Welcome to the Right Decision Service (RDS) newsletter for June 2024.
Hopefully you all received the notification on Friday 28th June about the worldwide security vulnerability relating to use of code from the Polyfill.io code library – typically used to enable use of functionality in older browsers and operating systems. This vulnerability has now been addressed within RDS. Thanks to Tactuum for their prompt action on this.
This incident served as a useful reminder about the importance of making sure all devices and desktop/laptop computers have up to date anti-malware installed.
The most recent information is that final fixes and developments will take place during July, with a view to user testing taking place in August 2024.
We will be running the six-monthly usage statistics reports for all RDS toolkits during July. Please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot if you would like to receive the usage report for your toolkit(s).
The Scottish Palliative Care Group is carrying out a value and impact survey of the national Palliative Care Guidelines toolkit on RDS. We would appreciate your help in circulating this survey, available at https://rightdecisions.scot.nhs.uk/scottish-palliative-care-guidelines/evaluation-survey/ /
The Palliative Care Guidelines toolkit is using an adapted version of a generic impact evaluation form which the RDS team now encourages all toolkit owners to apply 6-12 months after launch of their toolkit. Please contact ann.wales3@nhs.scot if you would like to find out more.
The RDS Learning working group is in the final stages of developing and uploading new learning resources including:
We have also drafted a communication and training plan to support implementation of the redesigned RDS. The plan aims to reach both end-users and editors, who will benefit from new features such as the archiving and version control functionality.
4.1 Training sessions for new editors (also serve as refresher sessions for existing editors) will take place on the following dates:
To book a place, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot, providing your name, organisation, job role, and level of experience with RDS editing (none, a little, moderate, extensive.)
Remember that you can also organise 1-1 training sessions with Olivia on running Google Analytics reports if you want to look at data more frequently than the six-monthly reports.
The following RDS toolkits are now live:
The following toolkits are due to go live imminently:
Some of the toolkits the RDS team is currently working on:
Please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot if you would like to learn more about a toolkit. The RDS team will put you in touch with the relevant toolkit lead.
HIS is working with the Scottish Library and Information Council and the ALLIANCE to implement the second phase of the Collective Force for Health and Wellbeing Action Plan. This plan aims to strengthen the role of public, health and school libraries in empowering people to use digital tools and health information for self-management and choices about health and wellbeing. A key element of this new phase is supporting public libraries to promote the RDS citizen-facing apps for health and wellbeing.
We held a webinar on 28th June about the implementation challenge for health and wellbeing apps for citizens. This included an overview of the evidence base around implementation, the critical importance of health literacy skills, and the early findings from tests of change of implementing the Being a partner in my care app. Please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot if you would like a copy of the slides or access to the recording of this webinar (NHS staff only.)
If you have any questions about the content of this newsletter, please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot If you would prefer not to receive future newsletters, please email Olivia.graham@nhs.scot and ask to be removed from the circulation list.
With kind regards
Right Decision Service team
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
The rates of overweight and obesity for both children and young people in Scotland are among the highest in the developed world. In response to this, levels of physical activity and nutrition for children and young people have been identified as priority health concerns in Scotland.
Health inequalities lead to an increased risk for poor health outcomes and could mean that a young person will not have the same access as their peers to nutritional food or amenities for physical activity and sport. Factors that may affect health inequality include: gender, ethnicity, social class, area deprivation, employment status, educational attainment. Those living in the most deprived areas often consume less fruits, vegetables, fibre, some vitamins and minerals, too much sugars and often have higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Our diet and activity levels are influenced by a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. For example:
Physical activity and nutrition are intrinsically linked and should not be separated. The settings in which children and young people are already physically active should be considered and built upon when increasing levels of physical activity and nutritional value of their diet. Improved health outcomes are intricately linked to healthy lifestyle choices. Raising awareness and encouraging positive behaviours in all pupils is essential to improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities.
