Creative Teaching & Learning

Food for Life join Jamie Oliver in campaigning for healthy rating scheme

Food for Life are joining Jamie Oliver in campaigning for the introduction of a healthy rating scheme in schools. In a recent episode of Jamie and Jimmie’s Friday Night Dinner, the pair visited a primary school in East London to see the inspiring work they do to help keep pupils healthy.

Food for Life are joining Jamie Oliver in campaigning for the introduction of a healthy rating scheme in schools.

Create an account to read this article

£7.00+ VAT

One-off purchase

Purchase and Download today

Register for free

No Credit Card required

Register for free
Access to 3 free articles
Free TeachingTimes Report every month

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#39727"
  ["title"]=>
  string(50) "Healthy Eating Patterns Of Primary School Children"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(69) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/healthy-eating-primary-children_080512/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1336071473)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-39727-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(329) "This NFER attitude survey asked parents about their views of the school’s approach to healthy eating and their opinions of the school dinners. Children were asked similar questions and also about their eating patterns. This report briefly explores regional variations in the responses to these questions as well as ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(339) "... currently a huge amount of interest surrounding the issue of healthy eating especially where it concerns children. The government’s 5-a-day campaign and Jamie Oliver’s campaign to improve school dinners are just two of many. More recently as part of its Change 4 Life public health programme ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(59) "Healthy Eating Patterns Of Primary School Children"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(429) "This NFER attitude survey asked parents about their views of the school’s approach to healthy eating and their opinions of the school dinners. Children were asked similar questions and also about their eating patterns. This report briefly explores regional variations in the responses to these questions as well as exploring the impact of a range of influences on children’s diets.
Leadership Briefing issue 6.11(71)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(4552) "ResourceHEALTHY EATING PATTERNS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDRENOriginal DocumentLet Them Eat Pizza – An Investigation Into The Healthy Eating Patterns Of Primary School Children Using Data From The NFER Attitude Surveys. This NFER attitude survey asked parents about their views of the school’s approach to healthy eating and their opinions of the school dinners. Children were asked similar questions and also about their eating patterns. This report briefly explores regional variations in the responses to these questions as well as exploring the impact of a range of influences on children’s diets.KeywordsHealthy eating, primary school, children, school dinners, diets, menu, parentsSummaryThis NFER attitude survey asked parents about their views of the school’s approach to healthy eating and their opinions of the school dinners. Children were asked similar questions and also about their eating patterns. This report briefly explores regional variations in the responses to these questions as well as exploring the impact of a range of influences on children’s diets.There is currently a huge amount of interest surrounding the issue of healthy eating especially where it concerns children. The government’s 5-a-day campaign and Jamie Oliver’s campaign to improve school dinners are just two of many. More recently as part of its Change 4 Life public health programme the government launched its Supermeals campaign to encourage families to eat healthily on the cheap. Although the NFER attitude surveys were not designed to look specifically at issues around healthy eating, they provide a rich data source which is nationally representative and allows us to investigate a range of issues around children’s wellbeing and education at the regional level.Main Findings:· Regional variations in healthy eating do exist for primary school pupils. Broadly speaking there appears to be a North-South divide with children in the South generally having a healthier diet. Frequency of eating five fruit and vegetables a day is significantly higher in the South East, London and the East Midlands. Crisps, sweets or chocolate are eaten less often in the South East, London and the South West and takeaway food is eaten more in the North East and less in the South West than other regions.· Parents’ being more satisfied with the school canteen and dinner menu is associated with children eating less fruit and vegetables and more takeaway food. It is unclear whether this reflects lack of awareness of a healthy diet among this group of parents or a belief that the school is providing a healthy meal so they do not need to; however, it clearly shows the importance of parental attitudes. The implication is that children will eat more healthily in areas where parents’ expectations of school food are higher so it is important that all parents are informed about the importance of healthy eating. If parents are relying on the school to provide a healthy diet education about the importance of a healthy diet throughout the day may be of value.· There is evidence that healthy eating education could be working. Where pupils report that their school says it is important to eat healthy food there is a consistent link with the pupils eating patterns in all three of the food areas investigated; consumption of five fruit and vegetables a day, crisps, sweets and chocolate and takeaway food. Schools have an important role to play in getting the healthy eating message across to both pupils and parents. The provision of healthy, affordable school meals and involvement in one of the many campaigns aimed to increase awareness of healthy eating and get people growing and cooking their own food, would help to achieve this.· It was found that girls appear to have healthier eating patterns than boys. This was most evident in their consumption of fruit and vegetables.· Younger pupils and in particular those in Year 3 eat fewer crisps, sweets and chocolate than older children. This may be because they have less control over purchasing these items. They also report eating more takeaway food though possible reasons for this are less obvious.ActionNotesAuthorR ChimaDate CreatedMay 2012Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk(Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
        [1]=>
        string(4) "life"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "jamie"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "oliver"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Healthy Eating Patterns Of Primary School Children

