Westvale Primary in Kirkby is the first school in Knowsley to achieve both a bronze and silver award in the borough’s Knowsley Healthy Schools programme.
Knowsley Healthy Schools award scheme encourages and supports primary schools across the borough to introduce healthy eating options to their lunch menus, as well as promoting healthy eating, active travel and physical activity.
To achieve its award Westvale Primary School has launched its ‘Pledge for a Healthy and Active Future’. This involves developing a whole school approach to healthy eating, active travel and physical activity. The school will be launching its ‘pledge to parents’ next term.
Cllr Christine Bannon, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Health visited Westvale Primary to present the awards. She was greeted by the school’s ‘Pupil Health Ambassadors’ who premiered a video they had created showcasing all their work on Healthy Schools.
This includes the school’s ‘swap station’ initiative promoting healthy packed lunches, and the creation of a school allotment to grow and harvest vegetables.
The school has used its Tesco ‘Stronger Starts’ funding to provide free fruit and vegetables to pupils and offer healthy hampers for families at the school Christmas nativity. The school also runs parent cooking sessions where families can spend time together learning new cooking skills and creating healthy meals on a budget.
The certificates were presented in an assembly to the school’s chef, who has played an important role in the award scheme, promoting healthy options to pupils and rolling out their salad and deli bar at lunchtimes.
The school are now aiming to work on their gold award, which includes actions a range of actions, with a big focus on promoting active travel for families.
Cllr Christine Bannon said: “Congratulations to Westvale Primary for achieving their bronze and silver awards. They have come up with some great initiatives and show a real commitment to healthy eating and physical activity at school. It was great to see how the pupils and staff go above and beyond to embed healthy eating and activity across their school day.”