Celebrating Year One of Supervised Toothbrushing Across Cheshire West and Chester

Healthbox CIC is delighted to be working with Cheshire West and Chester Council to deliver our CPD-accredited Supervised Toothbrushing Training as part of the nationally funded Supervised Toothbrushing programme.

Over the first year of delivery, we have worked with nurseries, primary schools and specialist SEND settings across Cheshire West and Chester, supporting staff to introduce supervised toothbrushing and helping thousands of children develop positive oral health habits from an early age.

Our Year One Impact

During the first year of the programme, we have:

• Supported and trained 30 settings, including nurseries and schools

• Trained 243 members of staff to confidently support supervised toothbrushing

• Reached 2,150 children in eligible classes

• Supported nearly 1,000 nursery and preschool-aged children, from two years old

• Reached 339 Reception-aged children

• Supported over 300 children in Years 1 and 2, aged between five and seven

• Reached nearly 500 children attending specialist SEND schools

• Delivered 44 class-based oral health workshops, including sessions as part of parent and carer drop-ins

• Supplied 4,875 take-home toothbrushing packs for children to use during school holidays

  
  

These figures demonstrate the fantastic reach of the programme in its first year and, more importantly, represent thousands of opportunities to help children and families establish good oral health habits.

Building Healthy Habits from an Early Age

Supervised toothbrushing programmes provide children with the opportunity to practise effective toothbrushing as part of their usual nursery or school day. By embedding toothbrushing into familiar routines, settings can help children develop skills and habits that they can carry with them as they grow.

Our CPD-accredited Supervised Toothbrushing Training gives staff the knowledge and confidence they need to safely and effectively introduce supervised toothbrushing within their setting.

Alongside training staff, our team has been able to engage directly with children and families through oral health workshops and parent and carer sessions, helping key oral health messages extend beyond the classroom and into the home.

The map below shows the reach and engagement of the programme across Cheshire West and Chester during year one.

Supporting Supervised Toothbrushing Across Cheshire

We are also pleased to be supporting Sefton Council and Cheshire East Council with the rollout of their nationally funded Supervised Toothbrushing programmes.

Working across different local authority areas gives us an exciting opportunity to support more early years settings, schools, practitioners, children and families while helping to make supervised toothbrushing accessible to communities across the region.

As we reflect on Year One in Cheshire West and Chester, we are incredibly proud of what has been achieved in partnership with local settings, practitioners and Cheshire West and Chester Council.

With 243 staff trained, more than 2,000 children reached and almost 5,000 toothbrushing packs distributed, it has been a fantastic first year and we look forward to building on this progress and supporting even more children to develop positive oral health habits!