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Barnet Schools Wellbeing Programme

Healthy Eating and Nutrition Framework

For Primary Schools

Produced by


Produced by Health Education Partnership Page 2


Produced by Health Education Partnership Ltd Page 3

Contents Introduction ............................................................................... page 4

Improved health, behaviour and performance ..................... page 4

The importance of food in the curriculum ............................ page 4

The School Food Plan – explained ......................................... page 5

Healthy Schools London and a whole school approach ........ page 8

Within the curriculum ............................................................... page 9

Guide to the curriculum framework ..................................... page 9

Nutrition and Cooking in the National Curriculum ............... page 9

Delivery options and principles ........................................... page 10

Barnet Healthy Eating and Nutrition Framework Overview .. page 11

Core theme 1 and modules: Eating well ................................. page 12

Core theme 2 and modules: Cooking ...................................... page 19

Core theme 3 and modules: Food growing ............................. page 26

Making healthy eating and nutrition part of the whole school community ............................................................................... page 33

Developing a whole school food policy .................................... page 33

The school lunch ...................................................................... page 36

Packed lunch guidelines ............................................................ page 44

Engaging parents to eat well ..................................................... page 46

Support for heads and governors ............................................. page 49

Directory of organisations and websites ................................. page 60

Directory of books .................................................................... page 65

Appendix 1: Children’s on food & nutritional requirements .. page 68

Appendix 2: Tools and Risk Assessments ................................ page 74

Appendix 3: Supporting Food Growing ................................... page 80

Appendix 4: Whole School Food Policy Template ................... page 83

Appendix 5: Packed Lunch Policy Template ............................ page 90

Appendix 6: Pupil Survey Template ......................................... page 94

Appendix 7: Packed Lunch Survey ........................................... page 95

Appendix 8: Lunchbox ideas .................................................... page 97

Appendix 9: Foods for breakfast clubs and school clubs ........ page 99



Introduction

The profile of school food has increased considerably in recent years. Evidence shows that school food is important for the long-‐term health and wellbeing of children and young people. 1 The Government are now committed to and determined that no child should leave school without the skills and understanding for the importance of good nutrition for their long-‐term health and wellbeing.

This resource will provide inspiration to support and promote a school ethos and environment, which encourages a healthy lifestyle and helps to deliver Government targets to tackle obesity and achieve healthy eating goals.

Improved health, behaviour and performance

A study by the Children’s Food Trust2 found that children in primary school were over three times more likely to concentrate and be alert in the classroom when positive changes were made to the food that they ate and their dining room environment. Eating habits are often associated with healthy weight. Nutritious school food helps our children develop good eating habits and puts them on the right path to achieve a healthy future.

Although most parents want their children to lead a healthy lifestyle children are currently eating too much fat, sugar and salt. According

1 Children’s Food Trust (2008) 2 Children’s Food Trust (2009)

to Children’s Food Trust Survey3 healthier food and drink items were chosen and eaten more frequently by pupils taking a school lunch than those bringing a packed lunch. Packed lunches were found to often include items restricted or prohibited by the Food Based Standards for school lunches. 5.5 billion packed lunches are eaten each year in the UK and of these only 1% meet the Nutrient Based Standards for school meals2,4 (from January 2015 these standards will no longer apply – see page 8 for more information). Educating children and their parents to eat well can positively impact on the future health of children.

The importance of food in the curriculum

Cooking and nutrition will be compulsory from September 2014 with the aim of giving all pupils the skills and knowledge to prepare a large number of different nutritious dishes5. Having the skills to grow and cook food can change a child's life forever. Some children in the UK have never seen their parents cook or even peel a potato, with generations of families relying solely on convenience foods a large number of children are growing up without the essential skills for every day life. Convenience foods are attractive as the pricing is often easier to understand compared to having to source a range of different ingredients to produce one meal. Cooking fresh nutritious food on a budget is not easy, and a number of skills are required.

3 Children’s Food Trust 2010 4 School Food Plan 2013 5 Department for Education 2013



The School Food Plan -‐Explained

The School Food Plan, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Education, written by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent is the largest review of school food since 2005 and is designed to improve the quality and take-‐up of school food through cultural change, leadership, communication and inspiration. The plan of action puts good nutritious school food firmly back into focus and the kitchen at the heart of school life6.

In July 2012 Vincent and Dimbleby were asked to find out:

n How will we get our children eating well in school?

n What more needs to be done to make tasty, nutritious food available to all school children?

n How do we excite children about the food so that they want to eat it?

n What role should food and cooking play more broadly in school life to enrich their home lives and leave a legacy for later in life?

The School Food Plan was published in July 2013, following extensive work with headteachers, teachers, cooks, caterers, nutritionists, parents, charities, volunteers and Government. The plan identified 16 actions, 10 for Government, led by DfE and 6 for the catering sector, led by Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent & their director of implementation, Myles Bremner.

6 School Food Plan 2013

The Authors’ Vision for School Food

“Flavourful, fresh food, served by friendly, fulfilled cooks, in a financially-‐sound school kitchens” 7

In schools across England:

n At least 70% of children eating school meals

n Those children eating tasty and nutritious food

n No child going hungry

n School cooks who are happy, confident, skilled and motivated

n Schools taking a ‘whole school approach’ to food, with creative collaborations between headteachers, school cooks, children, teachers, governors and parents

n Children who know how to feed themselves well, and who enjoy cooking and growing with their families, both at school and at home

n Ensure that school meals are economically viable through increased uptake of school food and economies of scale, enjoying a virtuous cycle of higher take-‐up, better quality and lower price.

7 School Food Plan 2013 pg 25



What you need to know:

n Headteachers are being encouraged to take a lead on food at their schools -‐ the plan outlines the importance of helping them to do this.

n Take up: all schools are being urged to take up the challenge: the review throws down the gauntlet to everyone involved with school food to maximise the number of children opting for school meals.

n Free school meals: following recommendation for universal free school meals the government has agreed to extend free school meals to all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 from September 2014.

n Funding: £16.1 million is going to be invested by the Department for Education over the next two years, including £11.8 million to help thousands of schools get help to increase take-‐up of meals, and £3.15 million to ensure healthy breakfasts are available for thousands of children who arrive at school hungry.

n Flagships: 2 London boroughs are to help prove that better school food can have a significant impact on children’s health and attainment. Every school in each area will receive co-‐ordinated support from expert organisations, funded jointly by the Department for Education and the Mayor of London.

n Practical cooking lessons: For the first time ever, practical cookery is compulsory in the new national curriculum for children up to Year 9.

n Monitoring: Ofsted will guide inspectors to consider the behaviour and culture in school dining rooms and to look at

how schools promote healthy lifestyles. Progress on take up of school meals, the number of schools meeting standards, morale of the workforce, the number of schools with food awards and children's cooking skills will also be monitored by the Department for Education.

n Legislation: the plan recommends a consultation on and pilot of updated school food standards and looking at simplifying the nutrient standards which requires the use of a computer software programme. The government has pledged that these standards would apply to all schools including academies.

n School meals brand: the plan aims to improve the image of school food with the help of celebrity chefs and national food businesses -‐ to help you encourage more families to give school food a try.

n Small school assistance: Small schools (under 100 pupils) find it difficult due to the economy of scales to make a school catering service economically viable. The plan is testing models to help small schools offer good food which families and the school can afford.



Checklist for Headteachers

For a successful lunch service schools must lead the change and the headteacher plays a vital role. The School Food Plan is explicit about the principle of the whole school approach and talks about how the dining room, food experiences and education must come together for the good of the child. Also the recent report commissioned by the Department of Health, written by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Dame Sally C Davies ‘Our Children Deserve Better: Prevention Pays’ explores how early in life experience affect health and wellbeing later and the growing case for improving the lives of children and young people8

Change for the better is reliant on the support of the headteacher to share and delegate this responsibility, in many cases the caterer may just need a nudge to improve the service standards, in others the school may wish to grab the bull by the horns and take on the management responsibility of the catering service and operate an in-‐house service.

Whatever direction is taken it must be seen through the eyes of the child. This is key; the child is the customer. Look at the:

n Price

n Dining environment

n Lunch time social life

n Brand

8 Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer (2012)

Adopting the three principles, headteacher led changes, seeing through the eyes of the child and the whole school approach will create a vibe around eating well that excites children and makes eating a school lunch fun.

The actions: For Government

n Put cooking into the curriculum: make cooking and food an entitlement in key stages 1 to 3. (See page 9 )

n Introduce food-‐based standards for all schools, including free schools and academies. (See page 8)

n Kick-‐start promotion for increased take-‐up of good school food.

n Set up financially self-‐sufficient breakfast clubs.

n Set up flagship boroughs to demonstrate the impact of improving school food on a large scale.

n Investigate the case for extending free school meals entitlement.

n Train headteachers: include food and nutrition in headteacher training.

n Public Health England will promote policies, which improve children’s diets in schools.

n Ofsted inspectors’ to consider behaviour and culture in the dining hall and the way a school promotes healthy lifestyles.

n Measure success – set up and monitor five measures to test whether the School Food Plan is working.



The Actions: For Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent and Others

n Share ‘What Works Well’ on a new website, to enable schools to learn from each other.

n Improve the image of school food

n Bring school cooks closer to the rest of the catering sector.

n Improve the skills of the workforce

n Small school taskforce – caterers, kitchen designers and manufacturers to work together to provide good food for small schools.

n Ensure small schools are fairly funded.

The new school food standards

Following on from the recommendations of the School Food Plan, the government has launched new school food standards, which become mandatory on 5th January 2015. The main difference is that they are food-‐based only, which means schools and their caterers will no longer have to nutritionally analyse their recipes and menus. The revised food-‐based standards specify which types of food should be served at school, and how often. The new standards ensure a healthy, balanced diet consisting of:

n Plenty of fruit and vegetables

n Plenty of unrefined starchy foods

n Some meat, fish, eggs, beans, other non-‐dairy sources of protein

n Some milk and dairy foods

n Plus, Healthier drinks

General principle:

The new school food based standards promote a variety of different foods across the week, including different fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses or types of meat and fish.

More information is available from Children's Food Trust

Healthy Schools London and a whole school approach

A whole school approach is essential in terms of enriching the total experience of wellbeing in school. The Healthy Schools London (HSL) programme promotes a whole school approach to improve children and young people’s wellbeing.

Many Barnet primary schools engaging with HSL and the local support available to achieve an HSL Award report that the process enables them to identify current strengths and good practice, together with planning actions for areas for improvement.

We hope that the information and resources listed will inspire whole school engagement, enabling the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and families to flourish.

This framework includes: n In the Curriculum, lesson plans and resources

n Making Healthy Eating and Nutrition Part of the Whole School Community

n Directory of Organisations and Websites that Supports Healthy Eating and Nutrition for Primary Schools



Within the curriculum

Guide to the Curriculum Framework

We have based the framework on the National Curriculum in England.9 This document has been produced for schools to help implement the new compulsory Nutrition and Cooking element of the curriculum. It has been devised to help schools unpack the new curriculum, plan schemes of work and implement high quality food, cooking and nutrition teaching via a range of resources.

Nutrition and Cooking in the National Curriculum

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

9 Department for Education 2013

Pupils should be taught to:

Key stage 1

n Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes

n Understand where food comes from.

Key stage 2

n Understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet

n Prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques

n Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed



Themes and Strands

There are three overlapping and linked core themes, and each has two main strands:

1. Eating Well

n Making Healthy Choices

n Nutrition and my Body

2. Cooking

n Cooking Techniques and Hygiene

n Practical Cooking

3. Food Growing and the Provenance of Food

n Practical Food Growing

n Food Provenance

Modules

Each strand is divided into 6 modules; one for each year group for Key Stages 1 and 2. We have provided an outline one-‐page module for every Year group, which is the equivalent of half a term’s work.

Every module is divided into six blocks (which could be a lesson or split sessions), each with identified learning objectives and suggested appropriate resources.

Delivery Techniques

A range of both practical and theoretical delivery methods delivery are being suggested for these modules.

Assessment

n Cooking Diary

n Self Assessments

n Questioning

n Observations

n Quizzes

n Questionnaires and surveys

Evaluation

n What difference do you see in the pupils’ attitudes towards food and nutrition?

n Are pupils consuming healthier foods?

n Is the whole school community involved in healthy activities?



Barnet Healthy Eating and Nutrition Framework – Overview

Core Themes:

Core Theme 1: Eating Well

Core Theme 2: Cooking

Core Theme 3: Food Growing and the Provenance of

Food

Making Healthy Choices

Nutrition and My Body

Cooking Techniques and

Hygiene Practical Cooking Practical Food

Growing Food Provenance

Y1 The Eatwell Plate: Introduction

My Body Needs Food for Fuel

Hygiene and Safety Rules: Introduction

Food Preparation Without Heat

Plants on Windowsill: Cress

Where does Food come From?

Y2 The Eatwell Plate: Choosing a Balanced

Diet

How do I Feel when I am Hungry

Basic Food Preparation Skills

Food Preparation with Heat –Introduction

Plants on Windowsill: Beans

Food has to be Farmed, Caught or Grown at Home

Y3 The Eatwell Plate: Identifying Meals

How my Nutritional Needs Change When I am Physically Active

Food Storage

Cooking for a Specific Time or Occasion

Explore Growing Food is Changed from Plough to Plate

Y4 The Key is Balance Active and Healthy Prepare and Cook Food Safely and Hygienically

Cooking Around the World

Explore Growing Foods Produced Around the World

Y5 Nutrients: Introduction

Energy Balance: Introduction

Additional Food Preparation Skills

Ready Steady Cook!

Creating Recipes

Explore Growing Exploring the Food Chain – Processes that Make our Food

Safe to Eat

Y6 Nutrients: The Needs and Requirements

Energy Balance The Eatwell Plate and Cooking

Cooking on Budget Explore Growing Farming and Animal Welfare



Core Theme 1: Eating Well

Childhood obesity and other diet related diseases are of growing concern in the United Kingdom. According to Gregory et al (2000)10 children and young people (4-‐18 years old) consume too much food containing fat, saturated fat and sugar and not enough fruit, vegetables and other foods containing important vitamins and minerals. This results in young people consuming very energy dense diets lacking in important nutrients.

Being overweight or obese as a child is likely to continue into adulthood. It was noted that almost 20% of obese 4 year olds became obese adults. This percentage increased to 80% for obese adolescents10. Obesity both in childhood and adulthood can lead to increased risk of ill health. Conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose intolerance have been identified in children as young as five. In addition to physiological ill health caused by obesity, psychological complications often arise amongst obese children, which might be caused by bullying related to their weight 11.

Setting good eating and drinking habits in childhood is essential for good health. A well-‐balanced diet is crucial for proper growth and development and to reduce the risk of diet-‐related diseases in later life. In order for children to acquire the skills and knowledge to help them make healthy food and drink choices and to develop a love of good

10 Gregory J.R, Lowe S (2000) National diet and nutrition survey-‐ young people aged 4-‐18years, Volume 1:Report of the diet and nutrition survey. The Stationary Office, London. 11 Livingstone M.B and Robson P.J (2000) Measurement of Dietary Intake in Children, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol 59,pp 279

food it is vital to support the whole school community to understand the principles of a healthy nutritionally balanced diet.

Schools provide a unique environment to encourage children and young people to learn more about food and nutrition. In the formal curriculum, teaching about food and nutrition can take place in a number of subjects, particularly Science, Design and Technology, and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) as well as through cross-‐curricular themes such as Math, Geography, History and Religion in Key Stage 1 and 2.

This section will look at food and nutrition in the curriculum and in Appendix 1 you will find some information on important nutrients, why they are needed, how much children need and whether they are getting enough or too much based on current scientific evidence.



Year 1: Eating Well MODULE: The Eatwell Plate Introduction and my body needs food for fuel

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand what The Eatwell Plate is, Understand and explain that different people like different types of food, Understand that food is needed for the body to function properly.

Block Learning Objectives Activity Ideas and Resources

1 Assessment for Learning – what do pupils already know about the topics covered in this module?

Discussion: What foods do you like? What does healthy food mean to you? Encourage pupils to express themselves; Why like certain food and why they think the food is healthy.

2 I can identify foods in all 5 food groups I understand that we need to eat smaller amounts of some foods and bigger amounts of other foods

Activity: The Eatwell plate floor mat or online copy of the Eatwell plate without the text Resources teaching pupils 3-‐5 about the Eatwell plate are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=17&sectionId=93&contentId=350

3 I understand that the foods that I like are different to the foods that my friends like I am able to name and express opinions about different types of foods

Discussion: Which foods do you like to eat? What is it you like about them (smell, texture, appearance?) Which foods do you not like to eat? Why? Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=61&contentId=46

4 I understand that I should be eating 5 fruits and vegetables every day and why I am able to name a number of different fruit and vegetables

Discussion: What is your favorite fruit or vegetable? Is that a fruit or a vegetable? How many portions should we eat every day? What is a portion? (size of fist) Activities Ideas: Fruit and vegetable bingo; Guess the fruit or vegetable in a bag; Handa’s Surprise Information about fruit and vegetables and the 5 – A day initiative: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

5 I understand that my body needs food for fuel I understand how food helps my body to grow

Use a car as an example; What happens if a car does not get fuel? Or what happens if you over fill it? Or put the wrong fuel in for example diesel? In a petrol car. Use a balloon to demonstrate how our bodies need food to grow. What happens if it gets no air? Or too much air? Get the pupils thinking about what types of activities they do and what would happen to their bodies if they did not eat.

