Sunday 29 November 2015

Harold Hill Health Issue

It is absolutely vital that we all do everything that we can to give our pupils the very best start in life. Sadly there are huge odds stacked against them. Even though there have been great improvements with reading, writing and maths, life chances for children born in Harold Hill remain poor compared to other parts of Havering.

Firstly - a fact we have shared with you before - the life expectancy gap between RM3 and RM14 is 7 years! Now a study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that out of the years we are alive, boys born in Harold Hill are likely to have 17 less years in good health than their counterparts in Upminster in Cranham.

We will continue to do all we can: providing a free breakfast club, cookery classes, extra curricular clubs, specialist sports provision, excellent facilities, an outstanding education, giving away free fruit, having a healthy snack shop. But we must have your help.

Pupils must come to school having had a healthy breakfast. We have seen pupils sucking on lollipops, eating maltesers and munching crisps. Lunchboxes should have healthy snacks - not chocolate bars. These bad habits need to be prevented so that we can honestly say we have all done everything we can to help close this gap.

It is also worth noting the frightening fact that 3-5% of our pupils start Reception seriously overweight. By the end of Year 6 this figure is up to 40%. Our vision is that we will all combine our efforts to break pupils free from a cycle of deprivation so that they will be empowered to make their own educated choices. The success we have had cannot blind us to the knowledge that there is still a huge amount of work to do at school and at home.


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