We teach scholars about the importance and benefits of healthy habits as part of our curriculum and promote physical activity, a balanced diet and self-care activities throughout the curriculum and school life.
Healthy eating
At Ark All Saints Academy we pride ourselves on providing flavoursome, nutritionally balanced lunches to our scholars. We have an onsite kitchen where all our meals are cooked fresh each day.
We also promote a culture of healthy eating with our on-site kitchen, and a no-tolerance approach to junk food such as chocolate, fizzy drinks and crisps.
Mental health
At our school, we promote positive mental health for every student and member of staff. We have both a universal whole-school approach to mental health, together with specialised, targeted approaches for vulnerable students. In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to mental ill health; in an average classroom, three children will be suffering from a diagnosable mental health issue, and we must proactively respond to this. Our mental health policy is practical and relevant, helping us to create a safe and stable environment for students affected both directly and indirectly by mental ill health.
We run a range of activities to support scholars' mental health, including:
- Weekly group launched in partnership with The Nest (mental health service in Southwark) with Y7/8 and Y9/10
- Weekly family therapy in partnership with Anna Freud
- Wellbeing Garden
- 2-day training for all mental health and wellbeing staff
Physical activity
Ark All Saints is dedicated to providing all scholars with a form of physical activity to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. Through our comprehensive curriculum and an array of extracurricular activities, students can get plenty of exercise and build on their five components of fitness: cardiovascular endurance, speed, coordination, and flexibility.
Amongst other activities, the following will be provided:
- Sport related skills in lessons and extra-curricular clubs. This includes football, basketball, volleyball, netball, rugby, athletics, trampolining, and boxing. The goal is to improve the understanding of the sports and their rules.
- Training of the relevant skills by using different methods of training during lessons for example, plyometrics and circuit trainings. This is to build on the five components of fitness and allow the scholars to witness their growth themselves through continuous, quantitative tests.
- Training to decrease decision making time in sport by creating opportunities to use this and other skills needed in sport, by taking part in multiple fixtures and interhouse/interschool competitions and tournaments.