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Recap – What is the Eatwell plate? Which foods do you like and which foods do your friends like? Get the pupils to draw their favorite food and then place it onto an empty Eatwell plate wall display

Links Previous Learning: e.g. EY Other National Curriculum Areas: PSHE, Science



Year 2: Eating Well MODULE: The Eatwell Plate Choosing a balanced diet & feeling hungry

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand that we eat different foods dependent on the time of the day, Understand how they feel when they are hungry and once they have eaten, Understand the importance of eating foods from all 5 food groups.



Recap: What is the Eatwell plate? Encourage the pupils to describe what they previously learnt about the Eatwell plate Discussion: Think about yesterday what did you eat and when?

2 I understand that we eat different foods at different times in a day I am able to name and describe different types of foods eaten at different times of the day

Discussion: Map out breakfast, lunch and dinner, what type of food we eat at each time? Are pupils able to unpick ingredients and place on the Eatwell plate?

3 I can name all the five food groups and identify foods in each group I know which foods I need to eat more or less of

Discussion: Which are the five food groups? What foods might be in each group? Look at the pie chart which foods do you think you need to eat more or less of? Why?

4 I understand that I cannot just eat food from one food group for my body to be healthy

Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=61&contentId=47

5 I understand how I feel when I am hungry I understand that to be able to get rid of the rumpling feeling in my tummy I have to eat

Discussion: Think of a time when you where hungry how did you feel? How do you feel just before lunch time? Activity: Get the pupils to draw themselves and how they feel when they are hungry and how they feel once they have eaten Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=61&contentId=44

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Get the pupils to draw different food items that they eat at different times in a day – can they link these with the Eatwell plate? Are they eating a balanced diet?

Links Previous Learning: Year 1 Other Learning: PSHE, Science



Year 3: Eating Well MODULE: The Eatwell Plate Identifying meals and nutritional needs

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand which food groups makes up their favorite meals, Understand how their nutritional requirements changes when they are active, Understand that different foods are eaten at special Celebrations.


1 Assessment for Learning – what do pupils already know? Discussion: think about your favorite meal-‐ Which types of foods are included?

2 I can identify and describe the components of my favorite meals I am able to sort the components of my favorite into different food groups on The Eatwell Plate

Activity: Write all the meals and the food items that the pupils know on the board. For each item ask the pupils what type of food it is and to which food group it belongs. Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Activity.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=61&contentId=57

3 I can name and explain the smell and texture of my favorite foods I understand from which countries the favorite foods of my friends comes from

Discussion: Think about your favorite meal, Why is it your favorite? What does it taste like? How does it smell? What does it look like? Discussion: Why do we eat different types of food? From which country does the food that you eat come from? Does anyone not eat meat? Why?

4 I can describe a number of different foods that are eaten at different celebrations I understand that the foods eaten at special celebrations are different in different countries

Discussion: Do you celebrate different festivals? Which festivals do you celebrate? What types of food do you eat for those festivals? Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=64&contentId=49

5 I understand that my nutritional needs change when I exercise Discussion: Do you know what happens to your body when you exercise? What types of exercise do you do? Do you think you need to eat more or less when you exercise? For activity ideas available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=64&contentId=51

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to adopt the principles of The Eatwell plate to their own diets. Pupils are able to describe a number of different festivals and what is eaten at them Pupils can express how their nutritional needs change when they are physically active

Links Previous Learning: Year 2 Other Learning: PSHE, Science



Year 4: Eating Well MODULE: The key is balance and being active and healthy

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand that even though people eat different types of food around the world all people need to eat a balanced diet, Understand that diets are different for different people, Understand that being active and healthy is important for life long health.



Discussion: Why do we eat different types of food? (Climate, culture, availability)

2 I understand that the amount and range of food that we eat is called the diet I understand that I need to eat a wide range of different foods for my diet to be healthy and balanced

Discussion: What is a diet? What are the components of a diet? Activity: 1-‐2 Days collated food diary. What types of food did you eat? How does this compare with The Eatwell plate? Is your diet balanced?

3 I can explain why people are eating different foods around the world I can describe and explain a number of different diets (example vegetarian, kosher, halal)

Activity idea: World Food Cards http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=64&contentId=49

4 I understand that the basic components of diets around the world are similar I understand that even though the diet is different all people needs to eat a balanced diet

Discussion: Did you recognise any of the cultural foods? Which ones? How were they similar to the foods that you eat? Activity: Can you place the cultural foods on The Eatwell plate?

5 I understand that I need to eat a balance diet I understand that I need to be physically active at least 60 minutes a day I understand that I need to clean my teeth twice a day I understand that I need to drink 6-‐8 cups of fluid every day to keep hydrated

Activity ideas for Active and Healthy are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=64&contentId=54

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to describe that diets are different around the world due to a range of factors however the basic ingredients are similar Pupils are able to describe what they need to do lead a healthy and active lifestyle

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 3 Other Learning: PSHE, Science, PE



Year 5: Eating Well MODULE: Introduction to nutrients and energy balance

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand what nutrients mean, Understand and identify foods that contain mainly carbohydrates, protein or fats, Understand the principle of energy balance.



Discussion: Do you know what a nutrient is?

2 I understand that I need to eat different foods because they provide the substances my body needs these substances are called nutrients


3 I can identify which foods are built up by lots of Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat Discussion: What did you eat today? Do you know what nutrients are in the foods that you ate today? Information about sources of nutrients is available in Appendix 1 of this pack.

4 I understand that foods and drinks that are high in fat and sugar often are high in energy but does not contain a lot of nutrients

Activity: Get the packet or label for a number of different popular snack foods such as coke, chocolate, crisps. Bring sugar and oil to demonstrate how much sugar and fat are in these popular snack foods. Compare to other healthier foods and the nutritional guidelines.

5 I understand that the energy requirements are different for different individuals I understand what a portion is and it change dependent on how active I am

Activity idea ; Energy Balance available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Activity.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=64&contentId=214

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to describe what nutrients are and name a number of sources of different nutrients Pupils are able to explain the basic principles of energy balance




Year 6: Eating Well MODULE: Nutrients and Energy Balance Needs and requirements

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand that different foods provides different amounts of energy and nutrients, Understand that different activities use different amounts of energy and we need to balance our energy in (food) with our energy output (activity).



What are nutrients? How does our body use up energy?

2 I can name and explain a number of different nutrients and their importance to my body


3 I understand that some nutrients are essential but others are not essential I understand the difference between essential and non essential nutrients


4 I understand that energy is measured in kilo joules but can also be measured in kilo calories I can name a number of different activities to expend energy

Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=19&sectionId=75&contentId=239

5 I understand that energy balance is important for a healthy weight The formula for energy balance is = Energy input = energy output


6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to explain how eating a balanced diet containing a number of different nutrients are important to their health Pupils are able to express the formula and how to apply energy balance for a healthy weight




Core Theme 2: Cooking Introduction

The focus of eating well for children and young people should always be on the range of interesting and tasty food that can make up a healthy diet, rather than denying them certain foods and drinks. Linking the principals of good nutrition and eating well with practical guidance on planning and preparing simple recipes helps to embed a good understanding of how healthy food and drink choices can be easy, tasty and fun.

The School Food Plan recommends that cooking lessons should be made a part of the national curriculum for all children up to the age of 14. The government accepted their recommendation and the new curriculum will:

“Emphasise the importance of cooking nutritious, savoury dishes, understanding where food comes from, and taking pleasure in the creative arts of the kitchen”.12

12 School Food Plan 2013 pg 9

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating in Key Stage 1 and 2. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and wellbeing, now and in later life.

The following section presents curriculum linked cooking activities to provide a comprehensive, adaptable and progressive approach to teaching the principles of cooking and healthy eating. They provide a framework to build upon and ensure that consistent and up-‐to-‐date messages are delivered in schools.

If schools do not have access to a kitchen then no-‐cook recipes, hotplates and other temporary equipment can be used in the classroom situation. For resources and websites providing activity ideas for cooking in school go to the Directory on page 60 of this document. Risk assessments and Health and Safety Rules are available in Appendix 2 of this pack.



Year 1: Cooking MODULE: The Tiger Claw Cutting, cooking, hygiene and safety

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Adapt and use safe cutting techniques such as the Tiger Claw, Bridge Grip and Fork Secure, Understand that you sometimes need to try a food more than once before you like it, Understand that there is a large number of different equipment used for cooking.



What do you need to do before you starting cooking?

2 I understand that different fruit and vegetables are in season at different times of the year.

Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourcelist/tabid/78/cid/2/smid/445/tmid/443/Default.aspx

3 I can Identify, peel and cut using The Bridge Grip, The Claw and the Fork Secure a number of different fruits and vegetables I have tried a number of different fruits and vegetables

Activity idea; Food Cards available from: http://www.foodinschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=71

4 I understand the Health and Safety Rules for cooking I understand that I have to apply the Health and Safety Rules every time that I am cooking

The Health and Safety Rules for pupils and adults are available in Appendix 2 of this Pack Risk Assessment templates are available in Appendix 2 of this pack

5 I am able to cook a number of different no heat required recipes using basic skills and ingredients

Age appropriate no heat recipes are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=62&contentId=120 Activity: Send a recipe home for pupils to make at home and ask them to take a picture of the food that they made

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils can safely use basic cooking equipment and apply simple and safe cooking skills Pupils understand seasonal variations of fruit and vegetables Pupils are able to cook a number of no heat recipes Pupils have recorded in their ‘Cooking Diary’ the recipes that they have cooked

Links Previous Learning: e.g. EY Other Learning: Design and Technology, Science



Year 2: Cooking MODULE: Basic food preparation skills and Hygiene & safety

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Apply a number of new cooking skills, Understand that different foods need to stored differently.



Which cooking skills are you able to apply?



3 I can identify and understand the use of a number of different cooking equipment

Activity ideas for Learning about cooking equipment are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=62&contentId=136

4 I am able to apply a number of different cooking skills in a safe manor Activity ideas for cooking Skills are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=62&contentId=137

5 I am able to cook a number of different recipes using basic skills and ingredients

Recipe Ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=62&contentId=121 Recipe Ideas are available from: http://www.greatgrubclub.com/cook-‐it

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to apply a number of new cooking skills Pupils have completed their skills sheet Pupils are able to describe and express the use of a number of different cooking equipment Pupils are able to cook a number of different recipes Pupils have recorded in their ‘Cooking Diary’ the recipes that they have cooked

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 1 Other Learning: Design and Technology and Science



Year 3: Cooking MODULE: Food storage, hygiene and safety Cooking for a specific time or occasion

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand that people eat different food and meals according to the time of day or occasion, Understand that food needs to be stored in a specific way so that it is safe to eat.



Discussion: Where do you store food at home?

2 I can identify and explain where foods need to be stored to be safe to eat I understand that food needs to be stored in a special way in the fridge and freezer to avoid cross contamination

Activity: Get pupils to cut out pictures of food and sort them into foods that need to be stored in the fridge, freezer or cupboard. Why does the food need to be stored there? What would happen if you stored the milk or butter in the cupboard? Activity ideas are available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=62&contentId=138

3 I understand the Health and Safety Rules for cooking I understand that I have to apply the Health and Safety Rules every time

The Health and Safety Rules for pupils and adults are available in Appendix 2 Risk Assessment templates are available in Appendix 2 of this pack

4 I understand that people eat different foods dependent on what time of the day it is. I can identify a number of different occasions and celebrations where a different type of food is eaten

Discussion: At what times do you eat and what do you eat at these times? What do other people that you know eat at these times? Do you know anyone from a different country? What do they eat at these times? Does what you eat change at the weekend or when it is someone’s birthday? Christmas? Passover? Eid? Etc.

5 I am able to cook a number of different recipes for different times of the day and different occasions and celebrations

Recipe Ideas Breakfast: http://www.schoolfoodmatters.com/files/Breakfast%20with%20Paul%20Merrett.pdf Recipe Ideas Main Meals: http://www.greatgrubclub.com/potato-‐faces

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils understand how food needs to be stored to be safe to eat, Pupils are able to cook a number of different recipes for different times of the day as well as for different celebrations. Pupils have recorded in their ‘Cooking Diary’ the recipes that they have cooked

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 2 Other Learning: Design and Technology, Religion



Year 4: Cooking MODULE: Prepare and cook food safely and hygienically Cooking around the world

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand the importance of food hygiene on health, Understand and identify that people from around the world eat different foods and using different techniques to prepare their food, Be able to cook a number of different cultural dishes.



Do you know why food hygiene is important to healthy?

2 I understand that Buying, Storing, preparing and cooking food safely and hygienically are vital for health


3 I understand that people around the world use different ingredients I can name and explain a number of different ingredients from different countries I understand that food is prepared in different ways due to a number of factors including culture, environment, custom and religion

Discussion: Do you know anyone from a different country? Is what they eat different from what you eat? Do you know anyone from a different religion? Do they eat or not eat any foods because of their religion? More activity ideas: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=65&contentId=129



5 I am able to cook a number of different recipes from different countries around the world

Recipe ideas for cooking around the world available from: http://www.schoolfoodmatters.com/cooking-‐ideas.html http://www.letsgetcooking.org.uk/list

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils can explain the importance of food hygiene to their everyday health. Pupils can identify foods and cooking techniques from around the world Pupils are able to prepare and cook a number of different dishes from around the world Pupils have recorded in their ‘Cooking Diary’ the recipes that they have cooked

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 3 Other Learning: Design and Technology, Geography, Religion



Year 5: Cooking MODULE: Additional food preparation skills Hygiene and safety

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Apply an extended range of cooking skills, Create and write recipes, Cook a number of different dishes based on a limited number of ingredients.



Which cooking skills are you able to apply?



3 I can demonstrate that I can use an extended range of cooking skills Additional cooking skills available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=65&contentId=132

4 I am able to cook a number of different dishes using a limited number of ingredients

Activity: Ready Steady Cook, encourage pupils to be creative Information about ‘Ready Steady Cook’ available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006vcgr

5 I am able to create my own recipes Activity: Pupils to record in their ‘Cooking Diary’ their recipes developed in ready steady cook

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to safely apply an extensive range of cooking skills Pupils are able to explore ingredients to develop their own recipes

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 4 Other Learning: Design and Technology



Year 6: Cooking MODULE: The Eatwell Plate Cooking, hygiene and safety

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand how to make meals healthier, Understand basic food label information, Cook a range of healthy meals on a budget.



Discussion: Can you suggest ways to make meals healthier?

2 I understand how to use The Eatwell plate to create healthy meals I can name and explain a number of different food allergies and intolerances


3 I am able to read and interpret basic nutrition information on packaging Activity C available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=65&contentId=130



5 I am able to cook a number of dishes on a budget I am able to suggest and demonstrate healthier ways to prepare and cook foods

Activity ideas are available from: http://www.letsgetcooking.org.uk/big-‐lottery-‐programme/recipes-‐and-‐resources/feed-‐a-‐family


6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to suggest and demonstrate practical ideas to make meals healthier Pupils are able to understand basic nutritional information on food packaging Pupils are able to cook a range of different healthy meals on a budget Pupils have recorded in their ‘Cooking Diary’ the recipes that they have cooked

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 5 Other Learning: Design and Technology, Science, PSHE



Core Theme 3: Food Growing Introduction

An important element of nutrition and healthy eating is raising awareness of the foods required for a balanced diet. Understanding where fruit and vegetables come from by growing activities is a proven benefit for young children13. No matter whether you only have space for a few containers or have a larger plot, you’ll be able to create a wonderful garden.

Benefits for pupils, schools and communities

Health benefits

n Improvements in healthy eating and nutrition, such as increased fruit and vegetable consumption and better awareness of food taste.

n Physiological benefits such as working outside in the fresh air and physical exercise.

n Psychological and ‘well-‐being’ benefits including improved mental health, enhanced emotional development and improved social interaction

Educational benefits:

n Improvements in pupil achievement, especially with those children with lower abilities and who have become disengaged from learning.

13 Food Growing Activities in Schools (2011)

n Better pupil motivation such as an improved attitude towards school and study, higher attendance and better behaviour.

n Improved school-‐community interaction between different stakeholders in school life, such as teachers, pupils, parents and the wider community.

Knowledge, skills and behavioural benefits:

n Enhanced practical gardening and growing skills.

n Improved understanding of where our food originates.

n Life skills, such as patience, respect for others, pride in their work and teamwork.

n Better environmental awareness including an understanding of issues such as environmental and sustainability responsibilities.

Linking school growing with the curriculum

School gardening supports many government priorities like sustainability, healthy eating, food in schools and Eco schools and can also be linked to every subject in the curriculum.

For practical resources on food growing go to the Directory on page 60 of this document.

