about-childhood-obesity

The Health Foundation have also produced a toolkit designed to support those, especially professionals working within Public Health to know how to talk about the building blocks of health. This can be viewed and downloaded at www.health.org.uk/publications/how-to-talk-about-the-building-blocks-of-health

HENRY Training

FREE HENRY training (Health, Exercise and Nutrition in the Really Young) is now available for volunteers and staff working in the Voluntary & Community Sector in Suffolk.

Do you work with or support families with children aged 0 – 12 years across Suffolk? Would you like to increase your confidence and skills to help all children have a healthy and happy childhood?

If you have answered yes, HENRY training could be exactly what you are looking for. HENRY course registrations are being managed through the Suffolk CPD Learning Website. Type HENRY in the search bar at www.suffolkcpd.co.uk/login

The training has already received a very positive response in the county, as the quote below from a previous participant demonstrates:

“I feel like my tool kit and confidence has definitely increased…This program is not just about the food we feed our children but the way we talk to them, giving them choices, the kinds of questions to ask, showing empathy, giving praise, the importance of quality family time, listening, rewarding, importance of recharging batteries as well as portion size, food groups, healthy balanced diet, activity and exercise, and how important it is to look after a child’s teeth. This program hasn’t only given me the confidence to sensitively support a family who may be concerned about their child’s weight or relationship with food, it has also given me new strategies to use in my everyday working and personal life.”

Sign up at www.suffolkcpd.co.uk/login or register your interest for future dates via healthandwellbeing@suffolk.gov.uk

Childhood Obesity: Applying All Our Health

This is a bite-sized interactive e-learning session to give health and care professionals an overview of childhood obesity - including key evidence, data and signposting to trusted resources to help prevent illness, protect health and promote wellbeing.

Access the training at portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/587409

Whether you work with children and families in Suffolk, or you have young children in your life who you want to support to live in a healthy way, there are lots of great things you can share which will help you to do just that!

Posters, social media posts and leaflets...you name it, this is where we will link you to everything that is available for sharing within your local community. 

The Campaign Resource Centre

The Campaign Resource Centre is a digital platform for the governments health improvements campaigns, hosting information and resources for many of the well known, national campaigns such as Change4Life, Better Health and Start4Life.

Create a log in and download resources to share in your local community today at https://campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/

 The Active Travel Toolkit

The Active Travel Toolkit has been designed for primary schools, outlining the various initiatives and measures available for schools to encourage more pupils, families, and staff members to travel to school in more active and sustainable ways. 

This can be viewed and downloaded from: https://thewaytogosuffolk.org.uk/school  

The Eatwell Guide

The Eatwell Guide was created by Public Health England in 2016. It was created to help you get a balance of healthier and more sustainable food. It shows how much of what you eat overall should come from each food group.

Click on the links below to discover all of the Eatwell Guides available for download.

The Eatwell Guide
The plant based Eatwell Guide
The South Asian Eatwell Guide
The African and Carribean Eatwell Guide

 Healthy Start Scheme

The Healthy Start Scheme offers pregnant women or those who have children under the age of 4 with free payments every 4 weeks which can be spent on: Cow’s milk Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables Infant formula milk Fresh, dried, and tinned pulses They can also get Free Healthy Start vitamins.

Leaflets in a variety of languages are available for download at www.healthysuffolk.org.uk/healthy-you/children-and-young-people-1/healthy-start

A communication toolkit to help promote this scheme can also be viewed and downloaded by clicking HERE

Your local stories will feature here soon!