Amherst Primary School
Keeping Healthy
Helping to keep our children safe and healthy is one of our main priorities at Amherst.
Each primary school has a named school nurse who can be contacted either through the school or directly at Lukis House. They can provide confidential help and advice to children, parents, carers and families in these areas.
School Nurses work across Education and Health, providing a link between school, home and the community in order to improve the health and wellbeing of school-age children up to the age of 18 years.
They can provide confidential help and advice to children, parents, carers and families in these areas:
- Help and support is available for parents and carers to meet their children's health needs, such as a healthy lifestyle, enuresis (bed-wetting), sleep and hygiene.
- Support for parents and carers with their child's physical and emotional health and behaviour.
- Offer growth, hearing and vision checks.
- Support for children with special needs and complex medical needs.
- Support and training for education staff when a child has a health condition.
Head lice in Schools
Head lice can be a recurring issue in school for some children, so it is really important parents and carers check children’s heads frequently so that if lice are found, they are treated immediately.
It is recommended that combing wet hair can be used to check if live lice are present. If you find live headlice, then you will need to treat them with a head lice lotion that can be obtained from your local chemist. School does not provide head lice lotion, so parents and carers are responsible for obtaining the lotion themselves.
Headlice spread very quickly from head-to-head, so if we find a child with headlice in school, we will contact parents and ask them to treat them before they return to school.
Healthy and Active
What we eat and drink has a great effect on our physical and mental health.
It is a major part of our culture, our daily routines and our family, social and work lives.
At Amherst Primary School, we are supported by the Guernsey Health Improvement Commission (HIC), which has a range of initiatives to support children to eat well.
Click the link below for more information on the following:
1. Lunchbox ideas for over 5's
2. Eat Them to defeat Them!
3. Eating well at home
4. Active Travel
...and many more ways to be healthy and active!
Healthier Packed Lunches for Children
Eating well is important. Children need to eat well as it will give them energy and nutrients to grow and develop, be healthy and active.
A healthy, enjoyable lunch gives children the energy they need to learn and play at school.
We ask that children have fruit or vegetables for their snack at snack time in the morning.
The practical tips below were written by Amherst Primary School pupils.
Please use their ideas to make your child a healthier packed lunch.
Practical Tips for a Healthy Lunchbox
- Make sure the lunchbox contains food your child will enjoy eating
- Try to vary the contents of the lunchbox daily so that your child enjoys a variety of different foods as part of a balanced diet.
- Let your child help prepare their lunchbox. This will help them to enjoy the food they have made.
- To keep food fresh, put in an ice-cold drink or an ice pack.
- Make sure there is at least one piece of fruit in their lunchbox as part of their 'five a day'.
- Vary the fruit if possible.
- Give your child plenty of water and ensure they have a named water bottle in school.
- Add a little salad to a sandwich.
- For variety, use crackers, savoury biscuits or breadsticks.
- For an alternative to bread, make a salad using rice, potato or pasta