The following section provides information on the ways in which the national curriculum can be delivered through school gardening



Year 1: Food Growing MODULE: Where does Food Come from and Plants

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand where food comes from, Understand that food comes from plants or animals and that you can’t eat all plants, Understand that there are several ways that you can grow food.



Discussion: Do you know where your food comes from? Discussion: What have you eaten today? Where did that food come from? Who bought or grew the food?

2 I can explain and describe that food comes from a lot of different places such as the supermarket, markets, local shops, grown at home, farm etc.

Discussion: Have you been to the supermarket? What did you see? Have you been to an allotment or a farm? What did you see? Do you grow at home? Activities available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=17&sectionId=95&contentId=357

3 I understand that food comes from plants or animals. Activity: Get pupils to cut out pictures of food from magazines then sort them into foods that comes from animals and food that comes from plants.

4 I can name a number of fruit and vegetables that grows in the UK and some that are growing in different counties

Activity ideas available from: http://www.greatgrubclub.com/in-‐season

5 I understand how plants grow I am able to grow cress

Activity: Parts of plants that I can eat – Available in Appendix 3 Growing activity available from: http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/docs/helping_plants_grow_well.pdf Activity idea; Growing Cress Experiment available from: http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/science2c.htm

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils understand where food comes from Pupils understand that food comes from animals or plants and that you cannot eat all plants Pupils understand how plants grow and are able to grow cress

Links Previous Learning: e.g. EY Other Learning: Design and Technology



Year 2: Food Growing MODULE: Food has to be farmed, caught or grown at home

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand that food comes from plants or from animals, Understand how animals and plants are farmed.



Where does food come from? Is that from a plant or an animal?

2 I can describe what a farm is and what types of animals live at the farm I understand that fish can also be farmed

Activity: Visit a farm or allotment Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/435/Walking-‐the-‐talk-‐Taking-‐pupils-‐to-‐a-‐local-‐farm-‐on-‐foot.aspx

If you are not able to make a visit activity; Down at the Farm http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/58/Down-‐on-‐the-‐Farm.aspx

3 I can describe how plants are farmed I can describe how farming is dependent on the different seasons


4 I understand what can be grown at home and at an allotment Discussion: Do you grow at home? What do you grow at home? Have you ever been to an allotment? What did you see?

5 I understand how plants grow I am able to grow beans

Activity idea; Growing a bean plant available from: http://www.everyschool.co.uk/science-‐key-‐stage-‐1-‐plants.html

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils are able to express how animals and plants are farmed Pupils understands how plants grow and able to grow beans




Year 3: Food Growing MODULE: Food is changed from plough to plate and exploring growing

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand and explain the cycle of food, Understand and explain the different stages of food processing, Grow a number of different fruit or vegetables.



Can we eat food straight from the farm? Why not?

2 I can explain that food needs to be changed from ‘plough to plate’ so that the food is safe to eat

Activity idea ‘Can I Eat it?’ Available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14&sectionId=63&contentId=146

3 I can explain the different processes involved in producing a number of basic foods such as Milk and Bread

Activity idea Food for Life Curriculum Pack Activity 3 and Crop to Crumble Film: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/235/Crop-‐to-‐crumble.aspx

4 I understand and can explain that food goes trough basic processes before it reaches us.


5 I understand what plants need to grow I am able to grow a number of different fruit or vegetables I understand that different fruit and vegetables are available in different seasons

Growing activities can be adapted to suit different environments. Activity idea Growing Cards available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/628/Growing-‐Cards-‐Grow-‐Your-‐Own-‐info-‐in-‐bite-‐sized-‐chunks.aspx

Practical Planning advice and activities: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

Practical Growing Activities: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able to describe the process involved in producing a number of different basic food items Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils are able to grow a number of different fruit and vegetables




Year 4: Food Growing MODULE: Exploring foods produced around the world and exploring growing

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Name and describe foods that are produced in and outside the UK, Understand a number of reasons why foods are not produced in the UK.



Discussion: Name common ingredients found in meals? Explore where the different part of that meals comes from

2 I can name and describe a number of different foods produced in the UK I can name and describe a number of different foods produce outside the UK


3 I understand some of the reasons why food is not produced in the UK for example UK Climate or Soil Cost etc.

Discussion: Do you know of any foods that are not from the UK? Do you know why they are not able to grow in the UK?

4 I understand that climate and conditions affect when and where food is produced.



Growing activities can be adapted to suit different environments. Activity idea Growing Cards available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/628/Growing-‐Cards-‐Grow-‐Your-‐Own-‐info-‐in-‐bite-‐sized-‐chunks.aspx

Practical Planning advice and activities: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

Practical Growing Activities: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able apply the correct procedures to grow different foods Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils understand and can describe why some foods are produced in the UK and some foods are not able to grow in the UK




Year 5: Food Growing MODULE: Exploring the food chain

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Explain How we process food at home, Understand that food is processed in factories on a larger scale, Understand how to make a diet more sustainable, Be able to grow a number of different vegetables.



Discussion: Why do you think food need to be processed before we can eat it?

2 I can explain that we process food at home I can explain that food is processed to make it safe for us to eat

Activity B available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=66&contentId=149

3 I understand that food is processed on a large scale in restaurants and in Factories

Activity C available from: http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=15&sectionId=66&contentId=149

4 I can describe and explain how to make a diet more sustainable diet Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/38/Information-‐sheet-‐What-‐is-‐a-‐sustainable-‐diet.aspx


Growing activities can be adapted to suit different environments. Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/628/Growing-‐Cards-‐Grow-‐Your-‐Own-‐info-‐in-‐bite-‐sized-‐chunks.aspx http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able apply the correct procedures to grow different foods Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils are able to describe the different stages of food processing Pupils are able to suggest ways to make a diet more sustainable

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 2 Other Learning: e.g. curriculum links to other subject areas



Year 6: Food Growing MODULE: Farming and animal welfare and Exploring Growing

By the end of this module pupils should be able to: Understand the meaning of a number Food Assurance Schemes, Understand the impact of climate on food production, Grow a number a different fruit and vegetables.



Discussion: Do you know any Food Assurance Scheme? Do you know what these schemes do?

2 I can name and describe the meaning of a number of Food Assurance Schemes such as Lion Eggs and Red Tractor


3 I understand that the animal welfare standards are different on Organic Farms Discussion and Activity idea Taking Care of my Dinner available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/507/Taking-‐care-‐of-‐dinner.aspx

4 I understand that food and farming are contributors to climate change One Planet Food programme available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/53/One-‐Planet-‐Food-‐Teachers-‐Activity-‐Pack.aspx


Growing activities can be adapted to suit different environments. Activity ideas available from: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/628/Growing-‐Cards-‐Grow-‐Your-‐Own-‐info-‐in-‐bite-‐sized-‐chunks.aspx http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Resources/Teachingresources/Resourceview/tabid/79/ArticleId/533/Planning-‐advice-‐and-‐activities-‐from-‐the-‐Food-‐Growing-‐Manual.aspx

6 Assessment of Learning – what did pupils learn in this module? Pupils are able apply the correct procedures to grow different foods Pupils are completing a ‘Growing Diary’ Pupils can name and describe a number of different Food Assurance Schemes Pupils can explain why food and farming are contributors to climate change

Links Previous Learning: e.g. Year 2 Other Learning: Design and Technology, Geography



Making healthy eating and nutrition part of the whole school community

To achieve the goals of improved health and wellbeing and a reduction in obesity a whole school approach to healthy eating needs to be adopted, not only within the curriculum, but across the whole school to ensure an ethos and environment that supports and promotes healthy eating.

This section addresses the elements of the whole school approach outside of the curriculum and is intended to complement the wide range of existing resources that support healthy eating for primary school pupils. In this section you will find practical guidance and examples on the following topics:

n Developing a whole school food policy

n Increasing school meal uptake

n Improving the dining environment

n Improving packed lunches

n Working with parents/ carers

n Information to support head teachers and governors.

Developing a whole school food policy

A whole school food policy is a document that outlines and defines your school's commitment and shared philosophy on all aspects of food and drink throughout the school day. Continually evolving, it is the process of developing the policy and discussion with all stakeholders concerned that makes the policy effective at improving school health and wellbeing. Once your school has established its own whole school food policy, targeted coordinated approaches can then be put into action.

Benefits of a whole school food policy

n Reinforces appropriate key messages relating to food at school, ensuring consistency between the curriculum and food provision

n Sets out a coordinated approach to food and drink provision across the school day

n Provides parents/carers with information on how food is integrated into school life

n Provides evidence on how the school is meeting the government’s school food standards

n Makes provision for staff training and development

n Communicates the school’s shared ethos and values to the wider community



Step by step plan

For a whole school food policy to be effective the headteacher and governors have to share the same vision with regards to school food and its benefits. Recent evidence suggests there is a connection between eating well at school and school attainment, behaviour and punctuality.

Before developing a policy your school should setup a working group, initially this could be a core group such as:

n Teachers

n Catering staff

n School council members

n Governors

n School nurses

n Partners from other services

This group, commonly known a School Nutrition Action Group (SNAG) will be responsible for developing the policy as well as tackling any other food or nutrition related issues within the school.

Things to consider

n How is food perceived in the curriculum, are there practical cookery lessons?

n Do the food and drinks provided meet the Food based standards?

n Are changes required to make your policy work, e.g. a healthier breakfast club, fruit tuck shop, ensuring adequate provision of drinking water?

n School participation in national schemes or special events, e.g. Healthy Schools or National School Meals Week

n What will be the role of all stakeholders to make the policy work?

n Can you pledge a commitment to staff training and resource provision to make the policy work and achieve its aims (as part of the school development plan)?



There are seven recommended steps to develop a whole school food policy:

1. Set up a SNAG (School Nutrition Action Group)

2. Discussion and nominations of lead persons

3. Conduct an audit of school food. Look at good aspects and those that need improvement.

4. Discuss results and produce draft policy and action plan

5. Distribute draft policy and action plan for comments with pupils, parents and carers and school staff. Feedback can be gathered by general discussion or even a questionnaire

6. Review comments, produce and distribute the final policy and action plan

7. On-‐going review of policy and action plan

The template policy in Appendix 4 can be used as a starting point for developing your whole school food policy. In addition, we would advise a packed lunch policy is developed as part of your school's whole school food policy (See Appendix 5).



The School Lunch

The school lunch has come a long way since its beginnings in 1879 in a charitable school in Manchester. The school lunch was used as a way of encouraging children into education rather than work and from 1941 was linked to nutritional standards to ensure children received enough food during wartime rationing. School meals remained a popular and a normal choice by families and children through the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, not necessary for quality but for value for money. Lunchtime was very different then because until the late 1960’s it was compulsory for teachers to supervise children during their lunch break. Ever since then finding a teacher eating with their pupils is a rarity, a trend that is now changing with both primary and secondary schools opting for traditional family lunch service with school staff sitting and serving their pupils.

Sadly from the 1970’s with rampaging inflation, the removal of national pricing and the 1980 Education Act, school meals began their gradual decline. School meal numbers hit rock bottom in 1988 when the government introduced compulsory competitive tendering, outside caterers were bought in, resulting in school meals becoming more processed and less nutritious, leading to the outrage of the turkey twizzler in 2005.

Jamie Oliver’s television exposé on the poor quality food being fed to school children started the shift in attitudes in school food and healthy eating. Initially the national coverage in the media resulted in school meal up take hitting the lowest figure ever 37%. Green shoots soon reappeared following the Blair government’s major investment in school food and since the school food revolution in 2005 due to infrastructure investment, mandatory Food Based

Standards and improved food quality, school meal popularity is returning.

Increasing school meal uptake

If the national school food service was a business in the high street it would be deemed a failure and heading for bankruptcy. With a national school meal uptake averaging at 43% the expenditure is greater than sales and without a shift in fortunes will continue to cost the government millions of pounds in subsidies. England’s school meal subsidy is currently £140 million per year excluding the addition cost to central government of free school meals. Austerity belt tightening is affecting local authority and school spending resulting in services being cut, and justifying future subsidies of the school meal service will become harder.

The answer is to increase the uptake of school meals and with help from the economies of scale the school meal service can become sustainable. For example the school meal service will break even, depending upon staffing and ingredient costs, with an uptake just over 50%. If 60% was reached there would be a surplus of £100 million, which could be reinvested into the industry to finance breakfast clubs, buy better quality food or even bring down the price of a school lunch. Using the cost advantages associated with economies of scale will create a sustainable school meal service for the future, a virtuous cycle of higher take-‐up, better quality and lower prices.



How do we go about increasing uptake?

‘School meal uptake is highest where cooking staff are regarded as equal members of the school team and lunchtimes regarded as an important part of the school day.’14

1. Get the food right

Do the school staff, including the headteacher eat the school lunch?

If the answer is no, this is the starting point. The school food quality benchmark has risen significantly in recent years, gone are the days of regeneration and reheating, school lunches are made from fresh ingredients from scratch. If staff are not attracted to the smell of the food coming from the kitchen or the look of a meal on the plate the chances are the children will be turning up their noses too.

2. Identify the issues.

This could be done in a variety of ways: n Observe lunchtime through the eyes of a child. See how it

could be improved from the point of view of different types of people e.g. pupils, lunch time assistants, catering staff

n Seek the views of the school council

n Carry out questionnaires/ surveys with children and young people, see Appendix 6

14 School Food Plan 2013

n Regular meetings with catering staff and lunchtime supervisors to share ideas for how things could be improved

n Seek parents' views, for example through questionnaires or at parent evenings

3. Empowering the pupils

n Get regular feedback from children on the dining service and food, through school surveys, school council of food specific school nutrition action group (SNAG). Find out what they enjoy and what they would like to see on future menus.

n Capture pupils' views at the end of the dining experience through simple smiley face charts to gain a snapshot into how pupils feel about lunchtimes. Placing flipcharts at the exit to the dining area with a line drawn down the middle for children to draw either a smiley face in the smiley face column or a sad face in the other column. This exercise is particularly useful when something new is introduced for example the introduction of music, a new queuing system, different table layouts etc.

n Have a competition, or classes could take turns, on designing and displaying the weekly menu -‐ this will help children to interact, learn to create healthy menus and attract attention to the food and the dining space.

n Name your dining space -‐ Launch a competition to give the dining space a name, like a café or restaurant. Create an art project to decorate the dining space, in keeping with the new name.



n Lunchtime monitors -‐ Giving older pupils a sense of ownership and responsibility in the dining room in return for privileges has many benefits. Duties such as assisting key stage 1 children, serving salad from a salad bar, serving cold desserts, wiping tables, assisting with plate and cutlery collection. Freeing up duties from lunchtime supervisors will provide more opportunities for pupil encouragement and praise. Schools can bring this task to life by giving the lunchtime helpers a job description, asking them to complete an application form and even inviting them to an interview with members of the school council.

n Training pupils – Pupils can be trained in basic hygiene by the Catering Manager and given an in-‐house certificate giving them the knowledge to safely serve their peers at the salad bar. The trained pupils can also be provided with uniforms to wear whilst serving.

4. Try different small step changes

n Allowing packed lunch children to sit with school lunch children. More often than not packed lunch children and school lunch children have to sit on different tables. This can often become a barrier for children to have a school lunch if they want to sit with their friends who have a packed lunch. Allowing packed lunch children to sit with school lunch children not only helps to remove this barrier but also offers the opportunity for packed lunch children to see the great food on offer as part of a school lunch

n Give children enough time. Consider whether your diners are getting enough time to eat, to relax and then to do other things with their lunch break. Consider staggering the lunch break so different age groups eat at different times. Avoid lengthy queuing by getting children to pre-‐order their choice of meal or provide more than one place where meals are served and sold.

n Individual sized portions -‐ Serving desserts and cut fruit in small individual dishes can make children feel as though the food was made especially for them.

n Reward healthy eating. Consider introducing incentives and reward schemes to promote good behaviour and healthy eating choices. These can be supported by having rules or targets for healthy eating so the children know what is expected from them.

n Celebrate special occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Eid and Diwali with themed or seasonal menus

n Taster sessions -‐ Have fun taster sessions with parents and children on a regular basis. Encourage children to try a little of something new whenever possible. This can also help encourage children who find it difficult to try different food types.

n Music at lunchtime. Believe it or not, introducing music at lunchtime can help reduce noise levels and also make it feel like a more enjoyable place to eat. Getting children involved in selecting the music played can help to give a sense of ownership and involvement.



n Family atmosphere -‐ Some schools have created a family atmosphere by putting children into mixed class groups, where the older children are “buddies “and support the younger ones on their table.

n Adults are role models – Encouraging teaching staff, class room assistants and school governors to eat a school lunch in the dining hall alongside children can not only be a great way to promote school lunches but will also help to create a pleasant environment, where adults and children eat together children will emulate their adult role models.

n Sit in groups rather than rows -‐ Arranging tables and chairs so that children can sit together in groups rather than traditional rows can help to create a friendlier, more pleasant environment.

n Special table – Introducing a special table which has a tablecloth, attractive crockery cutlery, glasses emulating a restaurant can create interest in the dining experience. Children are chosen to eat their lunch with a friend if they have been well behaved at lunchtime, shown good manners or tried a new food.

n Captain’s table – Creating a buzz and pupil anticipation surrounding the winners of a prestigious place at the captain’s table can create interest amongst pupils and increase school meal uptake. Raffle tickets can be handed out for good behaviour, finishing a meal, eating vegetables or trying a new food, then a monthly draw made in assembly. Anticipation will build amongst the children guessing who will be the surprise guest at the captain’s table, usually the headteacher!

n Theme days are used by lots of schools as a great way to encourage more children to try a school lunch. Theme days offer a great opportunity to bring fun and excitement into the dining hall, with some schools going the extra mile and decorating the tables, hall and hatch to fit the theme. Getting pupils involved in designing menus, particularly for theme days is a great way of increasing interest in the service and uptake for specific promotions.

n Class lunches -‐ Each class gets to have a turn once a half term to choose the menu with the help of the Catering Manager. The class who have chosen the menu for that day get to all sit together at a special table and also invite their parents/ carers to join them.

n Growing – The school food plan has reinforced the importance of growing gardens where pupils can take part in the planting, tending and harvesting of fruits and vegetables. These items can be introduced into a special theme day menu giving pupils the opportunity to see their fruit and vegetables travel from school gate to dining plate.

