The Health Challenge | Resources for schools
You can download free lesson plans to help young people in your classrooms complete the Health Challenge. This is a six-week project aimed at improving the health and wellbeing for children with a learning disability.
These resources have been developed in order to support children with a learning disability through the following key topics: physical health, mental health, personal care, hygiene, healthy eating, and positive behaviour.
Schools can use these lessons plans to encourage a proactive approach to health and wellbeing. Some of the expected outcomes for schools who use the resource include:
- A reduction in health inequalities
- The need for earlier interventions can be identified
- Individuals are more likely to monitor their own health
- Individuals are more likely to experience better lifelong health
Developing the Health Challenge
This resource aims to strengthen the relationship between education and healthcare. As part of the NHS Wales Executive, Improvement Cymru’s Learning Disability programme provided project management, strategic direction, and resource allocation.
The programme collaborated with Ysgol Maes y Coed and the School Nursing Service from Swansea Bay University Health Board to develop the lesson plans.
Children who participated were from key stages two and three, making sure the lesson plans were informed by lived experience and suitable for the settings they aim to support.
The resource aligns with the Annual Health Check, the Once for Wales Health Profile, and the Individual Development Plan. It is integrated with the Education Curriculum for Wales and supports the National Vision for Infants, Children and Young People with a Learning Disability, which outlines the need for access to information to stay healthy.
Get in touch
If you have any further enquiries or would like to know more about the NHS Wales Executive’s Learning Disability programme, please contact: improvementcymru_ld@wales.nhs.uk
