Healthy living scheme for south Staffordshire youngsters shortlised for regional award.

Published by Helen Berwick for HCL Marketing Communications in Health and also in Communities

A unique programme designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle among school children across south Staffordshire has been shortlisted for a West Midlands Innovation Award.

The Healthy Kid5 website and CD was launched in June this year by South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) Provider Services. It is designed to be both a reference source and a practical guide for health and community workers (and children and their parents).

It was developed following the introduction of the National Child Measurement Programme which aims to tackle the continuing rise in childhood obesity. The Healthy Kid5 programme supports children and their parents to receive accurate, up-to-date and consistent advice on food, nutrition and physical activity.

Karen Hansford, Professional Lead for School Nurses at South Staffordshire PCT said: “We saw an opportunity for health promotion activities with Year 6 children to be part of the local Child Measurement Programme and developed the over five years old section of the Healthy Kid5 Pack.”

Jane Brown, PCT Professional Lead for Dietetics, said: “We then looked to extend the pack to cover children under five years and school reception age, given that these years are an important time of influence and when eating and activity habits are being established.”

The Healthy Kid5 pack contains a wide variety of ideas for fun and interactive events and some supporting information for children and parents such as cook and eat session plans, healthy snack and lunchbox ideas and examples of songs and rhymes with a food and health theme.
The aim of the Midtech – NHS Innovations Competition is to identify and reward innovative individuals and teams within NHS Trusts and PCTs in the West Midlands region, and to promote innovations which have the potential to lead to improvements in healthcare for patients in the region and beyond.
Winners will be announced on 26 November at an Awards Ceremony and Exhibition in Birmingham.