5. Promoting and marketing food effectively

n Promoting school lunch menus with children -‐ In some schools teachers, particularly in reception and Key Stage 1, explain what's on the menu to their class. In other schools the school chef visits classes to discuss menus and offer tasters. Assemblies also offer a good opportunity to promote school lunches and what's on offer.



n Offering tasters to children and parents/carers is another good way to show how good the school lunches are. Parents evenings, fund raising events and sports days provide great opportunities for this.

n Open days and new intake evenings -‐ Schools can promote the expectation that children will have a school lunch and include the kitchen and dining room with a food tasting opportunity included. Schools also promote the service to parents via school newsletters, notice boards and the school website.

n Attractively presented food -‐ In the dining hall, it's really important to ensure food is attractively displayed and wherever possible children can see the food on the counter to help them make their choice.

n Lucky Plate day – Introduces excitement into the dining room. A prize is given to the lucky child who has a special sticker underneath their plate. Similar to this, schools can give out raffle tickets on certain theme days and award a prize to the holder of the winning ticket, helping to create a real buzz and excitement and encourage as many children as possible to take part.

n Class reward system -‐ Another great way to encourage more children to have a school lunch. Every child who eats a school lunch each day gets a bonus point for their class. Bonus points convert to bonus activities that the class can vote for e.g. extra playtime, computer time, use of special equipment etc.

n Speculate to accumulate – Offering a free school lunch to all new reception pupils during the first two weeks of the September term will often result in more children choosing to have a school lunch following the promotion.



Improving the dining experience

Taking small step improvements to make your dining environment a happy place where children want to eat will make a positive impact on your school meal take-‐up. Think of the environment you prefer to dine in and take inspiration of how you wish to feel when you eat. The benefits of children eating a nutritious school meal are numerous.

n Better behaviour in the classroom after lunch.

n Encourages social interaction and communication between peers.

n Creates happier and calmer pupils.

Make Lunchtime a Good Experience

Recent research from the School Food Trust15 shows that children's biggest barrier to eating schools meals is the perceived lack of time and space to enjoy doing so.

Adopting the Swedish lunchtime model has become popular with English schools. In Sweden, lunchtimes are focused solely on enjoying the meal and there is a separate playtime. Separating eating and play time into defined times, such as twenty minutes for eating will encourage children to socialise and not rush their food in an attempt to get out to play as quickly as possible. This will help to promote a much calmer, enjoyable and less rushed dining experience.

15 School Food Trust (2009)

Creating a positive lunchtime experience also assists in encouraging pupils to take a school lunch in preference to a packed lunch. Obstacles such as poor ambiance, appearance, long queues, multi-‐purpose dining halls and noise are often more important to pupils than the food itself.

Common issues: n Noise and unruly behaviour

n Multi-‐use dining halls

n Uninviting dining halls

n Long queues

Noise and unruly behaviour

Noise is often heightened in spaces where there are mainly hard surfaces such as floors, walls and ceilings. Acoustic sound panels are a simple way to dampen noise. These can be fitted to walls or ceiling and are proven to reduce noise in large open dining spaces. The type of flooring can affect noise levels too, bare wooden flooring will create more noise than a vinyl covered floor. Lowering the height of a ceiling can also lessen the noise level or alternatively fitting acoustic dampeners to pendant lighting will offer a similar benefit.

The use of coloured cards or signs to inform pupils, rather that lunch time assistants shouting or using whistles can create a calmer environment. The signs can be used to let the children know when they are making too much noise or when it is their turn to go to the counter or leave the dining room.



Noise and unruly behaviour often go hand in hand. Attractive and welcoming dining spaces have been found to create positive respectful behaviour from children. An uncared for environment will not promote considerate actions, an example is an environment where litter and graffiti are present. The litter and graffiti will attract more litter and graffiti if not removed. Initiate a reward system for good behaviour, such as stickers or the chance to enter a competition to eat on the ‘captain’s table’ with a special member of staff.

Removing tension in the dining hall can also reduce noise. Training lunchtime assistants to interact with their customers and follow customer service principles can make a significant difference. Setting benchmark behaviour requirements and rules and underlining their importance regularly in school assemblies is key. Pupils will then know what is expected from them.

Multi-‐use dining halls

Many schools have the challenge of using the room where children eat for many different uses such as assemblies, teaching and physical exercise. The challenge is to change the atmosphere and create an ambiance more preferable for eating. The following are examples of small step improvements to enhance the dining room ambiance.

n Introduce a mobile menu board, placed for all to see when they enter the dining room. This will inform the pupils this room is now our dining room.

n Use brightly coloured wipeable tablecloths.

n Set the tables with cutlery, bread baskets, salad bowls or even flowers from the school garden.

The decoration of the hall is important factor in the ambiance you create. In multi-‐use halls having a theme that links with all the different functions is often difficult. A compromise may be made by having a food theme in a small area of the hall, for example where the school lunch is served from or around the serving hatch or even an art gallery displaying children’s work.

Dining hall feels uninviting

An uninviting dining room is often a reason given when children are asked why they are taking a packed lunch, especially if they are allowed to eat outside. The key is to make a space where the pupils feel comfortable and relaxed. This can be initiated by giving the pupils ownership of the area by involving them in its theme or even by giving the dining space a name they agree on.

Other factors to consider are: n Lighting – Is the room to dark or light, the light in a room will

affect the atmosphere?

n Flooring – Flooring within a dining space can affect the ambiance. A hard wooden floor surface can enhance noise and different colours can affect how people feel.

n Temperature – Is the dining room too hot or too cold, are additional heaters required? Are blinds required to control the heat from the sun in summer months?

n Wall colour – Is the wall colour lifting the ambiance or dampening it? Is the paint flaking or dirty? A fresh feel to a



space can change the ambiance considerably and painting a room can lift the feel of a room. It needn’t be the whole room; it could be a single wall or part of the room to give that new fresh feel.

n Seating – Have you made any considerations for the youngest members of the school? Is the seating size suitable for all ages? It may be advantageous to sit the younger pupils away from the busiest areas where they may become intimidated by the eating process. Your school might also find it beneficial to introduce a “buddy” system where older pupils are encouraged to eat with the younger pupils to offer support. Arranging seating in a non-‐uniform manner will create a less formal feel to the dining room and make the dining space feel more welcoming.

n Flight trays – Ditching the ‘prison style’ meal trays in favour of a plate and a bowl will enhance the eating experience. We have to ask the question, “at home do we eat with our main course and dessert on the same plate?”. Children will be tempted by the dessert before eating the important nutrient main course. Collecting the dessert after finishing the main course is an ideal if the dining room layout permits.

Reducing long queues

It is an issue for most schools and often a reason why children opt for packed lunches. To a child valuable playtime is wasted queuing up for lunch, with a packed lunch you can sit down straight away, wolf down a sandwich and be out in the playground in a matter of minutes. No contest for an eight year old. Introducing a pre-‐order

system where menus and order forms are sent home for pupils and parents to make their choices can reduce the queuing time considerably. Coloured bands are then given to the children at registration corresponding to their menu choice; at the counter catering staff then know instantly which choice the pupil has chosen.



Packed lunch guidelines

Research highlights that buying a well-‐balanced school lunch is now the most nutritious choice for children and young people due to the introduction of the Nutrient Based Standards16. These standards do not apply to lunch boxes, but following the School Food Plan, schools now have governmental support to help children to make healthier choices by possibly restricting unhealthy options.

A survey, commissioned by the Food Standards Agency in 200417 showed that the average packed lunch brought in from home contained far too much fat (especially saturated fat), sugar and up to half the daily limit of salt, all of which can contribute to long term health issues. Only one in five packed lunches contained any vegetables, only about half contained a portion of fruit or vegetables and only one contained a salad. The British Medical Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2010)18 also found that, of 1,300 packed lunches surveyed across the UK, 99% did not meet the school food standards.

A recent survey found that 81% of packed lunches include a pre packed snack, which can be expensive as well as unhealthy19. For example, adding just two of the snack items (a Dairylea Lunchables pack and a Robinsons Fruit Shoot Juice drink) to a lunchbox could add up to £1.86 and give children over half of their daily salt intake as well as over four teaspoons of sugar.

16 Children’s Food Trust (2009) 17 Food Standards Agency (2004) 18 Evans et al (2010) A cross-‐sectional survey of children’s packed lunches in the UK: food and nutrient based results. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2010/01/13/jech.2008.085977 19 School Food Trust (2011)

Are packed lunches more attractive than school dinners?

Are children opting for packed lunches because they can have crisps, confectionary or a sugary drink? Make sure packed lunches are not a ‘better’ option, schools have a responsibility to ensure children make the right choices and can ban sugary drinks, crisps and confectionery. Alternatively, offer prizes and other incentives for bringing in a healthy packed lunch. Some schools ban packed lunches outright. If you want to do this, try starting with your newest intake (pupils in reception or juniors). The ban will then apply to all the years that follow them, until it extends to the whole school.

Carry out a packed lunch survey

Packed lunch pupils can be secretive about the contents of their lunch box or bag, often eating food from the bag and not showing its full content. To help present a true picture of packed lunches in your school, it is important to carry out a packed lunch survey. The survey will help you collect a clearer picture of what is in children’s packed lunches and the results assist in creating a policy. An example packed lunch survey and a template packed lunch policy can be found in Appendix 5 and 7.

The information collected will provide a picture of what is current practice, and will act as a comparison later on when your policy is in place. The survey can be completed in several ways.

n Pupils from school council can carry out the survey at lunchtime.

n The working group can ask pupils questions in the playground after lunch.



n Pupils who bring packed lunches to school can complete the survey during class time.

n An outside agency can conduct the survey on your school’s behalf

When examining the results from national packed lunch surveys the results have been very disappointing, the majority containing a sweetened soft drink and confectionary type snacks and under half containing a vegetable or fruit content. A starting point for many schools is to introduce a ‘water only’ policy at lunchtime and introduce a rule that each pupil must have one piece of fruit or vegetable.

When to run a policy discussion?

Rules about lunch boxes are a matter for schools and parents to consider. One way schools can achieve this is by introducing a packed lunch policy, which can form part of a Whole School Food Policy. Where implemented, after proper consultation with pupils, parents and staff, they offer clear guidance and an opportunity to improve food consumed by all pupils. You may decide to use the following opportunities to run a consultation:

n Parents evenings;

n Health fairs;

n Lunchtime or break-‐time (for pupils);

n Sports days; and

n After school when parents are waiting to collect their children.

Top tips for parents

To make a healthy balanced and varied packed lunch for a child day in day out is a Herculean task. What happens is the parent gives their child what they like; this can by fine on occasion but giving a child the same thing every day is not expanding their repertoire of different foods. Resulting in many parents resorting to pre-‐prepared lunchbox foods, sweets and crisps. Packed lunches high in sugar and low in essential nutrient content may affect the child’s performance in afternoon lessons.

See Appendix 8 for Lunchbox ideas



Engaging parents and carers to eat well

A Healthy School is an open school, which welcomes parent and carers to join in with the school community. It encourages parental involvement and provides the information and guidance a parent needs to support their child’s health, wellbeing, happiness and overall educational success.

With effective regular communication parents are involved in school activities, consultations and feedback. A successful home-‐school relationship can be a major factor to making a school stronger and more effective. It can also contribute to achieving essential nutritional wellbeing outcomes.

Engaging with parents and carers when a child begins the educational journey is essential to successfully establishing a working partnership. Welcoming the extended family into schools is also becoming increasingly important, with a recommendation that schools should actively involve grandparents in their grandchildren’s learning.

Successful parent involvement can be defined as the active, on-‐going participation of a parent or carer in the education of his or her child. Schools with involved parents engage those parents, communicate with them regularly, and incorporate them into the learning process.

What are the barriers?

Schools often don't engage parents because they don't think they can. Teachers sometimes perceive that families don't want to be involved when it’s the parents who don’t know how to be involved. Often the parents are sometimes hesitant to become involved in school because they don't have extra time or because they don't speak fluent English. There may even be a feeling of disconnect between the school and the parent and often relating to the parents personal experience with the education as a child, possibly resulting in literacy problems.

Despite these communication barriers, in general both the school and the parent would prefer engagement to improve their child’s potential.

What are the benefits of parents getting involved?

The benefits for the children are:

n It is easier for children to learn when they get encouragement at home

n They will do better and achieve more when their parents are involved

n Children get access to more activities in and out of school when there are more adults to help

n Their concerns can be sorted out quicker when their parents have a positive relationship with school staff

n They are happy when their parents are enjoying events in the school.



The benefits for parents are:

n Their children do better when they are involved

n They are better able to help and encourage their children

n They have more information about their children’s education

n Parents can build their own confidence and skills

n Where there is a positive relationship between parents and their child’s school there are benefits all round

n Parents get reassurance that their children are receiving a good education.

Opportunities for parent and carer engagement

n After school cookery club – Start by offering one-‐off afterschool cookery or healthy eating clubs to generate interest, then follow on with a regular club. Offer to introduce new cooking skills and healthy eating habits into family life.

n Lunch menus -‐ Make sure parents/ carers know about the school lunch service provided in school by sending menus home regularly, promoting the service regularly on the school newsletters and ensuring school lunches are promoted at parents' new intake events.

n Mother's Day or Father's Day -‐ Invite parents to have a meal with their child. This is good way to address misconceptions that some people still have about the quality of school meals.

n Bacon butties and a brew – Using food as an enticement to encourage parents to attend an event usually works or offer tasters of the food available to children at pick up time and at other school events such as sports day, parents' evenings or fundraising events.

n Recipe promotion -‐ Sending recipes home of some of the popular meals provided at lunchtime, for example on the back of school newsletters, is another good way to promote the fact that food is wholesome and made from scratch.

n Open kitchen policy -‐ Particularly when parents are dropping off at breakfast club or at the start of the school day. This helps to encourage conversation, allowing parents to ask any questions they may have and get to know the catering team.

n School recipe book -‐ Developing a school recipe book, by asking families to contribute healthy recipe ideas that are then combined and made into a recipe book.

n Design a recipe -‐ Ask families to design a healthy school lunch recipe, with the winning recipe being included on a special theme day promotion. Encouraging families to think more about the importance of healthy eating can help them to recognise the benefits of choosing a school lunch as a healthier alternative to a packed lunch.

n Dads and children cookery – Involving the Dads with afterschool food activities is a fun way to engage.

n Farm visits – Organising a farm visit provides excellent opportunities for personal development. Linking the school, parent and child with a farm visit can be a route to many experiences beyond their expectations.



n Kitchen garden – Asking parents and carers to help with the school garden is a fantastic engagement opportunity. Linking growing to eating well by producing food that can be incorporated in the school menu provides important messages for those children involved.

n School farmer’s market -‐ Setting up farmers' markets in schools provides opportunities for children to learn about food and farming and exciting and relevant ways to interpret the curriculum for teachers. Running a school farmers' market provides pupils with the opportunity to achieve positive learning outcomes in a range of different National Curriculum subjects, including literacy, numeracy, ICT and science.

n Supermarket visit -‐ Swapping the classroom for an organised school visit to a local supermarket with a parent provides an opportunity to learn more about healthy eating, as well as trying their hand on the till and at baking. Many of the larger supermarket chains are willing to forge relationships with the local community and encourage schools to visit.



Support for heads and governors

Checklist of responsibilities

There are added responsibilities where food is concerned. Whether it is a breakfast club, teaching cookery or overseeing the catering facilities at your school, as a headteacher or governor there will be responsibilities to be aware of:

n Food based standards

n Food Safety

n Staff training

n The environment

n Health and Safety

n Cultural Food Sensitivities

School food provision has to meet the current food based standards ensuring pupils can eat a healthy and nutritious meal. These standards have recently been updated and put into effect from January 2015 – see page 8 for more information.

Menu analysis and the food standards

The requirement to comply with the school food standards is set out in Section 114A of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended) 2008 and 2011. Departmental advice for governing bodies will be reviewed in January 2015.