The following video clip outlines the value of physical activity for our health and wellbeing and highlights some ways in which children and young people can incorporate more movement into their day.
It is important children from birth to 5 have opportunities for age-appropriate physical activity. You can find out more information about recommended activity levels and types of activities here 
.
The following infographic contains findings from the Scotland Schools Health and Wellbeing Census 2021/22.
behaviours. Click here to view our infographic for more information.Physical activity offerings should be free, easily accessible and include a range of options. The fun and social aspects of the activities should be highlighted. Schools should have comprehensive food and drink policies and school facilities should be improved to promote increased physical activity.
A More Active Scotland Outcomes include:
You can view the outcomes framework here (page 11)
Schools are required to deliver:
In 2022, 99 per cent of all primary and secondary schools combined (2,326 of 2,354) were meeting the target level of PE provision, an increase from 96 per cent in 2021 but the same as in 2020.
No significant difference between boys and girls at risk of obesity. However there was a significant difference across age groups. (Scottish Health Survey 2021)
| 2-6 | 7-11 | 12-15 | |
| Boys | 16% | 27% | 15% |
| Girls | 26% | 16% | 8% |
The Daily Mile Scotland: National Strategy advocates that daily physical activity is good for physical, mental, and social health and helps children concentrate. It has shown to improve health, fitness, body composition, cognition and wellbeing and all schools should encourage this to be taken up where possible. The Daily Mile is active in every local authority in Scotland.
Free school meals are currently available for all pupils in Glasgow from P1 to P5. Around 40% of Glasgow’s school children are currently entitled to a free school meal.
The Scottish Government supports the aim to increase breastfeeding rates in our communities and to support babies to be breastfed for longer. Breastfeeding can protect against obesity and a range of other conditions. 'A healthier future: Scotland's diet and healthy weight delivery plan' identifies breastfeeding is one of the key things a mum can do to give her children the best start in life. The latest infant feeding data (available here ) shows a reduction in inequalities in breastfeeding with increases in breastfeeding being seen in our SIMD 1 neighbourhood areas.
Oral health messages for children and young people should be included in learning related to nutrition. The three key messages are:
Childsmile is a national programme designed to improve the oral health of children in Scotland and reduce inequalities both in dental health and access to dental services. Click here to find out more.
Public Health Scotland's Physical Activity Recommendations for children and young people (0-5 years, 5-18 years and disabled children) can be found here .
Free school meals are available from P1 to P5. Children attending early learning and childcare settings are entitled to a free meal on the days they attend. This will be either breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Clothing Grants and Free School Meals - Glasgow City Council
Glasgow Children's Holiday Food and Activity Programme Spring 2024
Details of the Spring 2024 programme can be found below.
The Glasgow Children's Holiday Food and Activity Programme - Glasgow City Council
The Glasgow City Food Plan (2021– 2031), launched in June 2021. The plan aims for Glasgow to be a city where tasty, healthy, affordable food is accessible to everyone. Where local food enterprises are supported and celebrated. Where we produce, provide, purchase and consume food that is good for the planet, good for animal welfare, and for good for those involved in growing, making and selling it. In doing this, we will work towards an inclusive, sustainable, resilient and fair economy for our whole community. You can access the food plan here
The Catering and Facilities Management team cater for more than 300 education establishments across Glasgow, serving up almost 34,000 healthy and nutritionally balanced lunches each day. Fuel Zone (School Meals)
The Glasgow Children's Holiday Food and Activity Programme will operate during the Summer 2023 holiday. The Glasgow Children's Holiday Food and Activity Programme - Glasgow City Council
Thrive Under 5
Funded by Scottish Government, Thrive Under 5 (TU5) is a whole systems approach to support healthy weight in the early years. Led by NHSGG&C and for Glasgow, taken forward by GHSCP (Health Improvement), the project recognises that a range of barriers can prevent families and carers from ensuring that their children achieve a healthy weight, including family income, accessibility of affordable fresh foods, knowledge/information to cook using fresh ingredients and access to wider community support. The project aims to overcome these by working with local organisations and affected families. TU5 is also being rolled out in other NHSGG&C Board areas. Find out more here.
