Engaging with school academies and free schools to enable evidenced-based health promotion in schools: an elite interviewing study with academy chain and free school groups CEOs and school heads
Research Team: Professor Rona Campbell, Professor Russ Jago, Patricia Jessiman, Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Dr Esther van Sluijs & Dr Vanessa Er
Who's involved: University of Bristol, Fuse & University of Cambridge
February 2018 - January 2019
Although the primary purpose of schools is the education of children and young people, their education and health are inextricably linked. Healthy children perform better in the classroom and children who achieve their educational potential live longer, healthier and have happier lives.
Over the past two decades there has been a shift in the way in which the majority of publicly funded Schools in England are governed. Schools have traditionally been governed by Local Authorities (LA), but in 1997 the government enabled existing schools to become academies which were no longer subject to LA control as funding came straight from central government.
In 2017, 22% of primary schools and 62% of secondary schools were academies, of which 18% of primary schools and 36% secondary schools were part of a multi academy trust (MATs).
Despite the surge in academies and free schools, little research has been carried out to look at how public health experts and local authorities can work with academy chains and groups of free schools.
The research project will work with school academy chains and free school groups to identify how academics can work with school leaders in assessing staff and student health and wellbeing needs, and implementing programmes which benefit student’s health and educational development.
This research aims to carry out qualitative research to underpin the development of a new internet-based intervention to prevent alcohol use and related harms aimed at year 9 students.
January 2018 - April 2019
School staff, in particular teachers, are consistently shown to have increased risk of stress, depression and anxiety compared to the general working population.
April 2012 - May 2015
Following the Government's announcement to make sex and relationship education compulsory in all secondary schools by 2020, the School is carrying out work to encourage policy makers to engage with its evidence-based best practice criteria, to ensure young people receive the same standard of sex and relationship education across the country.
1 May 2017 - 31 December 2017