Current legislation states that where the governing body provides food and drink it must comply with the relevant regulations. Where the catering budget has been delegated to schools the school's governors are responsible for ensuring the school food standards are met.

You can choose to run the catering service 'in-‐house' or use your budget to contract to a catering company. Within a catering contract it is normal for the catering company to analyse the menus to demonstrate that the school food standards are being met. If however you decide to run the catering services 'in-‐house' it is your responsibility to ensure the school menu is analysed to meet the Government's school food standards.

Documented evidence of these standards should be available, including a micro nutrient summary (up until 1st January 2015) in both table and graph format.

From 1st January 2015 the analysis of micro-‐nutrients will no longer be required and simpler food based standards will come into force. This has come about following a consultation with schools and caterers to relieve the burden on of having to nutritionally analyse individual recipes, a process which was considered complicated and time consuming.

It is essential that all stakeholders including pupils, parents, local authorities and regulating bodies are able to see that the required standards are being met and it is advisable to have available a 'menu analysis compliance pack' available for inspection. This information can also be a beneficial tool when marketing the school meal service to parents, either on menu leaflets, parents' evenings or the school website.



Why have revised food-‐based standards been introduced for lunches?

n The government has created a clearer set of food-‐based standards, accompanied by practical guidance, that provides caterers with a framework on which to build interesting, creative and nutritionally-‐balanced menus.

n The revised standards are less burdensome and operationally cheaper to implement than the current nutrient-‐based standards

n They define types of food that are no longer allowed or are restricted, in order to replace food high in fat, sugar and salt with more nutritious food and drinks.

n To ensure nourishing food is served more frequently.

How the standards will help children

n To help children enjoy balanced meals containing good sources of protein and carbohydrate, accompanied by lots of vegetables, salad and fruit.

n These standards mean that the less healthy food choices, high in fat, salt and sugar are replaced by more nutritious options.

n They should have a positive impact on children’s health, help encourage them to eat more nutritious food and improve the quality of school food.

The revised food standards – commencing 1st January 2015

The revised food-‐based standards specify which types of food should be served at school, and how often. A child’s healthy, balanced diet should consist of:

n Plenty of fruit and vegetables

n Plenty of unrefined starchy foods

n Some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-‐dairy sources of protein

n Some milk and dairy foods (and a small amount of food and drink high in fat, sugar and/or salt)

n Plus, Healthier drinks



Standards for food served outside of lunch

If your school arranges additional food provision, such as breakfast clubs, tuck shops or after school clubs, governors also have to ensure that the school food standards other than lunch are being met.

Breakfast clubs, tuck-‐shops, after school clubs

Food and drink provided at times other than lunch has been required to meet the food-‐based standards for all school food other than lunches.

The food-‐based standards for all school food other than lunches apply to all food and drink provided by local authorities or school governing bodies to pupils on and off school premises, during an extended school day (up to 6pm).

The standards cover: n Breakfast clubs

n Mid-‐morning break services

n Vending machines

n Tuck shops

n After school snacks and meals

A checklist relevant to breakfast clubs and after school clubs food is available in Appendix 9.

However your responsibilities do not stop there.

Together with other statutory requirements, such as food safety and hygiene, there are other important factors.

Your school food service should consider the: n Environmental

n Ethical

n Social impact



Sustainability

When you are renegotiating or tendering your catering service it is well worth asking the following questions. You will be surprised how many contract caterers sell themselves as caring, sustainable businesses and due to increased competition will happily provide these contract enhancements at little or no extra cost to the school. On the other hand, if the question is not raised, the caterer may only offer its default basic provision to protect and inflate its profit margins.

Ask the contractor to: n Use demonstrably sustainable fish wherever possible and

varieties that are not listed as in danger by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

n Use meat and dairy that is produced according to high animal welfare standards and use assurance schemes such as the 'red tractor', or Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (RSPCA) 'freedom foods'

n Use free range eggs

n Offer seasonal produce where possible and promote seasonal produce when it is being served

n Use contractors that set targets for increasing use of seasonal produce on previous years

n Support environmentally friendly farming, food/drink production and transportation

n Investigate the capture method and species of tinned fish, for example line caught opposed to destructive net fishing methods

n Increase the amount of products meeting ethical trading standards such as Fair-‐trade

n Be aware of the production system under which the animals are reared and which farming systems cause less harm to the environment

n Only use organic milk

n Avoid bottled water and ensure tap water is available at every catering outlet

n Review all disposable products moving to biodegradable alternatives where possible

n Ensure all waste oil to be collected by approved contractor and recycled

n Seek to reduce the number of deliveries made to each site by suppliers and ascertain from suppliers the sustainable credentials of their transport fleet



Quality monitoring framework for governors

A whole school approach, involving a planned curriculum and all aspects of food provision, should be part of a strategic plan driven by the governing body for the following reasons:

n It helps to develop and maintain a coherent healthy eating philosophy to pupils, parents and other stakeholders relating to all aspects of food within the school

n It demonstrates that your school is committed to the wellbeing of pupils, staff and other stakeholders

n It helps to enforce healthy eating activities in your school

n It allows the whole school community to have a common understanding of the schools approach to health and nutrition

The School Food Plan notes that a whole school approach to food policy is likely to be more effective if it is embedded into development planning, rather than being seen as a separate issue.

Before starting to develop a whole school food policy, you first need to assess existing provision and practice and review your own work in this area as a governing body. The governing body needs to be aware that the school food standards apply only to food provided by the school and not to food brought from home. You will need to set a clear school policy if you wish to restrict food items brought from home.

We would advise a packed lunch policy is developed as part of your school's whole school food policy.

Food safety and hygiene

Before you start a new food business or start using a new catering establishment you must register with the environmental health services at least 28 days before you start trading. The environmental health services will also be able to advise you about how the law applies to your business in practice. Your catering premises will be subject to unannounced visits by local authority enforcement officers to ensure you are complying with the law.

To protect the public, inspectors can take enforcement action if your premises are not compliant, including:

n Issuing a food safety or health and safety improvement notice if you are breaking the law. You will be given a set time to remedy the noted areas

n Issuing a prohibition notice which will prohibit you from using your premises or equipment

n Prosecution in serious cases

The food hygiene regulations are set out to ensure safe practice in all elements of your catering business and make sure that:

n Your premises meets the current food safety standards

n Staff follow the personal hygiene procedures

n You have established food safety procedures to identify hazards and implement safety controls

n Staff are adequately trained to a level required for their responsibility

n Food is subject to the correct temperature control



Food Hygiene Practices

You are required to put in place a documented food safety system based on the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) principles. This means you have to identify and document the potential hazard within your establishment and put in place control measures. The HACCP has to be up dated when catering practices change.

You can download a guide to food hygiene for businesses from the Food Standards Agency website http://www.food.gov.uk/business-‐industry/caterers/sfbb/

Health and safety

It is an employer's duty to ensure that the health, safety and welfare of employees are safeguarded, so far as reasonably practicable. Employers must:

n Provide training, instruction and supervision

n Provide a health and safety policy when employing more than five employees

n Provide safe, maintained equipment and safe working practice and systems

n Deal with harmful substances, such as chemicals, correctly

n Carry out risk assessments on catering equipment and work practices

The most common causes of accidents include: n Poor lifting and carrying

n Slips, trips and falls

n Being hit by a moving object or vehicles

Accidents and illnesses originating in the kitchen can cause great personal suffering to those affected and result in excessive costs to business due to disruption. While there are direct costs associated with setting up a good health and safety culture, for example training and new safety equipment, it will save money in the long term. More information on health and safety is available from the Health and Safety Executive's website http://www.hse.gov.uk/

Kitchen risk assessments

Use a risk assessment to think through the hazards in your catering facility and decide the actions needed to control or eliminate the risks. Every kitchen is different so you need to work out the particular hazards and solutions for each site. Generic risk assessments do not satisfy the law. You need to:

n Identify the hazards and risks

n Indicate who could be harmed and how

n List the controls, if any, which were in place to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of somebody being hurt

n Act on observations and findings to make the work place a safer environment

n Review the risk assessment every year or straight away if major changes in the workplace happen.



Official statistics show that the most common catering injuries are: n Slips, trips and falls – 30% of all reported injuries but 75% of

major injuries. 88% of incidents involve slippery floors. Around 7% of all reported trips were due to objects (e.g. buckets, boxes) left in walkways and uneven floor surfaces

n Manual Handling – 29% of all reported injuries. Around a third of these were caused by lifting heavy objects, such as saucepans, tables, packaged foods, a third from handling sharp objects, such as exposed blades during cleaning and a third from awkward lifts such as low or high ovens

n Exposure (to hazardous substances, hot surfaces or steam) – 16% of all reported injuries. At least 61% of these are from splashes, 13% are from hot objects

n Struck by moving articles including hand tools – 10% of all reported injuries. Reports suggest that a third of these are from hand knives, a quarter from falling objects and a tenth from assault

n Contact dermatitis -‐ this is one of the main causes of ill health for catering employees. The numbers of new cases per year are twice the general industry average

Food for all and sensitive issues related to food

You should provide food that is appropriate to the cultural and religious need of your school population.

School lunch menus are designed for the majority of the school population, so you may need to cater individually for pupils with special dietary needs. Your school can decide whether this is feasible. It is not a legal requirement, but we encourage you to make every effort to cater for all pupils' needs.

The Children’s Food Trust recommend that schools develop a policy and procedure to ensure that a request for a special diet is handled in an efficient and appropriate way i.e. develop a protocol for managing special diets. It is good practice for these requirements to be written into any contracts that are developed with caterers. Catering providers and local authorities may already have policies and procedures in place.

Vegetarian diets

The Regulations do not specify that schools must provide a daily vegetarian option; however, schools must assess the dietary needs of their population, and make every effort to cater for all pupils’ needs in order to provide a popular and viable service.

A vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients needed for good health. However, it is important not to assume that all vegetarian diets are healthy, as some people may remove meat from their diet without consuming suitable alternatives. Also, it is harder to consume sufficient iron and zinc if a good variety of foods is not eaten.



The body absorbs iron more easily from animal sources – such as meat – than from non-‐animal sources such as cereals or vegetables. This means that vegetarians have to take extra care to make sure that they get enough iron.

Zinc intakes may also be lower among vegetarians. Eating a good variety of foods ensures that vegetarians have adequate zinc intakes. Sources of zinc include fortified breakfast cereals, tofu, nuts, peas, beans and lentils, sesame seeds and milk and cheese.

There is a wide range of vegetarian alternatives to meat foods available these days (vegetarian sausages, burgers, pies, cold ‘meats’ etc.) and these can sometimes be useful as part of a varied diet. However, don’t rely on these foods as many are high in salt and may be high in fat, and it is important to use as many real foods as possible in a healthy diet rather than relying on processed alternatives. Advice on vegetarian diets can be obtained from the Vegetarian Society.

Vegan diets

Vegans generally adopt a diet free of all animal products and will not eat milk, cheese, yoghurt or eggs as well as avoiding meat and fish. It is possible to eat well as a vegan, but care has to be taken and people should always seek advice on how to ensure that they get all the nutrients they need. Vegans need to ensure that they include sources of vitamin B12 and riboflavin in their diet. Advice on vegan diets can be obtained from the Vegan Society.

Special diets

For sources of information for schools and caterers on things to consider when providing food for children and young people with special requirements – for example, vegan, milk-‐free diets, diets for celiac disease and considerations for diabetics can be found at the following addresses:

The Coeliac Society 3rd floor Apollo Centre Desborough Road High Wycombe Bucks HP11 2QW T: 01494 437278 Helpline: 0845 305 2060 www.coeliac.org.uk

Diabetes UK Macleod House 10 Parkway London NW1 7AA T: 020 7424 1000 E: [email protected] www.diabetes.org.uk

Advice on all special diets can be obtained from a registered dietician or a registered public health nutritionist:

British Dietetic Association 5th Floor Charles House 148-‐9 Great Charles Street Queensway Birmingham B3 3HT T: 0121 200 8080 E: [email protected] www.bda.uk.com

Nutrition Society 10 Cambridge Court 210 Shepherd’s Bush Road London W6 7NJ T: 020 7602 0228 E: [email protected] www.nutritionsociety.org



Food allergy and intolerance

Food intolerance is defined as a reproducible and unpleasant reaction to a specific food or ingredient. True food allergy should always be taken seriously and expert advice sought. Teachers and support staff should be trained on what to do if a child has a severe reaction to a food. Up to date information about children who are known to be allergic to a food item should be on display in a prominent place in the school office and kitchen. It is advisable for schools to have a protocol for managing food allergy including a risk assessment and care pathway.

Find out more information on all aspects of allergy, food intolerance and chemical sensitivity at Allergy UK and the Food Standards Agency or advice on school management at Well at School.

From 13 December 2014 the EU Food Information for Consumers (EU FIC) Regulation applies. This means all food businesses (including schools) will have a legal responsibility to provide the correct allergen information about the ingredients that are in food and served to a customer.

Food business serving foods will have to supply information for every item on their menu that contains any of the 14 allergens as ingredients. Details of these allergens will have to be listed clearly in an obvious place such as:

n a menu

n chalkboard

n information pack

If it is not provided upfront, you will need to signpost to where it could be obtained, either in written or oral formats.

There are 14 major allergens which need to be declared when used as ingredients. The following list tells you what these allergens are and provides some examples of foods where they may be found:

Celery

This includes celery stalks, leaves and seeds and celeriac . It is often found in celery salt, salads, some meat products, soups and stock cubes .

Eggs

This is often found in cakes, some meat products mayonnaise, mousses, pasta, quiche, sauces and foods brushed or glazed with egg.

Fish

This is often found in some fish sauces, pizzas, relishes, salad dressings, stock cubes and in Worcestershire sauce.

Lupin

This includes lupin seeds and flour, and can be found in some types of bread, pastries and pasta.

Milk

This is found in butter, cheese, cream, milk powders and yoghurt. It is often used in foods glazed with milk, powdered soups and sauces.



Molluscs

This includes mussels, land snails, squid and whelks. It is often found in oyster sauce or as an ingredient in fish stews.

Mustard

This includes liquid mustard, mustard powder and mustard seeds. It is often found in breads, curries, marinades, meat products, salad dressing, sauces and soups.

Nuts

This includes almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia or Queensland nuts. These can be found in breads, biscuits, crackers, desserts, ice cream, marzipan (almond paste), nut oils and sauces. Ground, crushed or flaked almonds are often used in Asian dishes such as curries or stir fries.

Peanuts

This can be found in biscuits, cakes, curries, desserts and sauces such as for satay. It is also found in groundnut oil and peanut flour.

Sesame seeds

This can be found in bread, breadsticks, houmous, sesame oil and tahini (sesame paste).

Soya

This can be found in beancurd, edamame beans, miso paste, textured soya protein, soya flour or tofu. It is often used in some desserts, ice cream, meat products, sauces and vegetarian products

Sulphur dioxide

This is often used as a preservative in dried fruit, meat products, soft drinks and vegetables as well as in wine and beer.



School meals and Halal meat

The school food standards do not require schools to use halal meat if requested by parents and pupils. This decision is up to individual schools to decide and is usually dependant on the ethnic and cultural mix of the school’s population. The Children’s Food Trust recommends “schools assess the dietary needs of their population and make every effort to cater for all pupils’ needs, in order to provide a popular and viable service.”

The school food standards do not require those schools opting to use halal meat to provide a non-‐halal meat alternative, however it is recommended that the schools provide food that is appropriate to the whole school population.

To make the decision transparent and inclusive it is recommended that you consult parents and that your school agrees on a majority decision. This consultation process should be carried out on a regular basis so that current parents feel they have a voice.

You could apply various compromises, such as: n Providing both halal and non-‐halal meat choices. You have to

be Halal Licenced to do this

n Alternating the days when halal and non-‐halal meat is used.

n Providing halal meat as standard and non-‐halal meat on request or vice versa.

n Using either halal or non-‐halal meat daily and providing a vegetarian choice to those pupils who find this unacceptable.



Directory of organisations and websites that support teaching and learning in healthy eating and nutrition in primary schools

We have listed the organisations and websites under the following headings:

n Eating Well

n Cooking

n Food Growing and Production

Eating Well

5 A DAY

Website provides links to materials, recipes, and information about the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme.

British Heart Foundation

BHF produce a wide range of resources for use in schools by teachers and children or by parents and carers. As well as Healthy Eating other subject areas include Science; English; Personal, social and health education; Physical activity.

Caroline Walker Trust.

The Caroline Walker Trust produces evidence-‐based reports providing practical guidelines to encourage eating well. To download their ‘Eating well at School’ report, visit the website.

CASH

Consensus Action on Salt and Health is a group concerned with salt and its effects on health.

Change 4 Life

Department of Health/ Public Health England campaign, which encourages people to “eat well, move more, live longer. Lots of family and education resources on website.

Comic Company

Website outlining different resources, which can be purchased. Resources available for healthy eating and other health related matters etc.



Children’s Food Trust

The Children’s Food Trust supports provision of a balanced diet and quality food in early years and at school, together with better family cooking skills, lifestyle and food education.