The HENRY approach enacts a unique and highly effective way of working with parents/carers which supports them to help change family lifestyle habits and behaviours and support a healthy start in life for their children. Practitioners working with families in Glasgow are currently receiving training in this area in a phased approach. This approach complements TU5 and Health Improvement child health programmes. Find out more here
The following resources have been developed and/or quality assured by the Glasgow City HSCP Health Improvement Team.
Stage: Primary School
Description: The Your Body Matters curriculum pack explores the topics of food, nutrition, physical activity, food waste and sustainability and body image and self-esteem and has been updated in 2023 by Health Improvement and Education staff. The pack is made up of Teacher Notes, Lesson plans and Activities for each stage which have been mapped to the benchmarks for assessment outlined within the Curriculum for Excellence. Your Body Matters outlines additional resources to support learning and the implementation of a whole school approach to food, nutrition and physical activity education.
Your Body Matters is now available to view, download and print from the NHSGGC website. Access the Your Body Matters curriculum pack here
Here are some additional resources and useful websites for further information about physical activity, nutrition and oral health.
Green Spaces of Greater Glasgow and Clyde is a resource developed by Health Improvement and outlines details and information about available green spaces across the six Health and Social Care Partnerships. Click here to access it.
The physical activity and nutrition task group for the Glasgow City Health Improvement Strategy have collated a number of apps recommended by the NHS that are free to download and use and fit with NHS messaging for young people. Click here to access more information.
Activities for children and young people shared by the Scottish Wildlife Trust to inspire people to take positive action in pursuit of its vision of healthy, resilient ecosystems across Scotland’s land and seas. You can access the resources here
A service for young people who are overweight and want to lose or manage their weight. Regular support from a Weigh to Go Nurse and Slimming World membership. Suitable for 12 - 18 year olds living within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area with a BMI greater than 25. Find out more or make a referral by clicking here
Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mothers and infants. There are however barriers to breastfeeding in our communities. Find out more here
UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative - Glasgow City HSCP and Maternity Hospitals are signed up to this accreditation programme enabling support for families with feeding and building close and loving relationships with their baby. Click here for more information.
Breastfeeding support - There is a range of information and support available for breastfeeding, which can be useful to new mums/mums to be, partners, other family members and friends too.
Click here to access the National Breastfeeding Helpline website.
Click here to find breastfeeding and infant feeding support in your local area delivered by local Peer support organisations.
Find out about the NCT Glasgow Breastfeeding Buddies here
Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme - a national scheme supported by Scottish Government and local Health Boards. Despite legislation to ensure a breastfed baby cannot be prevented from being fed in a public space or business, many parents are still worried about feeding in public. This scheme aims to encourage businesses and organisations to sign up and display a sticker to show families that the establishment will be welcoming and supportive of their feeding choice. To find out more click here
A Breastfeeding in Education Scheme is coming soon.
Childsmile is a national programme designed to improve the oral health of children in Scotland and reduce inequalities both in dental health and access to dental services. Click here to find out more.
Audio versions of the Childsmile literature
Here to help you look after your child’s teeth - Access here
Drinks for babies and young children - Access here
Snack Ideas for Children - Access here
The First Steps Nutrition Trust website has a wide range of nutrition information including resources to support eating well in the early years. Click here to access it.
It is recommended that infants are introduced to solids foods at around 6 months of age because they are developmentally ready at this time. This is a key stage in an infant's development and allows the family to introduce a range of tastes and textures, which will enable an infant to progress onto eating a healthy diet as they grow. Further information can be found here
NHS GGC has developed a range of videos, cooking demos and information to help families on their weaning journey. These are available to watch by clicking here
Cooking demonstrations of cooking first weaning foods are available to watch by clicking here
Glasgow City HSCP and Maternity Hospitals are signed up to this accreditation programme enabling support for families with feeding and building close and loving relationships with their baby. Click here for more information.
