National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)

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Health advice to help your children grow and flourish: Health for Kids | Buckinghamshire

Many parents have found the tips on the Better Health – healthier families website useful in helping them make small lifestyle changes to keep their child in the healthy weight range.

You can also get ideas about activities you could try with your child.

If your child is above a healthy weight, see advice for parents of overweight children. This can help you decide what steps to take and provides details about the help available.

Some parents also find it helpful to keep track of their child’s growth by rechecking their child’s BMI to see if they have moved towards a healthier range as they grow. You can do this using the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator.

Resources to encourage healthy eating:

• NHS Food Scanner app. An app to help pupils explore what is in their food and drink and swap unhealthy foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt, to healthier choices. The app is free to download
• Healthy Steps – guidance for schools: Guidance for schools to support delivering a whole-school approach to healthy eating and supporting families
• The Eatwell Guide. A tool used to define government recommendations on eating healthily and achieving a balanced diet. The Eatwell Guide image and Eatwell Guide booklet are included in the list of resources

Resources to encourage physical activity:

• Active mile briefings. A guidance document that provides information about the evidence on active mile initiatives, ideas for how to implement them and examples of practice

• School Sport and Activity Action Plan. A cross-government action plan to provide pupils with greater opportunity to access 60 minutes of sport and physical activity every day

• Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines fact sheet for 5 to 18-year-olds

• Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity in disabled children and disabled young people evidence review and infographic

• The Daily Mile. A simple and free initiative to encourage children to run/walk/jog for 15 minutes every day

Resources to encourage emotional health and wellbeing:

• DfE Guidance on the eight principles for promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools

• DfE guidance on Teaching about mental wellbeing

• Resource library including lesson plans and assessment tools to help develop the PSHE curriculum.

• Better Health School Zone offers lesson plans for Year 6 and Key Stages 3 and 4 to support the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum and enable teachers to support the wellbeing of students

• MindEd. A free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health for all adults

Other useful resources:

• School Zone. Curriculum linked healthy teaching resources are available on the School Zone. These include resources for: head teachers, Reception and Year 6 teachers to help them teach their pupils about healthy lifestyles. Includes ideas for whole school activities to encourage eating well and moving more, as well as suggestions for engaging parents. Teachers can subscribe to the School Zone to keep up-to-date with new mental wellbeing and healthy lifestyle materials.

• National Child Measurement Programme: operational guidance 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• National Child Measurement Programme: operational guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)