Dairy Co

Dairy Co has produced a series of six learning journeys for primary schools. These stories engage children with farming and food production, healthy eating and cooking.

Department for Education

Information on food and nutrition teaching in the curriculum can be found on the website.

Fish is the dish

Fish is the Dish Education Resources Pack is a set of cross-‐curricular lessons and resources designed to engage children with fish as a food, the different species of fish, fish dishes and the health benefits of eating fish for KS1.

Food a fact of life

A website with downloadable resources for teachers on healthy eating in schools. This site is split into two sections, one for children aged 5-‐7 years and the other section for children aged 8-‐11 years.

Food in Schools

The website provides valuable guidance and resources for anyone working in or with a school on food related activities throughout the school day.

Grab 5

Produced by Sustain, this website promotes fruit and vegetables consumption across the primary school.

Great Grub Club

Website provides free ideas and downloadable resources for primary schools around healthy living.

Live Well

NHS website has information on eating well -‐ nutrition and healthy eating, includes information/ resources on the Eatwell Plate and links to other healthy eating ideas. Information applicable for all population groups, see Live Well section.

Sustain

Find out more about Sustain and their ‘Children’s Food Campaign’ for better school food, food skills, and protecting children from junk food marketing here.

Think Vegetables

This website provides a comprehensive source of information about vegetables. As well as information on all the main vegetables including how to use and store them, recipes, and learning resources.



Cooking

British Nutrition Foundation

Lots of recipes including food cards (recipes), posters, PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, ICT templates – information found under the Teacher Centre Section.

Children’s Food Trust

The Children’s Food Trust supports provision of a balanced diet and quality food in early years and at school, together with better family cooking skills, lifestyle and food education.

Dairy Co


Design and Technology Association

Website provides support, advice and subject leadership for all those involved in D&T education.

Food a fact of life


Food for Life Partnership

The Food for Life Partnership uses food as a way to improve the whole school experience – it works with schools and supports them to make lunchtimes a positive feature of the day and also provides support to enrich classroom learning with farm visits and practical cooking and growing.

Food Forum

A forum for teachers, parents and pupils to promote the use and enjoyment of food. Provides information on curriculum and resources to support this.

Food in Schools

The website provides valuable guidance and resources for anyone working in or with a school on food related activities throughout the school day.

Let’s Get Cooking

Let’s Get Cooking provide information, training and support around School-‐based cooking clubs for children and their families and is now the largest national network of healthy cooking clubs in the country

Think Vegetables

This website provides a comprehensive source of information about vegetables. As well as information on all the main vegetables including how to use and store them, recipes, and learning resources.



Food Growing and Production

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

The role of AHDB Education is to support and deliver a range of curriculum-‐based food, farming, growing and the environment education programmes for primary and secondary schools across the UK.

British Potato Council

Potatoes for schools is a project that teaches primary aged children about potatoes. Linked to the UK curricular, children learn how potatoes grow and how they fit in to a healthy balanced diet. Access a free potato growing kit, lesson plans and worksheets on their website.

Dairy Co


Fairtrade Foundation

For information on the Fairtrade Schools Awards, how to become a Fairtrade School and tips, ideas and resources visit the website.

Farming and Countryside Education

FACE have a strong commitment to education work associated with food, farming and the countryside and promote visits to farms alongside access to a wide range of resources and activities to complement both school-‐based studies and outdoor visits.

Farms for Schools

FFS aims to ensure that school trips to farms are safe, enjoyable and educationally worthwhile.

Flour and Grain Education Programme

GrainChain.com is a curriculum linked resource for teachers and parents to inform children about the story of grain-‐based food – from the farm to mill to plate. Find teaching materials, worksheets, videos, quizzes, recipes and activities about farming, milling and baking.

Food a fact of life


Food for Life Partnership

The Food for Life Partnership uses food as a way to improve the whole school experience – it works with schools and supports them to make lunchtimes a positive feature of the day and also provides support to enrich classroom learning with farm visits and practical cooking and growing.

Food Growing Schools London

Food Link

Foodlink is organised by the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the UK food and drink manufacturing industry. Provides information about food safety, including resources, games etc.



Garden Project

Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen Garden Project is a set of resources that enables primary schools to bring food skills to life. The project aims to teach children about food – what it is, where it comes from, and how it affects their bodies – whilst equipping them with valuable skills for life. Project materialis available to support core curriculum subjects and captivate children through food education and to encourage an understanding of the natural progression from the garden to the kitchen.

Growing Schools

Supports teachers in using the “outdoor classroom” as a resource across the curriculum for pupils of all ages. Provides downloadable resources for early years to KS4.

Love British Food

Website provides information about British Food. Provides a Teacher Zone specific to help plan and run activities around promoting British Food. There are downloadable pdfs resource packs; information about our ‘Cook for Life’ Challenge.

School Food Matters

Website provides evidence of why school food matters, great examples of best practice and fun ideas to get children cooking and growing and out onto a farm.

Sprouts

The Sprouts Project promotes a cross curricular approach in exploring the relationships between food, enterprise, sustainability and healthy eating.



Directory of books that supporting teaching and learning around healthy eating

We have listed the books under the following headings: n Healthy eating

n Healthy recipes and cooking

n Growing and gardening

Healthy Eating

Handa’s Surprise Eileen Browne, Walker Books Ltd, ISBN 9781406323979

Handa puts seven delicious fruits in a basket for her friend Akeyo. Which fruit will Akeyo like best, she wonders. After a long walk to the next village, the answer turns out to be a big surprise!

Mama Panya’s Pancakes; A Village Tale From Kenya Mary Chamberlin, Barefoot Books Ltd, ISBN 1905236638

Mama Panya has just enough money to buy ingredients for a few pancakes, so when her son Adika invites all their friends to join them, she is sure there will not be enough to go around. With facts about Kenya and Kiswahili.

Oliver’s Fruit Salad Vivian French, Hodder Children's Books, ISBN 0340704535

Oliver, when offered Canned juice by his mother, extols the virtue of fresh produce-‐specifically that grown by his grandfather -‐-‐ to such an extent that his mother spirits him off to the market where they stock up with heaps of tasty fruit...

Oliver’s Vegetables Vivian French, Hodder Children's Books, ISBN 0340634790

Do you like chips? Oliver does; in fact, he won't eat anything else -‐ until he plays a game with his grandpa. Whatever vegetable Oliver finds in the garden, he must eat. On Monday, he pulls up carrots, on Tuesday, it is spinach . . .

Charlie and Lola: I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato Lauren Child, Orchard Books, ISBN 1846168864

Lola will not eat peas. In fact, she won't eat carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, eggs, sausages, cauliflower, cabbage or baked beans. And she will absolutely not eat a tomato. But when Charlie explains that peas are actually green drops from Greenland, and that carrots are orange twiglets from Jupiter, even Lola is tempted to clear her plate.

Where Food Comes from Ronne Randall, TickTock Books, ISBN 1848980558

Learn where food comes from in a bright and modern way.



Healthy Recipes and Cooking

Eddie's Kitchen: and How to Make Good Things to Eat Sarah Garland, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, ISBN 1845075889

Baked apples from their apple tree, eggs from their chickens -‐ soon the table is filled with yummy birthday treats. But what did Lily do with all the carrots? The book includes recipes for making delicious and nutritious treats.

Ella's Kitchen: The Big Baking Book Hamlyn, ISBN 0600628752

A wide range of easy recipes for all occasions, from lunchtime to party time.

Children's Step-‐by-‐Step Cookbook Angela Wilkes, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0751351210

More than fifty easy-‐to-‐follow recipes -‐ from snacks and toast treats to pies and party cakes -‐ that are fun to make and delicious to eat. Clear step-‐by-‐step photographs show each stage of the recipe as well as all ingredients and utensils.

Children's World Cookbook Angela Wilkes, Usborne Publishing Ltd , ISBN 1409508994

This cookbook features stylish photographs, great recipes and simple step-‐by-‐step instructions with clear illustrations. There are over forty simple, delicious recipes from New York Cheesecake to Thai chicken in coconut sauce.

I Want to be a Chef -‐ Around The World Murdoch Books, ISBN 174196976X

Introduce young chefs to a whole new world of flavours. This book will give enthusiastic cooks, aged eight to fourteen, the chance to experience authentic dishes from 28 different countries without leaving home.



Growing and Gardening

How a Seed Grows Helene J Jordan, HarperCollins, ISBN 0064451070

A Seed is a tiny plant. Given soil, water and sunlight the seed will begin to grow.

Ten Seeds Ruth Brown, Andersen, ISBN 184939251X

If you plant ten seeds, what do you get? Follow nature's wonderful cycle in this engaging counting book with a difference!

Eddie's Garden: and How to Make Things Grow Sarah Garland, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, ISBN 1845070895.

How Eddie's garden grows and develops is clearly told in this gentle story with lively characters and colourful illustrations. The book includes full information on growing a garden like Eddie's in a home garden or even indoors.

Grow It, Eat It Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 140532810X

Children will love learning how to plant seeds and turn their produce into delicious meals that they can eat. And you don't need a garden: Grow It, Eat It includes plants that can all be grown in pots.

Growing Vegetable Soup Lois Ehlert, Harcourt Trade, ISBN 0152061762

Together, a father and child share the joys of planting, watering, and watching seeds grow. And once their harvest of tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, and corn is ready, they'll cook it up into the best soup ever!

Carrots Grow Underground (How Fruit and Vegetables Grow) Mari Schuh, Capstone Press, ISBN 1429661852

From juicy, ripe tomatoes on the vine to crunchy orange carrots underground, readers will learn all about how their favourite fruits and vegetables grow. Each book includes full-‐colour photographs and life-‐cycle diagrams.



Appendix 1: Information on children’s food and nutritional requirements

Healthy eating and physical activity are essential for everyone. Eating well is particularly important for children – both for growth and development and to ensure that all children achieve their maximum physical and mental potential. To help children develop healthy eating patterns from an early age, it is important that the food and eating patterns they are exposed to – both at home and outside the home – are those which promote positive attitudes to good nutrition.

Nutrition is the term we use to describe the relationship between food and drink and our bodies. It is the study of how food and drink affect health and development, and of the way the body works when it receives too many or too few nutrients, or the wrong balance of nutrients. Good nutrition is fundamental to all of us. One of the biggest misconceptions about healthy eating is that there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. Individual foods themselves don’t make a good or bad diet. It is the combination of foods and the frequency and amount of different foods that we have over time which hold the key to eating well.

These messages are summarised visually by the Eatwell plate.

Energy (calories)

Why children need energy

We all need a certain amount of energy (calories) to function and be active. Children also need energy for growth and development. Energy is measured in kilocalories (kcals), which is a metric term for calories. It can also be expressed in kilojoules (kJ). 1kcal equals approximately 4.2 kJ.

Key points about energy (calories)

Energy (or calories) is provided by fat, carbohydrate and protein in the food children eat.

We all need different amounts of energy. We need energy to keep our bodies and brains functioning but the amount we need each day also depends on how much we need for growth and to fuel the amount of activity we do.

Most of our energy should come from starchy foods such as bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. Some will also be provided by milk, other dairy products, eggs, meat, fish, beans and other protein alternatives.

Sugary drinks and snacks provide energy but they normally contain few other nutrients.



Fat

Fat is found in many foods. Saturated fats come mostly from animal foods – for example, meat, milk and other dairy products. Unsaturated fats – which include polyunsaturates – come from vegetable foods and fish.

Some fat in the diet is essential

What about fish oils or omega-‐3 fats?

Omega-‐3 fats are known to be important for brain development in babies in the womb and probably in the early weeks of life, and these fats are also thought to be beneficial for heart health in adults. There is, however, no clear evidence that supplements of omega-‐3 fats are beneficial for health in children or that they improve learning or concentration. It’s better to eat fish than to take fish-‐oil supplements, because as well as containing omega-‐3 fats, fish is an excellent source of other nutrients that will help children grow and be healthy.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy.

Most of the carbohydrates in our diet should come from starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, and from sugars naturally present in milk and other dairy foods and fruits and vegetables.

Children do not need sugar for energy. All carbohydrates break down in the body to simple sugars and it is better to have carbohydrates that break down more slowly. (These are often called foods with a low Glycaemic Index (GI) index, or ‘low-‐GI’ foods.)

To prevent tooth decay, it is important to reduce the amount of sugars that can damage teeth – for example the sugars in soft drinks, fruit juices, sweets and confectionery, cakes, biscuits and puddings.

Protein

Why children need protein

Protein is needed for growth and the maintenance and repair of body tissues – for example, skin, bone and body organs.

Key points about protein n Protein is essential for growth and repair of tissues.

n Most people in the UK have plenty of protein in their diets.

n Meat, fish, poultry, meat alternatives (such as eggs, beans, soya and nuts), dairy products and many cereal foods are all good sources of protein.

n Children who don’t eat meat can still get plenty of protein.

Fibre

Why children need fibre

Fibre (or NSP – non-‐starch polysaccharides) represents those parts of cereal and vegetable foods which are not broken down in the small intestine and which are particularly important for preventing constipation and other bowel disorders. It is also suggested that some components of NSP are important for lowering blood cholesterol levels.



Key points about fibre

Fibre helps food to pass swiftly through the body and helps to prevent constipation.

Fibre is found in whole grain products, and in fruits and vegetables.

If a child has constipation, an increase in fibre-‐rich foods, as well as more fluid, may help.

Vitamins

Vitamins are often divided into two groups: those that are fat-‐soluble and those that are water-‐soluble.

Fat-‐soluble vitamins

This group includes vitamins A, D, E and K. These are stored in the body and high doses of vitamin A or vitamin D should not be given. We do not know enough about vitamin E and vitamin K to set recommendations for intakes.

Vitamin A

n Vitamin A has many functions. It is important for fighting infections, for growth in children, and for good vision in dim light.

n Vitamin A is found both in animal foods as retinol, and in foods of fruit and vegetable origin as carotene.

n It may be difficult for young children to get enough vitamin A from animal foods, so it is important that every day they eat fruits and vegetables which can contribute carotene.

n Too much vitamin A is harmful, but a normal varied diet is very unlikely to provide too much.

Vitamin D

n Vitamin D is essential for healthy bone development.

n Vitamin D is obtained from the action of sunlight on the skin and from some foods.

n Oil-‐rich fish, eggs, fortified margarine, offal and some fortified breakfast cereals are good sources of vitamin D.

n Children who rarely go outside, or who wear clothing that covers most of their skin, or who have darker skin, are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

n Regular exposure to the summer sun is important, but children should wear protective clothing such as sunhats, and use appropriate sun blocks, to prevent sunburn.

n Vitamin D is toxic in large doses but this is unlikely from a normal varied diet.

Water-‐soluble vitamins

This group includes the B vitamins – thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, and folate – and vitamin C.

These vitamins are not stored in the body and, because they are water-‐soluble, they are also more likely to be destroyed by heat (for example by cooking and re-‐heating) or by oxidation if left exposed to the air (for example by chopping vegetables and leaving them for a long time before cooking).



Key points about B vitamins, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin C

B vitamins – thiamin, riboflavin and niacin

n These vitamins are particularly important for the brain and to enable the body to use the energy in food.

n Most children appear to get enough of these B vitamins if they eat a varied diet. Cereal foods and meat are good sources of thiamin and niacin, and dairy products are a good source of riboflavin.

Vitamin B6 and vitamin B12

n Most children have sufficient vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

n Vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal origin, so those who restrict all animal products (such as strict vegans) need to make sure they include a source of vitamin B12 in their diet.

Folate

Folate is an important vitamin for many metabolic processes and children will have adequate amounts if they regularly eat a variety of vegetables, breakfast cereals, dairy products and fruit.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for maintaining good health, for healthy skin and bone and for healing wounds. Children who rarely eat fruit and vegetables may well have too little vitamin C in their diets.

Fruit and vegetables must be eaten every day, as vitamin C cannot be stored in the body.

Minerals

There are a number of minerals in the diet including iron, calcium, zinc, copper, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and sodium. Three important ones for children are iron, calcium and zinc, which children may not get enough of, and sodium (part of salt) which might be present in too large amounts in their diets.

Iron

Iron is an essential part of the colour in red blood cells called haemoglobin, which carries oxygen. A deficiency in iron will cause anaemia. With anaemia, the blood transports less oxygen for the body’s needs and so limits the person’s ability to be physically active.

Key points about iron

n Iron is an essential part of the pigment in red blood cells called haemoglobin, which carries oxygen. A deficiency in iron will cause anaemia. A person with anaemia will have less oxygen for the body’s needs and so will make the person feel tired and lacking in energy.

n Children with anaemia may become pale and tired and their general health, resistance to infection and vitality will be impaired. There is also evidence that a child’s intellectual development and behaviour may be affected in the longer term.



n Iron is found in foods from both animal and non-‐animal sources but is absorbed better from animal sources – for example, meat, fish or poultry.

n Good sources of iron include red meats, liver and liver pâté (but liver should not be served more than once a week), oil-‐rich fish such as sardines, pilchards, mackerel, some fortified breakfast cereals, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit, and beans and pulses.

n Vitamin C may help the body to absorb iron from cereal and vegetable foods.

n Drinking tea with meals hinders the absorption of iron.

n Diets which provide lots of iron have plenty of meat, poultry, fish and fruits and vegetables. Children who do not eat meat need to have a varied diet containing cereal foods, pulses, vegetables and fruit.

