Health & Wellbeing | Inveralmond CHS Professional Learning Blog

Over the past year as part of my Health and Wellbeing role in the school I have been working closely with Investing in Children, a community interest group who have been liaising with different schools across the local authority. The main aim of this project has been to promote the rights and voices of young people by identifying areas to develop within the community to improve health and wellbeing, and encourage Inveralmond pupils to take an active lead in discussing, report writing and making effective, sustainable decisions that impact on them being part of the local community.

A group of around 15 pupils met recently to take part in an Agenda Day at Inveralmond which was designed and led by them and in partnership with a representative from Investing in Children and the Health and Wellbeing co-ordinator for West Lothian. The pupils took part in discussions on community safety around Livingston, the use of pedestrian paths, road safety, as well as having a say in decision making at Inveralmond, how to combat issues of bullying, and how to liaise with learner voice reps for your House.

I am hoping that the impact of this work will continue over the year ahead enabling more young people to have a say in what is happening in their own community as well as in the school community in order to further improve Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC, 2009) making sure our young people feel included, responsible and nurtured at all times.

Sarah Kerr

I recently attended the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Showcase Event at Perth Concert Hall which brought together over 1000 pupils, teachers and charity representatives to share the experiences of being involved in YPI over the past year. YPI involves young people researching local charities in their community which they will raise awareness of and if successful in their winning presentation, can go on to secure £3000 for their chosen charity. This is a fantastic way for pupils to achieve in wider areas of school life and dedicate their time to issues of social concern. The pupils showcasing work from other schools highlighted their improved confidence, communication, team working and presentation skills and overall sense of enthusiasm from taking part in YPI which shows how well it connects to the skills for learning, life and work in Building the Curriculum 4 as well as across the four contexts for learning in Building the Curriculum 3.

I am hoping this will have a significant impact on Inveralmond over the coming year as part of senior phase wider opportunities. Hopefully this time next year we will have our own pupils showcasing their winning work at the event!

Sarah Kerr