Dawn Haywood, Chief Executive Officer, Windsor Academy Trust, Glen Burley, NHS trust chief executive
The NHS faces a significant challenge in shifting from a predominantly reactive healthcare system to one that proactively enhances overall wellbeing. With overwhelming demand and a shortage of healthcare workers, investing in long-term results becomes imperative. Simultaneously, in schools, good health and wellbeing among young people is critical in ensuring their academic and personal success. To overcome these challenges and create a healthy ecosystem, collaboration is paramount.
When we met 18 months ago, our discussions initially focused on cross-sector knowledge sharing in areas like strategy, financial sustainability, and governance. Identifying significant areas of overlap, we explored partnerships to drive public benefit, such as preventing health issues in young people, establishing community health provisions on school sites, and developing the future workforce.
Our discussions underscored that a collaborative approach would yield the most meaningful impact over time. Education significantly influences health, and schools possess a unique capacity to shape societal behaviour and choices. To prioritise prevention, it is crucial to establish a gateway connecting NHS Trust managing directors with school trust CEOs and headteachers to facilitate collaboration.
Earlier this year, we initiated efforts to connect local health and education providers in each of our geographic areas. This involved aligning and connecting other school and NHS trusts outside of our own in order to facilitate this broader collaboration. This approach has borne fruit, with Windsor Academy Trust already forging meaningful partnerships with NHS trusts directly serving its school communities, including Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Numerous initiatives, spanning prevention, community health services in schools, and workforce development, are now underway. In collaboration with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, the provision of preventative health support services within Windsor Academy Trust’s school communities is being explored, from addiction prevention to sexual health education. Another noteworthy initiative is the "Active in Mind" program, a partnership between Windsor Academy Trust, local NHS trusts, and the Youth Sport Trust, prioritising children's mental health through physical activity.
Windsor Academy Trust’s new free school, Windsor Olympus Academy, is partnering with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust to establish asthma-friendly environments in schools. Students are being trained as "Asthma Champions" and will educate local primary schools about asthma triggers and treatment. An asthma clinic and inoculation program will soon be hosted at the school, and we are exploring partnerships with local doctors' surgeries to offer a centralised health agreement for the community.
NHS Allied Health Professional Health Fairs hosted at Windsor Olympus Academy will support our ambitions to diversify the workforce by bringing together various healthcare professionals to inspire students and parents. This effort will be reinforced by the "I Can" campaign, highlighting the 350 different jobs within the NHS, contributing to workforce development. Furthermore, Windsor Academy Trust is in the early stages of collaboration with the NHS Futures team at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust to explore employability classes.
Windsor Academy Trust’s Community Foundation - a fund set up to support young people and their families in the community - will also play a role in helping to facilitate some of these initiatives over time. Indeed, the trust’s first fundraiser for the Foundation, WAT a Run, saw staff run two marathons in two days while students took part in sponsored fun runs at their respective schools. The event not only raised vital funds for the Foundation, but it also helped deliver on the trust’s civic purpose by using physical activity to support both physical and mental health.
While joint collaborations between the NHS and Windsor Academy Trust are still in their infancy, Neil Carr, CEO of Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, aptly noted, we are "pushing on an open door." We have confidence that together, we can significantly impact our communities. Aligning our efforts will secure the wellbeing and prosperity of our communities while fulfilling our civic duty.
In time, these partnerships will extend beyond education and healthcare as we work toward building interconnected, thriving communities where individuals' wellbeing and aspirations take centre stage. This collaborative approach serves as a beacon of hope and progress for the future of our society, echoing the words of Dr Martin Luther King: "Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
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