Healthy Schools

Healthy Schools Week 2010: 1-5 March

On Wednesday 3 March, Nick Baylis spent the day at Channing. He spoke to pupils in Years 7 to 11 during the school day and returned to give a presentation to parents in the evening.

Nick is a highly respected and entertaining speaker and author of The Rough Guide to Happiness. He has been a columnist on The Times, a Cambridge lecturer, and helped establish the now famous ‘happier schools’ curriculum at Wellington College. Mrs Barbara Elliott, Channing Headmistress, said: "Nick Baylis was a compelling speaker and one of the greatest adverts ever for Channing! As a parent, I found so much of what he said relevant and inspiring, and as a teacher and Head of a school, he was inspirational. This really was Channing at its best."

This week, we have had special assemblies, workshops, lunchtime events and activities throughout the week designed to promote healthy and fulfilled lifestyles.

Middle School pupils went off timetable for one afternoon to participate in a range of health-related workshops and activities. The girls took part in meditation, yoga, self-massage, understanding boys, dealing with stress, resisting peer pressure and building self-esteem. For more active pupils, there were the popular ‘military fitness’ and ‘ballet for beginners’ workshops.

One Wednesday, many staff and girls walked part or the whole way to school, raising money for our chosen charity, Noah's Ark. 

One of the highlights was an amazing cooking demonstrations that took place during
PSHE lessons and through lunchtime on Thursday.

Many thanks to all staff who helped make this such a successful and happy Healthy Schools Week!

Mr Gittins, Head of PSHE

Channing school is committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for pupils and staff, and puts the wellbeing of its community at the centre of its ethos.

PSHE

Please click here to read the Channing PSHE and Citizenship Policy

Please click here to read the Channing Sex and Relationships Education Policy

Please click here to read the Channing Drugs Education and Prevention Policy

We have a highly successful PSHE department in which form tutors deliver a carefully considered and up-to-date syllabus. Schemes of work have been adapted from the National Curriculum to fit the specific needs of Channing girls and are in line with DCSF guidelines.

A wide range of organisations have been consulted to make sure that issues are handled sensitively and information is accurate. We have recently worked with Brook, The Havens, The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Kidskape, Drugs Education UK and the McClellan Practice, which also provides speakers.

Parenting evenings are also an important aspect of the pastoral care offered by Channing. We have held a debate about social networking sites in which parents, pupils and staff considered the motion ‘Children should be kept away from Facebook’. The motion was lost, partly because of the many robust and humorous presentations given by girls to refute the proposition.

In Year 10, girls are invited to become Healthy Schools Officers, who meet regularly with the Head of PSHE to give their advice on how to develop the programmes of study for PSHE. They also help revise school policies to make sure that the syllabus is current and relevant. Their knowledge and experiences are an important part of the evaluation process.

Healthy Eating

Please click here to read the Channing Healthy Eating Policy

Pupils are taught about healthy eating in PSHE and in Key stage 3 Science lessons.

School lunches at Channing are very good indeed. Pupils have a choice of a hot or cold meal with an extensive salad bar and fresh fruit readily available.

Hot meals are thoughtfully prepared and take into account the dietary requirements of Girls with allergies and intolerances. All food is sourced sensitivity in line with our determination to become a Green Flag school. Food is prepared on site and is carefully monitored to assure that meals are both popular and healthy.

Healthy Schools Officers in Year 10 advise the Bursar on catering issues and make suggestions on how to make lunchtimes as efficient and relaxed as possible. As a result the school has recently devised split lunchtimes to reduce the queuing time for pupils and has invested in creating a pleasant environment for eating. A recent initiative has been the introduction of 'meat-free Mondays' at the Senior School, at the instigation of the school's Environmental Council.

Parents' focus groups have been a vital part of the planning process in the updating of kitchens and menus at Fairseat.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care at Channing is ‘outstanding’. Small class sizes and committed staff combine to create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere in which pupils feel safe and supported. There are clear protocols for pupils and staff who seek help and a range of options including fully qualified nurses who are available throughout the school day. Pupils could also seek help from a Form Tutor, a Co-Tutor, a Section Head or even the Headmistress, whose door is always open to pupils with worries.

Channing also has its own agony aunt - 'Dear Dorothy'. Pupils can write to her with their problems on the school intranet and are promised a written response. This is also a way for the girls to access information about recommended support agencies and helplines. No one knows the identity of Dorothy except Mr Gittins, the head of PSHE, and he refuses to divulge!

Physical Education

Please click here to read the Channing Physical Education Policy

Girls at Channing are able to access a wide range of games and lunchtime activities and most have two double periods a week of PE lessons.

The school has a number of teams and squads who play other schools in the area and the Netball Squad has also toured Barbados.

The ethos of the school promotes inclusion and this is at the heart of Physical Education at Channing. Girls who want to join teams can attend development lessons, and every pupil takes part in Sports Day in Summer Term. Channing is also very proud of its provision for girls higher up the school and offers a range of activities for girls in the 6th Form including military fitness training, golf, horse riding, and street dance.

Channing has a multi-gym, tennis courts and netball courts, and a rounders pitch, which both pupils and staff have access to. Staff are also encouraged to attend after-school activities such as pilates and ballroom dancing, both provided by the school.

Parents arrange an annual swimathon and weekend tennis tournament as part of a thriving parents' association.