Validation

Since 1 January 2007, schools have been required to self-validate following on from their pre-validation visit.

Any outstanding evidence identified by your pre self-validation supporter (PSVS) should be addressed before your school puts itself forward for validation. Your submission indicates that you believe this to be the case.

When you are ready to put in your submission you will need to complete a one page summary sheet that will be signed by members of your whole school community and which outlines a minimum of eight outcomes (two for each of the core themes). From September 2007, four of these outcomes will need to be qualitative and another four will need to be quantitative. Your application for status needs to be completed online on the national Healthy Schools website: www.healthyschools.gov.uk.

This will include completing the national audit tool and outcomes directly online. Once completed you will need to print off a copy of your outcomes sheet as signatures representing your whole school community need to be gathered to substantiate your application. This hard copy will then need to be posted for consideration at the next Healthy Schools Quality Assurance Group (QAG) meeting.

Further information about online registration and submission for status: Step by step guide – NHSP website guidance for schools (PDF, 1.6 MB). Do remember that your outcomes sheet will need to be printed off once your online apllication has been completed as it needs to be signed by various members of your school community and will need to be submitted to the QAG.

You will notice that schools are now expected to apply to the QAG for Healthy Schools status. The QAG will meet at least four times a year (March /July/October/December).

Most schools who have already had a pre self-validation visit are likely to get their submissions approved provided any action plans recommended by the PSVS have been carried out.

Note: it may be necessary for additional evidence to be supplied in a minority of cases – this is particularly likely if the outcomes are unclear or lack sufficient detail.

In order to ensure your school's submission is reviewed at the next meeting you should aim to forward your submission by the end of the day prior to the QAG meeting.

Deadline dates for outcomes sheet submissions:

17 July 2008.
13 October 2008
11 December 2008
19 March 2009
9 July 2009

QAG meetings:

18 July 2008
14 October 2008
12 December 2008
20 March 2009
10 July 2009

Achieving National Healthy School Status Quality Assurance Framework Support Materials (PDF, 1.48 MB) – the national school support book. Hard copies of this document have been distributed at recent network meetings and training conferences. (If your school does not currently have a hard copy of this document and you would like one sent to you, please E-mail: allison.head@hants.gov.uk.)

Moderation

A minimum of 10% of schools will be moderated. This sample will reflect a true representative sample of the schools submitting, eg: infants, junior, secondaries, specials. More than 10% may be sampled if circumstances suggest that this is necessary. If selected for moderation your school will focus on just two of the four core themes (one chosen by the school and one by the moderator). The moderation visit will focus on carrying out evidence trails for the outcomes included in the school's self-validation form (SVF)/top sheet submission form. Moderators will of course make contact with schools selected prior to the moderation visit to explain things in more detail.

Note: any schools choosing not to have a pre self-validation visit will be moderated in order to ensure robust quality assurance of schools achieving Healthy Schools status.

Additional material from the national Healthy Schools team can be downloaded from the National news page in the News and updates section.