Innovator of the Year
This award is given for new initiatives or ideas over the last year that have had a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Coventry citizens.
Winner: Coventry School Nursing Assistants – Year 6 relaxation programme
The year 6 relaxation programme was developed by School Nursing Assistants and teaches mindfulness and relaxation techniques to children aged 10 or 11, developed following surveys with pupils which highlighted high levels of anxiety.
The session aids 10 – 11 year olds to explore some mindfulness and relaxation techniques and helps them to recognise why it is important to allow their body and mind to relax. It includes physical stretches and ways to release tension in our bodies and a beautiful relaxation story at the end.
The session takes an hour to deliver making it sustainable to offer the session to all primary schools across the city. The School Nurse Assistants deliver the session to the year 6 pupils and leave behind resources for their teachers to enable them to continue doing small relaxation activities for the rest of the academic year.
Following the initial piloting of this innovation, the session was offered city wide from last year and has been in high demand since. Due to the current Covid-19 measures the team has now commenced sessions via Microsoft teams, delivering to children that remain in school through the pandemic. The feedback from teachers and pupils has been fantastic and the session’s popularity and target audience continues to grow with the increasing demand.
The programme was developed following feedback from a citywide questionnaire with primary school children. The data from these questionnaires is then used to complete a true and accurate health profile for each school, as well as allowing the School Nurse to identify any individual physical or emotional health needs and introduce new support.
Other examples of good practice highlighted included:
- Active Kids, which is a new, fun exercise session at Moat House Leisure Centre for children which also teaches simple healthy lifestyle messages
- The Hepatitis C Test and Treat roadshow which helped some of our most vulnerable people be tested and receive treatment for this virus quickly, simply and on their own terms
- A new group called 'Together We Can' which offers assessment and play experiences for young children with developmental delay and is a collaboration between health visitors and the SEND team.
- The IRIS project which trains primary care practitioners to better understand domestic abuse, respond safely to victims and refer to support. In the project's first year staff from 25 GP practices were trained and then referred more than 90 victims to specialist support
Further information on these projects are available from:
Year 6 relaxation programme: Moat House School Nursing
Active Kids: Be Active Be Healthy Tel: 024 7518 9190
Hepatitis C Test and Treat roadshow: philippe.bonnet@hepctrust.org.uk
'Together We Can': Coventry Family Health and Lifestyle Team - Tel: 024 7518 9190