Community Food and Health (Scotland) or CFHS aims to ensure that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity, ability and confidence to access a healthy and acceptable diet for themselves, their families and their communities. Find out more via the CFHS website by clicking here
The Eatwell Guide helps us eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates plus some dairy, meat, fish, pulses and other kinds of protein. It replaced Eatwell plate as the main tool showing you a healthy balanced diet. It no longer represents a ‘plate’ but still shows the proportions of the foods and drinks that make up a healthy diet. The proportions of food groups been updated to take into account the new dietary recommendations for more fibre and less sugar. Click here to access it.
Feeding in the first year of life: SACN report
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) report on feeding in the first year of life covers infant feeding from birth up to 12 months of age. You can access the report here
Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years: SACN report
This report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) covers feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years. You can access the report here
'Food a fact of life' is a comprehensive, progressive education programme which communicates up-to-date, evidence-based, consistent and accurate messages around ‘food’ to all those involved in education. Click here to access it
The Food Standards Scotland website has tips on healthy eating, meal plans and interactive educational games for children and young people. Click here to access it.
Eating a healthy balanced diet can help to prevent diet-related illness and will give you all of the energy and nutrients you need keep active and maintain a healthy weight. Find out how much of the different food groups you should eat and how they can benefit your health on the NHS Inform website here
In NHS GG&C free vitamin D is provided to:
Please see here for more information.
Further advice for all age groups about vitamin D can be found by clicking here
The Actify platform is a free digital tool that enables sport and physical activity organisations to create and host digital content, learn from one another, and support their audiences. View the website by clicking here
Directory of Glasgow Life activity and sport sessions and organisations operating across Glasgow. Click here to access the directory.
Movement for Health is a coalition of Scotland’s leading health charities, national agencies and academic institutions. We are united in our commitment to support the least active people living with long term health conditions to be more physically active. Find out more and access tools and resources via the website by clicking here
Parkrun Scotland offer a number of weekly 5 km park runs that take place in local parks. These are free of charge and are open to everyone! You can walk, jog, skip, run, volunteer, or spectate. You can participate as a family, take your toddler in a pram for a walk, or take your dog on a leash for a walk too - there is no time limit and no one finishes last! Find out more here
A systems-based approach involves applying systems thinking, methods and practice to better understand public health challenges and identify collective actions. This report provides a pragmatic systems-based approach to physical activity that can be applied strategically at a national and local level. Access the report by clicking here
The Daily Mile
The Daily Mile is physical activity initiative that promotes Health and Wellbeing for every child. It is active in every Local Authority in Scotland. Find out more here
There is a huge amount of national and local work to encourage increased levels of physical activity and healthy balanced diets for children and young people. The Glasgow City HSCP Health Improvement Team have pulled together a list of key strategy and policy links regarding children and young people. These documents should be used to inform planning and delivery within your classroom and school community.
These documents are a useful resource to build a knowledge base around current priorities and work around physical activity and nutrition in Glasgow and across Scotland. Please note that clicking on these documents will take you to external websites.
Health and wellbeing in adolescence and early adulthood
Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027
A Healthier Future: Scotland’s Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan
A More Active Scotland: Scotland’s Physical Activity Delivery Plan
Glasgow City Council Traffic and Road Safety Plan to 2020
Glasgow’s Strategic Plan for Cycling 2016-2025
Play Strategy for Scotland: Our Action Plan
Transport Scotland Active Travel Framework
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) - UNICEF UK (refer to article 31)
A healthier future: Scotland's diet and healthy weight delivery plan (2018)
Better eating better learning (2014)
Glasgow City Food Plan (2021-2031)
Good Food Nation Policy (2014)
Healthy eating in schools: guidance 2020
Setting the table guidelines pre-5
Statutory guidance supporting the implementation of the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020
GGC - Education Health and Wellbeing