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About the Brush Bus Scheme
The History of The Brush Bus Programme
The Brush Bus Programme originally started in 2006 when a head teacher from a local primary school expressed concerns regarding the number of children taking time off school because they were suffering from toothache. The primary school in question was in an area of high deprivation. A Learning Links Worker employed by the city council, would help families with day to day issues such as getting the children to school on time in the morning and making sure they had some breakfast when they arrived, as many families simply struggled to cope with normal daily routines which you and I take for granted. The brushing of teeth was not one of their priorities.
A Dental Health Educator from City Health Care Partnership Dental Services, told the head teacher about a supervised tooth brushing programme which had been developed in Scotland for children attending local nurseries. This programme was set up to address the high dental decay rate amongst very young children in Scotland. After lengthy discussions it was agreed the programme could be adapted to accommodate the needs of the primary school in Hull as a pilot study, with funding for the pilot being provided by the schools’ PTFA.
One class was selected to take part and the parents of these children were invited to attend a meeting where details regarding the programme were explained and to also give the opportunity for parents to ask questions. Positive parental consent was also obtained prior to the commencement of the programme. School staff received training in cross infection and written guidelines were issued to ensure all staff involved knew exactly what their responsibilities were.
The children received a Dental Health Education session detailing the importance of effective tooth brushing, having a healthy balanced diet and regular dental check-ups.
The pilot was a huge success! The head teacher was so delighted with the programme that she requested for it to be expanded to include the rest of the school. Funding for the expansion was again provided by the PTFA.
Head teachers from other local primary schools heard about the programme and expressed a desire for their school to also take part. However, funding was an issue as many schools did not have a PTFA or enough money in their budget to finance the programme.
There was clearly a need here so a business case was submitted to Hull PCT who very generously agreed to fund the programme for one year.
Word got out and before anyone knew what was happening, primary schools from across the city were requesting to take part. Several business cases have since been submitted over the years and the programme is now city wide with Hull PCT providing the finance for toothbrushes and toothpaste with “non- recurrent funding.”
The programme is now in its 5th year and currently has 39 primary schools, 6 special schools, 1 pupil referral unit, 10 Children’s Centre nurseries and 10 pre-schools/nurseries taking part. This equates to 9630 children.
Inspectors from Hull City Council who are responsible for the nursery provision for 0-3 year olds are suggesting to nursery managers that they take part in the Brush Bus Programme and as a result the coordinator of the programme is beginning to receive enquiries from them.