Starting school for the first time is a significant milestone for every child, and often a scary and exciting time for their parents or carers.
Connect for Health, the service commissioned by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) to provide school nursing and healthy lifestyles support, wants to make sure that all children and their families have the support they need for their health, wellbeing and development to prepare for this transition.
The School Readiness Health Questionnaire helps to identify if children have any health and wellbeing needs that they may require support with to reach their full potential as they enter education. All answers and information are treated confidentially and are stored securely online. Based on an individual’s answers, they will be offered advice and guidance, as well as the opportunity to contact the service for further health support.
Karen Cornick, Service Manager for Connect for Health, shared: “The health questionnaire is a great opportunity for us to directly hear the voice of parent/carers and for us to learn what is concerning them about their child’s health and wellbeing. The information we gather helps us to adapt our support to suit the needs of the new reception intake and allows families to become aware of our service and how to access our support."
The School Readiness Health Questionnaire is one strand of a whole package of support and resources from Warwickshire County Council (WCC) for parents and carers with a child starting school for the first time. The new Sorted for School website puts everything in one place for families looking to make sure their child has everything they need as they enter education.
Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families at WCC, said: “Ensuring children and families have the right support with their health and wellbeing as they enter education is integral to our Child Friendly Warwickshire vision of a county where every child is healthy, happy, skilled, safe and heard. Our new Sorted for School website is a great source of information for parents and carers during this exciting time in their child’s development, while the School Readiness Health Questionnaire provides our brilliant School Nursing team at Connect for Health with the information needed to get the right support in place, both on an individual and year-group level. So, if your child is due to start reception in September, please don’t hesitate to complete the simple online questionnaire and help us create a supportive and healthy environment for children to thrive.”
To complete the online questionnaire before September 2024, and to discover more information, use the link: https://www.compass-uk.org/services/c4h/sr-hq/