Whole School Body Image Training and Workshops

The Council's Public Health team commissions an evidence-based programme as part of a preventative approach to establish body respect early in life and address concerns that children and young people (CYP) may already have. The programme should promote positive body image and encourage feeling comfortable and confident in one's own body, supporting healthy choices and overall wellbeing. It should also incorporate elements that foster respect for diversity, self-esteem, and movement for enjoyment rather than appearance, helping CYP to develop lifelong habits that prioritise health and wellbeing over unrealistic body ideals.

The service will include a whole school training package which empowers children and young people (CYP) to respect their bodies and those of others. The package will include direct work with CYP, delivering CPD to school staff and an offer for families.

The programme will have three key aims:

•To upskill and enhance the understanding and confidence of school staff and system partners to support CYP to have body respect for themselves and others.

•To explore and improve CYP's feelings and attitudes towards their own and others' bodies and appearances by establishing whole school inclusive cultures around body respect.

•To provide parents/carers with information that empowers them to have supportive discussions with CYP around body image and respect and nurture positive relationships with food and movement from an early age.

To support the roll out and align with existing work, the provider will also deliver bespoke training/awareness sessions for the Public Health team and key system partners such as school nurses and youth workers.