Calcium

Calcium is needed for building and maintaining bones, for the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle actions and for many other body functions.

Key points about calcium n Calcium is essential for building and maintaining bones and

muscles.

n Dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese) are the best source of calcium.

n Children who avoid dairy products should ensure they have a suitable substitute (such as calcium-‐fortified soya milk).

n Green vegetables, soya products, sesame seeds, canned fish eaten with the soft bones, and white bread are some non-‐dairy sources of calcium.

Zinc

Zinc plays a major role in the functioning of every organ in the body. It is needed for normal metabolism of protein, fat and carbohydrate and is associated with the hormone insulin which regulates the body’s energy. Zinc is also involved in the immune system, the utilisation of vitamin A, and in wound healing.

Key points about zinc n Zinc is needed for all the organs in the body to function well,

for immunity and for wound healing.

n Zinc is found in meat and meat products, eggs, milk, cheese and cereal foods. Eating a varied diet which could include foods such as meat and meat dishes, wholegrain cereals, milk, milk products and eggs.

Sodium (salt)

Salt (sodium chloride) is the main source of dietary sodium. Sodium is essential for fluid balance, but too much is associated with raised blood pressure in later life, and this is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. The main source of sodium in the diet is as salt, added to manufactured foods and in cooking and at the table.

Key points about sodium (salt) n Everyone – both children and adults – is advised to cut down

on the amount of salt they eat.



n Children who regularly eat snack foods such as crisps or salted nuts, tinned foods in sauce such as spaghetti and beans, and take-‐away and fast foods – may be getting too much salt.

n Having salty snacks every day can get children used to the taste of salty foods. It is better to serve these foods occasionally with meals rather than as a snack.

n Fresh meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables are low in sodium and should be cooked and served with no or minimal added salt.

n The government has provided guidance on choosing foods with a lower salt content: see www.nhs.uk/livewell/

Key points about other minerals Children who eat a varied diet that provides enough of all the nutrients described above are also likely to obtain enough of all the other minerals they need for good health.



Appendix 2: Tools and Risk Assessments Supporting Cooking

Describing Food Worksheet

Looking at ………………………………………….

Name of the food

Draw and label

Sensory words

Any other information



Hygiene and Safety Checklist -‐ Teachers n A letter has been sent home to check whether any children in the class have food

allergies, special dietary requirements, religious or cultural beliefs that prevent

them handling or tasting certain foods.

n Classroom furniture is in a safe, practical arrangement.

n Cooking surfaces wiped with antibacterial spray (and covered with plastic cloths if

available).

n Equipment is clean and ready for use (count knives and sharp tools out and in).

n Ingredients are ready for use -‐ if necessary some have been partly prepared or

weighed.

n All jewellery and nail varnish removed.

n Long hair tied back.

n Hands are clean -‐ washed with soap or handwash and dried thoroughly.

n Aprons on.

n Children know they must wash their hands again if they touch raw meat, blow their

nose, cough or sneeze into their hands, touch hair, cuts or spots.

n Children know they must remove their apron if they go to the toilet; wash their

hands in the toilet sink when they have used the toilet and re-‐wash in the

classroom sink before they go back to their cooking.

n Children know how to use the equipment safely (teacher demonstrate).



Pupils Hygiene and Safety Rules

n Make sure that all equipment and utensils are clean and that food contact surfaces

are disinfected.

n Check that the fridge and freezer are in good working order.

n Before cooking, you should tie back long hair, wash hands and put on an apron.

n Vegetables and fruits should always be washed if they are not going to be peeled.

n Make sure that you use separate chopping boards for meat, fish and vegetables.

n You should always wash your hands after handling raw meat or fish.

n Food should be cooked and chilled properly.

n Avoid leaving perishable food at room temperature for too long.

n Use products within the ‘best before’ or ‘use by dates’.

n Always be careful with knives and other sharp cooking equipment.

n Never walk around carrying knives!!

n Wash your hands often while cooking, especially after handling raw foods, blowing

your nose, touching the bin or using the toilet.

n Take off bracelets or rings.

n Make sure the working surface is kept clean and disinfected.

n Make sure that anything spilled on the floor is wiped up immediately

n Throw away any food that has fallen on the floor.

n Cover cuts with colored waterproof plasters/dressings.

n Empty all of the rubbish bins as they fill up and dispose of any appropriately.



Risk Assessment Primary Schools – Knifes

Lesson: Teacher: Date:

n Knives should be stored in a locked cupboard at all times except for

lesson

n The teacher/teaching assistant collect the knives from the locked

area

n Count the knives out at the beginning of the lesson

n Pupils are not to carry these knives – the teacher/teaching assistant

needs to put the knives in the correct places

n Knives should always be held by the handle with the blade pointing

to the ground

n Pupils must be shown the correct technique to cut with vegetable

knives -‐ bridge, fork secure and claw hold

n All teachers/teaching assistants must use these methods

n Sign the knives in at the end of the lesson

n Count knives in at the end of the lesson

n Return knives to the locked cupboard



Risk Assessment Primary School – Hot Food

Lesson: Teacher: Date:

n Pupils should be shown how to use oven gloves and the reason why

n Pupils should be shown how to put baking trays/dishes into the hot oven safely

n Pupils should not be allowed to put baking trays into the hot oven

n Pupils should not be allowed to take hot baking trays/dishes out of the hot oven

n Pupils should understand why hot baking trays/dishes should be placed on a trivet to cool

n Pupils should understand why a cooling rack is used to place hot food on to cool

n Pupils may use palette knives to lift hot foods off a baking tray providing an adult is holding the tray and watching carefully that the pupil does not get too close

n Pupils should not be given foods straight from the oven to taste

n Pupils should be supervised very carefully at all times if hot equipment is in the work area

n Pupils should not work at the hob with hot equipment/food

n Pan handles should not be left sticking out from the hob



Skills Checklist Use this checklist to record the skills and techniques you learn and demonstrate during the training course.

SKILL USED

Recipe 1

Recipe 2 Recipe 3 Recipe 4 Recipe 5

Bridge hold

Claw grip

Flat side down

Part prepare

Fork secure

Peel (away)

Grate

Chop

Scissor chop

Slice

Zest

Juice



Appendix 3: Tools and Risk Assessments Supporting Food Growing Part of Plant that are Edible

Name of vegetable

Part of plant

Picture Do I like it?

J K L

Carrot

Radish

stalk

root

leaf

flower

J K L

Broccoli

Cauliflower

stalk root

leaf

flower

J K L

Rhubarb

Celery

stalk root

leaf

flower

J K L

Lettuce

Rosemary

stalk

root

leaf

flower

J K L



Health and Safety Top Tips for Growing n When working with plants, pupils and teachers should always wash their hands after

handling plants (including seeds), soils, composts, manures, equipment and other related materials.

n Plants (and parts of plants) can be poisonous, cause allergic reactions in some people or may have been treated with chemicals (such as pesticides)

n It is particularly important that pupils understand that they must never eat plants found in the wild or in the school grounds, unless given instructions that they may do so.

n Please remember that wild flowers should not be picked and it is illegal for anyone (without the permission of the owner or occupier) to uproot any wild plant.

n For growing plants in film pots, use any good quality multipurpose potting compost. Mix the compost 50: 50 with fine grade vermiculite to help retain moisture (but this is not essential). Wherever possible, use a peat-‐free compost as this encourages awareness of environmental concerns. However, when investigating the effect of adding different amounts of fertiliser, it is necessary to use a compost that is low in mineral salts, so here moss peat works well. Vermiculite on its own does not supply plants with enough physical support. For growing insectivorous plants, many thrive only on moss peat, but buy the minimum that you need.

n There may be some confusion about the use of the term ‘compost’. The process of composting is used in many gardens as a way of decomposing waste plant material (including some household waste, such as vegetable peelings) and converting it into a soil-‐like material, known as compost (see, for example, OSMOSIS 18). The decomposition occurs as a result of microbial activity (mainly bacteria and fungi). The resulting compost is a valuable material for use in the garden, supplying nutrients (in the form of mineral salts) and contributing to improved soil structure and texture. Gardeners also use prepared ‘composts’ for growing seeds and plants, particularly during their young stages. These prepared ‘potting composts’ are made up of various mixtures of loam or peat, with sand or grit and added nutrients. They are sieved to provide a fine and uniform texture and sterilised to remove weed seeds. For this booklet, we have adopted the neutral term ‘soil mix’ to avoid confusion with different types of composts and other growing materials.

n Several kinds of capillary matting are available, with different textures and weights. Lightweight types are preferable for use in the classroom. Capillary matting may seem relatively expensive, but it can be re-‐used several times). Wash the matting carefully and soak it in a very dilute sterilising solution, prepared from sterilising tablets used for babies’ feeding bottles. Rinse thoroughly before using it again.

n There are plenty of pots or containers that can be used, including yoghurt pots or small plastic flower pots.

n For very young children, it is best to use large seeds, which are easy for them to handle. Suitable examples are peas, beans, sunflower and sweet corn. Other seeds that are good for growing in the classroom and using in investigations include mustard, cress, mung bean and wheat. Make sure that any seeds you use are within the sowing date. Seeds may be dusted with fungicide and it is good practice to teach the children that they should never put seeds in their mouth and must always wash their hands after handling



seeds.

n The life cycle of a sugar snap pea and how to grow it are described in 'Parts of a plant and their functions'. For younger children, it is an ideal plant to grow because the seeds are large enough for children to handle and the life cycle is relatively short. Seeds sown in March produce flowers in June and edible peas would be produced by the end of the summer term (July). It can be grown out of doors or in the classroom.

n The radish is a useful plant for carrying out simple investigations. The seed is inexpensive and widely available. Seeds in a single packet show relatively little genetic variation, compared with some other plants. This means that when comparisons are made, differences are likely to be due to the experimental conditions rather than variation between the seeds. They can be grown successfully in film pots. Radish plants are small and compact and, if grown under a light bank, can give a ‘crop’ within three to four weeks. This crop can then be measured in a variety of ways.



Appendix 4: Whole School Food Policy Template

Mission/Rationale

How will having a food policy complement or contribute toward your schools overall aims. Refer to the school aims and what food goals would relate to these in this section. This policy is a working document and designed to develop with our school.

For example:

This policy, like all others in the school, supports the school’s Mission statement “….”,The whole school food policy will enable us to develop and maintain a share philosophy on all aspects of food and drink.

Name of member of SMT responsible for school food

Detail the person by name and their usual role within the school (e.g. governor, deputy head etc).

For example:

Headteacher (Melissa Herbert) has overall responsibility for food in school, for policy development and for ensuring all providers on school premises are aware of the policy

People with key responsibilities for food in schools

Specify named members of staff who will oversee and co-‐ordinate food issues. Summarise their key role and responsibilities. This might include the Headteacher, catering companies, school cook, governors, Healthy school Co-‐ordinator, teachers responsible for nutrition in the curriculum, lunchtime supervisors, breakfast club and after school club managers.

For example: • Catering company (Chartwells) – responsible for menus, nutritional analysis and

standards • School Cook (xxxx) – responsible for managing the kitchen staff team; preparation,

cooking and serving of school lunches. • Governors – Responsible for overseeing and coordinating food issues. Our governor

responsible specifically for food is xxxxxx. • Caterer/School/External Adviser (xxxx)– responsible for overseeing and

coordinating nutrition education for pupils and training for staff where required.

Aim of the Whole School Food Policy

To ensure that all aspects of food and nutrition in school promote the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and visitors to the school.



Objectives (including responsibilities – who will ensure this happens, and how?)

Nutrition in the curriculum • Link to PSHE policy/curriculum

For example: Nutrition is part of the PSHE programme and the aspect of `choices’. In science, pupils study ‘health and growth’ in year 2, ‘teeth and eating’ in year 3, ‘keeping healthy’ in year 5. In SRE where other religions are considered – attitudes to particular foods are studied. In design and technology, pupils receive practical cookery skills.

• To ensure that information relating to food and nutrition in the curriculum is

consistent and up to date.

The eating environment

Detail school facilities for food (vending, kitchens, dining room), time provided for lunch, adequacy of dining room (size, number of chairs, tables, cutlery, atmosphere).

• The school should provide a welcoming eating environment that is appropriate

to the children and young people who use it. • Time for lunch break should be sufficient to enable all pupils to purchase and eat

their meal. • Teachers should be aware of influence of role modelling and their presence in

the dining room to monitor behaviour/noise.

School Food Audit

Summarise the key findings from HEP’s self-‐evaluation audit. This audit will direct your food policy.

Who was consulted and how (e.g. parents, staff, pupils)

Local health records if possible (childhood obesity, dental health records, income and deprivation)

School meal monitoring? By caterer of external adviser?

Monitoring and education regarding packed lunches Evidence base for prioritisation from consultation

For example: • All parents, pupils and staff were consulted. The pupils were asked to write a half

page essay on school lunches and were also interviewed. Parents were invited to fill in a questionnaire.

• The majority of students had a general awareness of the desirability of healthy eating and the importance of drinking water and reducing fat, sugar and salt intake.

• Parents were encouraging and supporting but requested more time for lunch and better lunch-‐time variety and more cold-‐food options.

We are considering a computerised system allows the kitchen to monitor food choices. At present our most popular dishes are xxxxxxx and xxxxxxxx.



• Provide information that will help in monitoring in the future (e.g. 30min is given for lunch)

Rewards and Special occasions

Link to behaviour and rewards policy • Food should not be used for rewards.

For example:

food is not used for rewards – instead we rely on praise, complimentary remarks, stickers, stars and celebration assembly certificates etc. Food is not used for end-‐of-‐term presents to pupils.

• Consider how food provided for seasonal celebrations will be monitored and kept healthy

• Consider what will happen with food provision outside of the school day e.g. end of term discos

For example:

For exceptional events such as school discos and cultural occasions, food rules may be relaxed with the consultation with the Headteacher. On these occasions, healthy options will continue to be provided and encouraged.

• Consider what happens on children’s birthdays

Communication • Outline how consultation with parents, pupils and governors occurs.

Discussions with caterers, pupils, parents and teachers

For example:

through informal and formal meetings, phone calls, questionnaires, curriculum evenings, display boards etc.

Quality assurance • Staff offering practical cookery skills sessions should have basic food hygiene

training • Staff teaching nutrition should receive training to ensure a consistent

approach and baseline knowledge of healthy eating • Outside visitors should be made aware of the policy and ethos of the school

towards healthy eating before planning their sessions • Expert advice will be sought for matters outside of basic healthy eating advice

to ensure an evidence-‐based approach to nutrition within the school.

School food and drink provision

The Requirements for School Food Regulations

The Department for Education have published the new school food regulations now to give schools, caterers, suppliers and food manufacturers time to familiarise themselves with the changes and to make any necessary preparations. The standards will become statutory from January 2015.



The standards are based on the following food groups:

• Starchy food • Fruit and vegetables • Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-‐dairy sources of protein • Milk and dairy • Foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt • Plus, healthier drinks

The general principle of the new standards emphasises the importance of providing a wide range of foods across the week. Variety is key – whether it is different fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses or types of meat and fish. Offering a wider range of different foods provides a better balance of nutrients.

Revised standards for school lunches

Food group Food-‐based standards for school lunches

STARCHY FOOD

One or more portions of food from this group every day

Three or more different starchy foods each week

One or more wholegrain varieties of starchy food each week

Starchy food cooked in fat or oil no more than two days each week (applies to food served across the whole school day)

Bread -‐ with no added fat or oil -‐ must be available every day

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

One or more portions of vegetables or salad as an accompaniment every day

One or more portions of fruit every day

A dessert containing at least 50% fruit two or more times each week

At least three different fruits, and three different vegetables each week

MEAT, FISH, EGGS, BEANS AND OTHER NON-‐DAIRY SOURCES OF PROTEIN

A portion of food from this group every day

A portion of meat or poultry on three or more days each week

Oily fish once or more every three weeks

For vegetarians, a portion of non-‐dairy protein three or more days a week

A meat or poultry product (manufactured or homemade and meeting the legal requirements) no more than once a week in primary schools and twice each week in secondary schools, (applies across the whole school day)

MILK AND DAIRY

A portion of food from this group every day

Lower fat milk and lactose reduced milk must be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours

FOODS HIGH IN FAT, SUGAR AND SALT

No more than two portions a week of food that has been deep-‐fried, batter-‐coated or breadcrumb-‐coated (applies across the whole school day)

No more than two portions of food which include pastry each week (applies across the whole school day) No snacks, except nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit with no added salt, sugar or fat (applies across the whole school day)



In addition:

• School food other than lunch (breakfast, mid-‐morning break, after school

club food) required to meet the revised standards. • Menus will be made available to pupils and parents • Vending, if to be used in the school, should adhere to government

standards • Packed lunches –guidance sent home to parents and how packed

lunches are stored / monitored • Food provision outside of lunchtimes e.g. after school clubs, trips meets

the revised food standards

Savoury crackers or breadsticks can be served at lunch with fruit or vegetables or dairy food

No confectionery, chocolate and chocolate-‐coated products

Desserts, cakes and biscuits are allowed at lunchtime. They must not contain any confectionary.

