Dear Parents and Carers,

As part of our ongoing Healthy Schools Award journey and commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles, we would like to share an update regarding birthday celebrations in school.

We know that birthdays are very special occasions and we love helping children celebrate their special day with their classmates. Traditionally, some children have brought in sweets or other treats to share with their class. However, in line with our work to encourage healthy habits and reduce sugary snacks in school, we are kindly asking families to consider alternative ways of celebrating birthdays.

Attached is a poster with some fun ideas that children can enjoy and share with their friends instead of bringing sweets. These include:

• Bringing in stickers to share with classmates
• Sharing a favourite story with the class
• Organising a sporty activity or game for friends
• Bringing in a favourite board game to enjoy together at lunchtime

These ideas help create memorable experiences for children while supporting the healthy lifestyle messages we promote across the school.

We understand that many families will have fond memories of birthday treats, and we appreciate your support as we continue to develop healthier approaches to celebrating special occasions. We hope the poster provides some inspiration and helps children feel just as excited to celebrate their birthdays in school.

Thank you, as always, for your support in helping us create a healthy and positive school environment for all children.

Kind regards,

The Healthy Lifestyles team

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for your support following our Healthy Lifestyles communication on the 1st September regarding our aim to create a sugary snack-free school site at home time.

We would particularly like to thank the many families who have already embraced this initiative and have refrained from bringing sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, crisps and other treats for children to eat on the school site at collection time. Your support is helping us to create a healthier environment for all children and strengthening the healthy lifestyle messages we promote every day in school.

To further support families, we have attached a poster which explains the reasons behind this change and provides lots of ideas for making the journey home the reward. It also highlights that, where a snack is needed after school, fruit and fresh vegetables are welcome alternatives on the school site.

The poster includes some simple conversation starters that can turn the walk or journey home into a valuable opportunity to reconnect, celebrate achievements and find out more about your child’s day. Often, these shared moments can be just as meaningful and rewarding as any treat.

As we continue our Healthy Schools Award journey, we are grateful for the support of our whole school community. By working together, we can help children develop healthy habits that will benefit them for years to come.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Healthy Lifestyles Team