Food, Health and Well-Being
Food, Health and Wellbeing At Prendergast Primary
Food, Health and Well-Being Education is an integral part of the curriculum at Prendergast Primary.
We are fortunate enough to have our own dedicated Food Technology room with eight purpose built work-stations for primary cooks which children use on a regular basis to carry out topic-based cooking lessons as well as standalone sessions which develop their cooking skill set. Pupils at Prendergast take part in bi-weekly Food Education lessons, these lessons encourage children to explore a range of food using all five of their senses. We have found the positive exposure to nutritious foods, encourage children to want to eat a more varied diet and pupils take ownership and responsibility over their health and wellbeing.
All of our pupils will leave Prendergast Primary being able to cook and prepare a healthy meal independently.
As part of our Health and Well-being ethos, Prendergast Primary also:
Believe children should have an understanding of where food comes from, children take part in growing fruits and vegetables from seed and learn about the natural world around them, for example through enjoying and participating in activities during World Bee Day.
Encourage messy explorative play of food, pupils in EYFS are encouraged to have fun exploring textures and feeling of food as it promotes language and vocabulary and social, emotional skills.
Offer a range of sporting activities both within school, before and after school. These include football, netball, gymnastics and athletics. As well as their timetabled PE lessons, children also take part in an 'extra active hour' once a week, the PE team aim to provide an activity that pupils will not necessarily experience in a curriculum lesson, for example, archery or boxing. Our aim is to encourage a life-long love of keeping active.
Has a dedicated Prendergast Primary Counselling Service, which employs 2 fully qualified School Counsellors who are accredited members of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy. Through Play therapy each counsellor works 1:1 with children who need a safe space to explore any issues which are causing them emotional distress. Children attend regular therapy sessions on a weekly basis for the period of one academic year or longer if necessary.
Runs a 'Share and care' service, offered to all children. As part of our school's wellbeing offer, pupils also have access to our Share and Care service. If a child is worried about something they can fill in a self-referral form and post it into the share and care post box, they will then be allocated a time to have a solution focussed talking session with our family liaison worker who is extremely experienced in child centred coaching techniques.
Carry out regular parent/carer coffee mornings to provide support for our adult community, for example Macmillan Nibble & Natter and Menopause Mornings.
Ensure that children spend lots of time outdoors, we believe that being outdoors is fundamental for children's physical and mental wellbeing. Despite being an urban school, pupils take part in regular Outdoor Learning sessions in and around Ladywell Fields. These sessions are linked to topics but are hone children's team building, listening, communication and motor skills. Reception pupils take part in bi - weekly Forest School sessions lead by a trained Forest School Leader in our very own Nature Reserve.
Provide children with rich experiences such as in school visits from professional musicians and storytellers as well as two trips per term for example, Bermondsey Meditation Centre and The London Transport Museum. Each summer, every child at Prendergast will take a journey on a coach to visit Broadstairs Beach each year.
Endeavor to make all children feel valued and seen through whole school enrichment and celebration days, for example, Eid Festival, Black Lives Matter protests, Don't Hide & Have Pride and Odd Socks Day to raise awareness for Down Syndrome.