Salt must not be available to add to food after it has been cooked

Any condiments limited to sachets or portions of no more than 10 grams or one teaspoonful.

HEALTHIER DRINKS applies across the whole school day

The only drinks permitted are: • Plain water (still or carbonated) • Lower fat milk or lactose reduced milk • Fruit or vegetable juice (max 150mls) • Plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium, yoghurt drinks • • Unsweetened combinations of fruit or vegetable juice with plain water • Combinations of fruit juice and lower fat milk or plain yoghurt, plain soya, rice or oat drinks

enriched with calcium; cocoa and lower fat milk; flavoured lower fat milk • Tea, coffee, hot chocolate

Combination drinks are limited to a portion size of 330mls. They may contain added vitamins or minerals, but no more than 5% added sugars or honey or 150mls fruit juice. Fruit juice combination drinks must be at least 45% fruit juice



Monitoring and evaluation

Link to working with partner agencies policy • Outline how school food choices are monitored and how this is then

incorporated into menu planning

For example:

The Headteacher meets monthly with the school cook to monitor school food choices and menu planning

Our Cashless system enables the kitchen to monitor pupil’s choices and incorporate this into menu planning.

Monitoring of school food choices and incorporating this into menu planning

• Observation of food choices available and modification as necessary

For example:

If pupils are noted to consistently choose/bring unhealthy packed lunches, parents are contacted to discuss and encourage other options.

• Discussions with caterers, pupils, parents and teachers

For example:

Food concerns will be discussed with caterers, pupils, parents and staff as the need arises

• Timelines • Pupil questionnaire

Involvement of parents and carers

Parent’s views should be sought at every stage of the policy development and review process. Risks of parents not following policy should be identified and negotiated

For example:

Parent and carer feedback of the Food Policy has been sought via questionnaires, newsletters and consultations throughout the consultation period. When reviewing the policy, views will be sought in a similar format. If pupils are noted to consistently choose/bring unhealthy packed lunches, parents are contacted to discuss and encourage other options.

Meeting the needs of pupils with special dietary needs

• How does your school manage pupils with special dietary needs (such as food allergies, medical issues e.g. diabetes or coeliac desease).

• Does the school have continencias in place ready for the changes to the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, allergen labelling rules which come into force on 13th December 2014

• How does your school manage and monitor pupils with cultural dietary changes (such as vegetarian or vegan). Even if you do not currently have pupils with these requirements, how will they be managed when you do?

• Consider how your school will manage fussy and faddy eaters for



those with KS1 pupils? • Discussions with caterers, pupils, parents and teachers

For example:

Our school is a nut-‐free zone to control for tose with nut allergies. Epipens are kept in the school office and training was provided for staff in September 2014 about the new Food Information for Consumer regulations (FIC EU) When pupils are enrolled, dietary requirements are requested via a questionnaire and catering are informed appropriate. Pupils with cultural diets are recognised by catering by photo’s placed near the service area. In this way, catering staff can encourage appropriate meals and not exclude pupils in any way.

Links to other policies Behaviour and rewards policy

Physical activity policy

Health and Safety Policy

Equal opportunities and inclusion

Working with partner agencies

PSHE

Dissemination of policy to the whole school community will be through inclusion within school prospectus, on school entry and annually thereafter.

Date of policy implementation

Approved by

Date of policy review



Appendix 5: Packed Lunch Policy Template

Name of school:

Policy approved and adopted:

Due for review:

:

Due for review:

Due for review:

Overall aim of the policy: e.g: To ensure that all packed lunches brought from home and consumed in school (or on school trips) provide the pupil with healthy and nutritious food that is similar to food served in schools, which is now regulated by national standards.

School setting:

If the children at your school have any particular special educational and health needs, or cultural or religious beliefs which may impact on diet, it may be helpful to include a brief description here.

How and why the policy was formulated:

This should include membership of the working party, the process of developing the policy and issues considered. Include how you consulted with parents, pupils and governors before reaching decisions. Include the reasons why you decided to introduce a packed lunch policy e.g.

To make a positive contribution to children’s health and Healthy Schools Status

To encourage a happier and calmer population of children and young people

To promote consistency between packed lunches and food provided by schools, which must adhere to national standards set by the government

Where, when and to whom the policy applies: e.g. To all pupils and parents providing packed lunches to be consumed within school or on school trips during normal school hours.



Food and drink in packed lunches: what the policy states

Schools are advised to select and adapt policies from the below suggestions as appropriate for their individual circumstances.

The school will provide facilities for pupils bringing in packed lunches and ensure that free, fresh drinking water is readily available at all times.

The school will work with the pupils to provide attractive and appropriate dining room arrangements

The school will work with parents to ensure that packed lunches abide by the standards listed below.

As fridge space is not available in school, pupils are advised to bring packed lunches in insulated bags with freezer blocks where possible to stop the food going off.

Wherever possible the school will ensure that packed lunch pupils and school dinner pupils will be able to sit and eat together.

Packed lunches should include:

At least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables every day.

Meat, fish or other source of non-‐dairy protein (e.g. lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, hummus, peanut butter and falafel) every day

Oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks.

A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other type of cereals every day.

dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard everyday

only water, still or sparkling, fruit juice, semi-‐skimmed or skimmed milk, yoghurt or milk drinks and smoothies.

Packed lunches should not include:

snacks such as crisps. Instead, include nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added salt, sugar or fat).

confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate-‐coated biscuits and sweets. Cakes and biscuits are allowed but encourage your child to eat these only as part of a balanced meal.

Meat products such as sausage rolls, individual pies, corned meat and sausages / chipolatas should be included only occasionally.

Special diets and allergies

Be aware of nut allergies. We recommend you visit the www.allergyinschools.co.uk website for accurate, reliable information on managing allergies in schools.

The school also recognises that some pupils may require special diets that do not allow for the standards to be met exactly. In this case parents are urged to be responsible in ensuring that packed lunches are as healthy as possible. For these reasons pupils are also not permitted to swap food items.

Parents are discouraged from including the following items.

If you chose to include them, please only include one item from left hand side per lunchbox per day.

Item As an alternative please include

Snacks such as crisps Instead, include nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added sugar, salt or fat).



Parents are discouraged from including the following items.

Alternatives are indicated in the right column

Item As an alternative please include

Snacks such as crisps

Instead, include nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added sugar, salt or fat).

Savoury crackers or breadsticks served with fruit, vegetables or dairy food are also a good choice, e.g. cheese spread and crackers.

Confectionary, such as chocolate-‐coated biscuits and cakes.

Cakes and biscuits are allowed but encourage your child to eat these as part of a balanced meal. Healthier alternatives include a small tub of rice pudding, malt loaf, scone or current bun.

Meat products such as sausage rolls, individual pies, corned meat and sausages/chipolatas.

Choose non-‐processed alternatives such as chicken drumsticks, pasta salad or mixed salad, or ham and pineapple pizza slice.

Chocolate bars and sweets are not allowed to be taken to or consumed at school for packed lunch or snacks.

Assessment, Evaluation and Reviewing:

Packed lunches will be regularly reviewed by teaching staff / catering staff / midday meal supervisors / pre-‐identified pupil packed lunch helpers (delete as appropriate). Healthy lunches will be rewarded by…. (stickers / certificates / congratulatory letters home / etc)

Parents and pupils who do not adhere to the Packed Lunch Policy will receive a leaflet in the packed lunch informing them of the Policy. If a child regularly brings a packed lunch that does not conform to the policy then the school will contact the parents to discuss this.

Please note: pupils with special diets will be given due consideration.

Involvement of parents/carers: Pupils are normally expected to eat the lunch provided by the school. However, parents of pupils wishing to have packed lunches for a particular reason are expected to provide their children with packed lunches which conform to the packed lunch policy. In turn, the school will keep the parents and the School Nutrition Action Group / Packed Lunch group informed as per the methods detailed below under “Dissemination of the Policy”.



Dissemination of the policy:

The school will write to all new and existing parents/carers to inform them of the policy via the school newsletter.

The policy will be available on the school’s website and will be incorporated into the school prospectus, assemblies, web portal etc.

The school will use opportunities such as parents evenings and Healthy Living weeks to promote this policy as part of a whole school approach to healthier eating.

All school staff, including teaching and catering staff and the school nurse, will be informed of this policy and will support its implementation.

Linked policies: List all of the school’s policies that are relevant to healthier eating. E.g. food technology, PSHE, science, technology (primary schools), on site policy etc.

Signed:

Dated:

Review Date:



Appendix 6: Pupil Survey Template

Engaging the pupils is a great way to find out how they think the dining environment could be improved.

What do you think of your school dining room?

How would you rate your school dining room?

Our school dining room is

brilliant!

J

K

Our school dining room is

awful!

L

5

9

4

7

3

5

2

3

1

1

How do you think your school dining room could be improved? 1.

2.

3.

My School is: _____________________________________ I am in Year ____



Appendix 7: Packed Lunch Survey School: Year: Name:

1. DOES YOUR LUNCH CONTAIN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING STARCHY FOODS?

Bread ¨ Potatoes ¨

Pasta ¨ Other

Rice ¨ ________________________________

2. DOES YOUR LUNCH CONTAIN ANY PROTEIN?

Chicken ¨ Pork ¨

Egg ¨ Lentils ¨

Beans ¨ Ham ¨

Beef ¨ Other

_______________________________

3. DOES YOUR LUNCH CONTAIN ANY FRUITS OR VEGETABLES? Tick one box

If yes, please list what the lunch contains: __________________________________________

4. DOES THE LUNCH CONTAIN ANY SOURCE OF CALCIUM?

Cheese ¨ Milk ¨

Yoghurt ¨ Other ________________________________

5. DOES THE LUNCH CONTAIN A SNACK? e.g. chocolate, crisps, cake, biscuit and cereal bar?

If yes, please list what the lunch contains: __________________________________________

YES NO

YES NO



6. WHAT TYPE OF DRINK IS INCLUDED WITH THE LUNCH?

a) Sweetened drink e.g. fizzy drink, squash or artificially sweetened ¨

b) Unsweetened drink e.g. milk or water ¨

Other _____________________________________________________________________

7. DESCRIBE ANY OTHER PRODUCTS INCLUDED IN THE LUNCH BOX e.g. cheese strings



Appendix 8: Lunchbox ideas The British Heart Foundation20 has developed the following week of lunchbox ideas using tried and tested favourites that children will love. The suggestions meet the nutritional standards for lunch, so you can be sure children are getting all the nutrients they need to keep them going.

Monday:

n Egg and cress sandwich on wholemeal bread

n Chopped tomato & cucumber.

n Reduced fat fromage frais. Plain popcorn

n Orange juice (100% pure fruit juice or made from concentrate)

Tuesday:

n Pitta bread stuffed with chicken and tomato slices.

n Tinned peaches in juice with low fat custard.

n Slice of malt loaf

n Water

Wednesday:

n Granary roll with hummus, lettuce, tomato and cucumber

n Pear

n Low fat yogurt

n Currant bun

n Water

Thursday:

n Tuna and sweetcorn pasta salad with red peppers

n 2 satsumas

n Low fat fruit yogurt

n Pineapple juice (100% pure fruit juice or made from concentrate)

Friday:

n Homemade mini pizza rounds

n Small handful of dried apricots

n Tzatziki with sticks of red pepper

n Apple juice (100% pure fruit juice or made from concentrate)

20 British Heart Foundation



Get the balance right

n Include a good helping of fruit and vegetables – aim for a portion of each

n Have some starchy food – like bread, rice or pasta

n Choose some lean protein – chicken, turkey, fish, boiled eggs, pulses and beans.

n Go for some low fat dairy food – like low fat yoghurt, fromage frais or reduced fat cheese

n Add in a drink – water, pure unsweetened fruit juice or low fat milk

n Use front of pack labelling to make healthy choices about saturated fat, total fat, salt and sugar

Make sure it comes back eaten

No matter how nutritionally balanced your lunch box is there will be no nutritional value to it if it remains uneaten!

n Keep it cool – few schools have refrigerated areas for lunchboxes so use mini lunchbox coolers or freeze cartons of juice or bottles of still water to put in the lunchbox and keep it cool.

n Avoid soggy sandwiches – put wet vegetables like tomato slices between your main filling and some lettuce to protect the bread.

n Make fruit and vegetables easy to eat – cut them into chunks, sticks or shapes rather than leaving them whole.

n Make it fun – decorate sandwich bags or yoghurt pots with stickers or draw funny faces on fruits like bananas, oranges and satsumas that have peel that you remove before eating.

n Let your child choose their lunchbox and add bright coloured napkins and plastic cutlery.

n Involve your children in deciding what goes into their lunchbox.



Appendix 9: Summary of foods, restricted and permitted for breakfast clubs and after school clubs Breakfast Clubs

Examples of food and drinks allowed

Examples of food and drinks restricted

Implication for Breakfast Clubs

Fruit and Vegetables

• Fruit – fresh, frozen, dried or tinned varieties

• Vegetables – fresh, frozen or tinned varieties

• Dried fruit or dried vegetables with added fat, sugar or salt

• Processed fruit bars

Fruit must be available every morning at Breakfast Clubs

Cold Items

• Breakfast cereals with milk or yoghurt

• Yoghurt or fromage frais

• English muffins

• Plain currant/raisin bread

• Bagels

• Fillings/toppings: cheese, spread, jam, honey peanut butter

• Breakfast cereals coated with chocolate

• Cereal bars

• Buns: American (sweet) muffins

• Pastries: croissants

All breakfast cereals can be served with the exception of chocolate coated cereals. It is recommended to provide low sugar cereals such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat and Rolled Oats

Hot Items

• Toast, bagels and crumpets

• Fillings/toppings: baked beans, spaghetti, eggs (boiled, scrambled or poached)

• Porridge

• Toast with chocolate spread

• Sausages – restricted to once a fortnight across the school day which must take into account what is served at lunchtime and afterschool (please liaise with your school meal caterer and afterschool club lead)

It is recommended to provide a variety of granary, wholemeal or Best of Both / 50/50 breads

Drinks

• Plain water – still

• Skimmed or semi-‐skimmed milk (whole milk may be provided to pupils until the end of the school year in which they reach five years of age)

• Pure fruit juice or vegetable juice

• Flavoured water

• Squash / cordial

• Flavoured milk

Fresh drinking water must be available every morning at Breakfast Club



• Plain yoghurt drinks containing less than 5% added sugars or honey

• Plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium

• Tea, coffee or low calorie hot chocolate

After School Clubs

Examples of food and drinks allowed

Examples of food and drinks restricted

Implication for After School Clubs

Fruit and Vegetables • Fruit – fresh, frozen, dried or

tinned varieties • Vegetables – fresh, frozen or

tinned varieties

• Dried fruit or dried vegetables with added fat, sugar or salt

• Processed fruit bars

Fruit and/or vegetables must be available every day at After School Clubs

Cold Items • Yoghurt or fromage frais • English muffins • Plain currant/raisin bread • Sandwiches • Bagels, Baguettes, pitta bread and rolls with fillings

• Fillings/toppings: cheese, spread, jam, honey peanut butter, tuna, eggs

• Any type of confectionery • Cereal bars • Crisps and crisp-‐like products • Cakes: slices of cake, individual cakes (sponge cake, Swiss roll)

• Buns: American (sweet) muffins, Chelsea buns

• Pastries: croissants, Danish pastries, jam tarts, mince pies, custard tarts

• Biscuits -‐ all types sweet and savoury: digestive, flapjacks, cream crackers and oatcakes

It is recommended to provide a variety of granary, wholemeal or Best of Both / 50/50 breads.

Crisps, cakes and biscuits must not be served at After School Clubs

Hot Items • Toast, bagels and crumpets • Toasted sandwiches • Warm pitta bread • Paninis • Fillings/toppings: baked beans,

spaghetti, eggs (boiled, scrambled or poached), tuna, cheese

• Pizza slice with toppings • Jacket potato with toppings • Bowls of noodles/rice with vegetables and/or meat

• Soup

• Toast with chocolate spread • Meat Products: hamburgers, sausages, chipolatas, luncheon meat, hot dogs, frankfurters, salami, sausage rolls, samosa, chicken or turkey nuggets, scotch eggs – restricted to once a fortnight across the school day which must take into account what is served at lunchtime and breakfast

• Starchy food cooked in oil or fat: fried rice, fried bread, garlic bread – restricted to three times a week across the school day which must take into account what is served at lunchtime

It is recommended to provide a variety of granary, wholemeal or Best of Both / 50/50 breads



and breakfast • Deep fried products: potato wedges, chips, spring rolls, fish fingers – restricted to three times a week across the school day which must take into account what is served at lunchtime and breakfast

Documents

HealthyEatingandNutrition Framework! …healtheducationpartnership.com/resources/Barnet_HE_Framework.pdf · term!health and wellbeing! of! children and ... Improved!health,!behaviour!and!performance!