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1. Suggested wording for a letter from a PCT to the Chairman of Governors.

Measuring height and weight of children in Reception and Year 6

As part of our ongoing effort to improve children's health and well-being, a shared programme between the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health, we are planning to weigh and measure the height of children across two year groups - Reception and Year 6, in all primary schools in our area. Simple height and weight measurements, which are easy to collect through non-intrusive means, will be extremely helpful in enabling us to gain a greater understanding of the needs of the children in this area as they are indicative of a range of issues. Every Primary Care Trust (PCT) will be writing to all primary schools in their area along similar lines.

The information we collect will give an overview showing which neighbourhoods need the most support. In some cases, we may later approach schools to discuss how the PCT and schools can best work together to improve outcomes for children: as you will be aware, poor health is a barrier to learning. Our resources could be used to support the school in promoting healthy lifestyle choices in eating, exercise and emotional wellbeing and removing health barriers to learning.

I have written to your Head Teacher outlining the help we will need from the school, and to reassure him/her that all weighing and measuring will be carried out by staff from the Primary Care Trust.

We are keen to ensure that the weighing and measuring process will involve the minimum disruption, and should involve very little extra work for school staff. We are hoping to work closely with schools, involving them as much, or as little, as they wish.PCT staff will bring all equipment necessary for weighing and measuring. It will be a simple process which should take no more than 4 to 5 minutes for each child. We would expect to collect measurements at some point between April and July, on days which best suit the business of the school.

The help we will need is as below.
For school staff:

* to inform parents about what is happening; a letter is enclosed which can be sent to parents and clearly explains the process, including a tear-off declaration to complete and return if they do not wish their child to take part

* to provide the PCT measuring staff with a list of the children in Reception and Year 6 with the pupils' name and date of birth (excluding those whose parents have asked that their child should not be included).

* to identify a room in which measurements can be collected

* to facilitate the bringing of children to and from the measurement room We would expect that all children, excepting those covered by a parental opt-out, or who are absent on the day(s) of weighing and measuring, should be weighed and measured. We recognise the importance of handling this process with sensitivity to avoid the potential for stigmatisation or bullying. All information gathered will be treated with confidentiality.

Individual children's height and weight will not be routinely fed back to parents, children or staff, and schools will not hold the collected data.

Communications to parents

I have asked the school to gain parental consent to the weighing and measuring process, and parents who do not wish their child to be weighed and measured will be able to opt-out. This consent forms part of the attached letter which I have asked your Head teacher to send to parents, and which also covers issues of confidentiality and stigmatisation.

Where parents ask for information about their child's measurements:

* if a parent asks on the day of measurement for their child's height and weight, the PCT staff will tell them there and then.

* for queries after the day of measurement, the school should refer parents to the PCT as schools will not hold data.

I have asked your Head teacher to contact me to let me know which dates are convenient. If you wish to discuss this issue with me, I would be very happy to do so.

2. Suggested wording for a letter from a PCT to the Headteacher

Measuring height and weight of children in Reception and Year 6
As part of our ongoing effort to improve children's health and well-being, a shared programme between the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health, we are planning to weigh and measure the height of children across two year groups - Reception and Year 6. Simple height and weight measurements which are easy to collect, through non-intrusive means, will be extremely helpful in enabling us to gain a greater understanding of the needs of the children in this area as they are indicative of a range of issues. Every Primary Care Trust (PCT) will be writing to all primary schools in their area along similar lines.
The information we collect will give an overview showing which neighbourhoods need the most support. In some cases, we may later approach schools to discuss how the PCT and schools can best work together to improve outcomes for children. As you will be aware, poor health is a barrier to learning. Our resources could be used to support the school in promoting healthy lifestyle choices in eating, exercise and emotional wellbeing and removing health barriers to learning.

I want to reassure you that all weighing and measuring will be carried out by staff from the Primary Care Trust. It will also build on the work already being carried out as part of school entry health checks.

We are keen to ensure that this will involve the minimum disruption for your school, and should involve very little extra work for your staff. PCT staff will bring all equipment necessary for weighing and measuring. It will be a simple process which should take no more than 4 to 5 minutes for each child. We would expect to collect measurements at some point between April and July, on days which best suit the business of the school.

We are hoping to work closely with schools, involving them as much, or as little, as they wish. However we shall need some help from you on:

* informing parents about what is happening; a letter is enclosed which can be sent to parents and which clearly explains the process, including a tear-off declaration to complete and return if they don't wish their child to take part

* providing the PCT measuring staff with a list of the children in Reception and year 6, excluding those whose parents have asked that their child should not be included, showing the pupils' names and dates of birth.

* identifying a room in which measurements can be collected

* facilitating the bringing of children to and from the measurement room We would expect that all children, excepting those covered by a parental opt-out, or who are absent on the day(s) of weighing and measuring, should be weighed and measured. We recognise the importance of handling this process with sensitivity to avoid the potential for stigmatisation or bullying. All information gathered will be treated with confidentiality.

Individual children's height and weight will not be routinely fed back to parents, children or staff, and schools will not hold the collected data.

Communications to parents

We will need to gain parental consent to the weighing and measuring process and parents who do not wish their child to be weighed and measured can opt-out. This forms part of the explanatory letter attached. The letter also covers issues of confidentiality, stigmatisation and bullying.

Where parents ask for information about their child's measurements:

* if a parent asks on the day of measurement for their child's height and weight, the PCT staff will tell them there and then.

* for queries after the day of measurement, the school should refer parents to the PCT as schools will not hold data.

I will follow this letter with a phone call, and I will be very happy to discuss my request with you. I have written a similar letter to the Chair of Governors of your school so that they are in the picture.

3. Suggested wording for a letter from Headteacher to ParentsMeasuring height and weight of children in Reception and Year 6 Children are weighed and measured by health professionals when they are born and in the early years of their lives. Many children also have a school entry health check which includes height and weight measurement.

The NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) for this area has approached me to ask that children in Reception year and year 6 have their height and weight measured. All the weighing and measuring will be carried out by trained staff from the PCT, and the information will be used by the PCT to help it decide what kind of services should be offered to children and families in this area. This could include supporting our work in helping our pupils follow a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating, exercise and their emotional wellbeing.

The PCT would like to weigh and measure all children in Reception and Year 6. The Governors and I have agreed that this will happen on the following day(s):

We would hope that all children should be weighed and measured. The PCT will be extremely careful to handle this process with sensitivity: for example, it will not be necessary for children to undress and they will not be weighed and measured in front of their class mates. All information will be treated with confidentiality.

However, if a child is absent from school on the appointed day, or if you return the slip at the end of this letter to the school to say that you do not wish your child to be weighed and measured, the PCT will not measure your child.

Yours sincerely

Head teacher

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Child's name Year Class

I do not wish my child to be weighed and measured by the PCT.

----------------------------------------- parent/carer's signature