Health & Well-being
Our health and wellbeing are arguably the most important things in our life. They impact on how life feels every day, on our ability to navigate life’s challenges and on the capacity we have to realise our dreams.
Health deprivation has been a persistent barrier to success at school for children living in East London for many years. The global pandemic has had a significant impact on both the physical and mental health of children and families in our school communities.
Mission
Our Trust mission is to promote social equality and give the children and families we serve equal opportunities in life and choices about their future. Post Covid-19, Tower Hamlets is the tenth most deprived borough and has the fourth highest death rate. Health inequality is a very real barrier to a happy and successful life for families living in East London. We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that our pupils achieve, belong and thrive at Hermitage and beyond
Vision
Our school vision is expressed as a set of promises we make to every child at Hermitage:
- You will have friends and will have learned how to treat other people with fairness, kindness and respect.
- You will have discovered the joy of helping others and the difference this can make to the world.
- You will love learning new things, believe it can take you anywhere and want to keep on learning more.
- You will have grown healthy and strong and understand how to take care of your body and mind.
- You will know that life is a fantastic adventure, have dreams for your future and the confidence to take on the challenges that await you.
- You will understand that the world is a wondrous place and be inspired to make a difference. You will have explored both near and far.
- You will have had fun, discovered your talents & had the opportunity to express yourself in many different ways.
- You will have discovered the many ways to use your voice to share what you believe in; with the confidence to speak up and speak out about what matters most to you.
Our fourth promise relates directly to health and well-being.
A healthy school
At Hermitage, we understand that learning to look after our bodies & minds is one of the most important things we can do at primary school. We have:
- A breakfast club supported by Waitrose, providing wholesome food for pupils
- In-class breakfast snacks for those who may not have eaten before arriving at school
- A range of fruit and vegetable snacks daily for pupils
- Actively promoted physical activity during break times & lunchtimes; midday supervisors supporting games in the playground
- A variety of extra-curricular clubs that focus on health & wellbeing: gardening, sports, music, art & Playcentre
- A minimum of 2 hours of PE a week in which a wide range of sports are rotated on a termly or half-termly basis; swimming lessons for children in year 3/4
- Themed weeks embedded into our curriculum with a focus on belonging, health & well-being, particularly during transitions: induction week, friendship & anti-bullying week, healthy me week, transition & reflection week
- A dedicated learning mentor who works with children to develop their emotional literacy, confidence, resilience and well-being