New life through...
NUTRITION
In our school, we take Nutrition & Health seriously and
have implemented a school food policy to support this.
The future health of individuals can be influenced by their diet in childhood.
Healthy eating contributes to a feeling of well being and there are clear
benefits from this to the school in terms of attainment, behaviour and punctuality.
The benefits of healthy eating are substantial. Nutrition related diseases are
increasing in the UK and one of the major threats to health is obesity. Schools have a key role in encouraging
a healthy diet to help achieve the Public Service Agreement to halt the year on year rise in obesity among
children under the age of 11 by 2010.
Aims
- To ensure that the school provides clear, consistent and coherent messages about food and drink to
promote the health and well being of pupils, staff and visitors to the school. - To develop an understanding of the importance of applying their knowledge and awareness about
food and drink issues, to enable the whole school community to live a healthy lifestyle.
Objectives
- To improve students, parents, carers and staff knowledge and understanding about food and nutrition,
to enable them to make healthy choices. - To ensure the provision of safe, healthy and nutritious food and drink across the school day.
- To monitor and contribute to the school canteen menus when considering special dietary needs and
food choices which will include student voice. - To develop the role of external agencies for support, like ‘Food for life Partnership’, Food in Schools,’
Licence to Cook’, local supermarkets and producers.
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
The school has several opportunities for students to develop knowledge and understanding about the foods
they eat.
The timetable provides a one hour lesson per week dedicated to Food Technology on a rotation basis in Key
Stage 3. Options at KS4 are available for students to select Food Technology for GCSE. Key Stage 3 broad
curriculum has an emphasis on a ‘balanced diet’ and food choices, which includes understanding nutrition, as
part of its ‘Licence to Cook’ program of study. All students are taught practical skills that are needed to
understand where food comes from, such as shopping, preparing and cooking skills.
In other areas of the school, as part of PHSE, Citizenship and Humanities, food issues are discussed relating to
sustainability, as well as matters concerning their origin, like, GM or organic foods. Science provides an
opportunity to learn about the food types available, their nutritional composition, digestion and the function
of different nutrients in contributing to health and how the body responds to exercise. As part of Religious
Education, there are opportunities to discuss food related issues that link to major religions around the world.
Opportunities arise in other areas of the curriculum to learn about food as discrete themes in Art, Maths or English.
Dining Room Environment
The school aims to make the dining area as pleasant as possible in the limited amount of space available.
Menus are advertised and posters are up to encourage healthy eating.
The canteen benefits from having a large screen to encourage a more social environment in the area, which
mainly displays music videos, but will be used to display menu choices and healthy option plans in the future.
Students have voiced their opinions about the use of the canteen via an online survey and school council
meetings. Their points have been considered for future planning.
Provision of Food in the Dining area
Food is provided by Eden Food Services
Menus are displayed on the school website and screens around the school.
They follow the national Food Standards guidelines to provide well balanced ‘healthy options’ and work with
the school and a nutritionalist to ensure special diets are catered for.
They are able to supply in their menus fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.
Breakfast Club
Started in November 2009 (Term 2), a new facility in the canteen provides students with a choice of hot and
cold breakfast before 8.50am.
This facility will be reviewed once it has been established.
Snacks
Tuck shop/canteen is available for snacks during morning break 11-11.15am.
School Lunch Provision
Food is available from 12.45- 1.20 daily, with one hot main meal available every day. Specials are available on
the menu and theme days are held termly.
Drinks
Free fresh drinking water is available at all times to students and they are allowed to fill up water bottles of
their own in several places. They are actively encouraged to drink water rather than bringing in ‘unhealthy’
fizzy drinks. Posters showing the benefits of drinking water compared to fizzy drinks are displayed around the
school.
Staff provision is a water bottle in staffroom areas and access to cold water taps, as well as provision of other
hot beverages. Water bottles are also available in support staff open offices.
Packed Lunches
Students can bring their own packed lunches and are encouraged to use an insulated bag as there is no
provision for use of fridges. It is the responsibility of the parents/carers to ensure food safety of the lunchboxes.
As part of the food curriculum ‘healthy option’ packed lunches are encouraged and students are taught about
choices of foods and drinks that they put in their packed lunch.
The school ensures that students with packed lunches and school dinners are able to sit in an area together.
Special Events/Community links and Extended Learning:
Special end of term events have been arranged to involve food related topics, either for seasonal purposes or
to highlight Healthy Eating. This has meant a number of curriculum collapse days have focused on the key
facts of being a ‘Healthy’ school.
Extended school activities include food clubs being held after school and during the holidays, which target all
family members. Kid’s cookery in the school holidays was very successful and Sure-start is involved with
courses in ‘Credit Crunch’ cookery.
The extended schools co-ordinator is involved with parents and links with the local community giving them the
chance to cook healthy food under guidance.
Links with Sainsbury’s, which have supplied foods and demonstrated for students and other local producers,
have enhanced the curriculum. Visits have also taken place to college, which have shown the catering aspects
of food, where the students experience production of food on a different scale.
Provision of catering for in-house events is provided by the Staff Catering Manager, who runs the staff room
facilities.
Links are being made to provide training for local Primary School teachers, to help them to practice skills with
their students. This will be run by a member of staff who is a qualified trainer. They will then support the
teachers back in their schools as this is part of the Food in Schools initiative.
Parents, Carers, External Agencies and the Wider Community
The school aims to involve parents/carers in supporting the food policy and practice within the school and act
on feedback wherever possible. On the school website, parents/carers and students all have the opportunity
to voice opinions using online surveys. They will be invited in to attend meetings of the School Nutrition Action
Group (SNAG) which is to be set up in December 09.
The school will engage with external providers/agencies to promote healthy eating within the school. Already
in the food lessons links are made with a local Fair Trade shop, local supermarkets and local fresh produce
providers to encourage students to think about the food choices they make.
Governors
A designated Governor Ian Rich will monitor and ensure that the school food policy is upheld by attending
meetings and reporting back to the Governing body.
Key Development Targets
- To increase the number of students using the canteen, by developing more theme days and linking
more with the curriculum in Food Technology. - Inform parents of food choices and involve them more in decisions made about food available in school.
With online parents forum and setting up of the SNAG group this will give opportunity for more input. - Increases the choice of ‘Healthy’ options sold, as snacks in the canteen and liaise with the providers to
support this. - Provide on-going advice via the website and mail shots to parents to encourage provision of a ‘Healthy’
lunchbox. - To actively discourage fizzy drinks in school and increase the number of water dispensers available to
students. - Expand cross-curricular audit to review application of knowledge and consistency in delivery of food
and drink related issues.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Pupil evaluations: - Student Voice surveys and meetings.
- Parent/Carer feedback and online questionnaires.
- Staff (including canteen staff) monitoring and review targets termly.
- Healthy School Status: Apply for this in Term 2 2009.
- Setting up of a School Nutrition Action Group.