3 May 2012

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#40726"
  ["title"]=>
  string(20) "The School Food Plan"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(54) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/school-food-plan_220713/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1374076541)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-40726-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(295) "... standards and divert some of the £1 billion parents currently spend on packed lunches back into the system. The plan of action is designed to improve the quality and take-up of school food and put the kitchen at the heart of school life.
Leadership briefing issue 7.12(84)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(341) "... healthy lifestyles. ■ Co-founder of Innocent smoothies Richard Reed and branding expert Wally Olins will help devisea strategy to improve the image of school food, and Jamie Oliver has agreed to help through hismedia work. ■ Ensuring cooking is in the curriculum for all children up to the age ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(29) "The School Food Plan"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(413) "This report, written by Leon restaurant founders Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, includes a range of actions to drive up standards and divert some of the £1 billion parents currently spend on packed lunches back into the system. The plan of action is designed to improve the quality and take-up of school food and put the kitchen at the heart of school life.
Leadership briefing issue 7.12(84)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(2) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
        [1]=>
        string(4) "life"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5795) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.THE SCHOOL FOOD PLANKeywordsSchool food,packed lunches,primary school,obesity, take-up, health,impact, children,attainmentSummaryThis report, written by Leon restaurant founders Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, includesa range of actions to drive up standards and divert some of the £1 billion parents currentlyspend on packed lunches back into the system. The plan of action is designed to improve thequality and take-up of school food and put the kitchen at the heart of school life.The actions in the plan include: £16.1 million of new money to boost take up in schools and ensurethousands of children get healthy breakfast; a checklist for headteachers to help improve the ‘foodculture’ in their schools, and the launch of 2 flagship London boroughs to help prove that better schoolfood can have a significant impact on children’s health and attainment.Key Facts:• The obesity rate in the UK has risen from 6% of the population in 1980 to 27% today, and almost20% of children are already obese by the time they leave primary school.• Across the country, take-up of school food remains stubbornly low. The majority of children – 57%– either bring in a packed lunch or buy something outside school (almost always junk food).• Many parents mistakenly imagine that a packed lunch is the healthiest option. In fact, it is fareasier to get the necessary nutrients into a cooked meal.• Only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food andtwo-thirds contain sweets, sugary drinks and savoury snacks such as crisps.• Parents currently spend almost £1 billion a year on packed lunches; persuading just a fraction ofthem to switch to school food would lead to healthier children who are able to concentrate betterand work harder.Main Points: ■ £16.1 million injection of cash from the Department for Education over the next 2 years. Thisincludes £11.8 million that organisations such as the Children’s Food Trust and the Food For LifePartnership can bid for to help turn around schools that are struggling with their lunch service,£3.15 million to ensure healthy breakfasts are available for thousands of children who arrive atschool hungry. ■ A practical checklist for headteachers, listing the most important things they or their team can doto that can make a big difference to take-up and food culture in schools. The checklist is basedon the examples of what is working well that the reviewers have seen during their trips to over 60Week Commencing 22nd July 2013http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/School_Food_Plan_2013.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/PMSZ01/PMSZ01.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.schools in the country. They are designed to be pinned up in the head’s office and the kitchen.Suggested actions include: ■ Lowering the price of school meals – consider subsidising school meals for your receptionand year 7 classes for the first term, or offer discounts for parents of multiple children orthose whose children eat a school lunch every day. ■ Teachers should be encouraged to eat with the children in the dining hall. ■ Have a stay-on-site rule for break and lunch time. ■ Have a cashless payment system to shorten queuing times and prevent free school mealchildren from being stigmatised. ■ Offer after school cooking lessons for parents with their children. ■ Make sure packed lunches are not more exciting than school lunches. Ban sugary drinks,crisps and confectionery, or offer prizes and other incentives for bringing in a healthylunch. Or ban packed lunches altogether. ■ Watch what gets served at mid-morning break. Many children eat their main meal at thistime which too often means filling up on pizza, paninis or cake. ■ The launch of 2 flagship London boroughs to help prove that better school food can have asignificant impact on children’s health and attainment. Every school in each area will receiveco-ordinated support from expert organisations such as the Children’s Food Trust to improve thequality and take up of school meals and spread great food culture through the wider community.The Department for Education and the Mayor’s Office will jointly fund the boroughs. ■ The Department for Education will test and introduce a set of revised food based standards (builton a nutritional framework), with the intention of applying them to maintained schools and all newacademies and free schools by September 2014. ■ Ofsted will amend its guidance to inspectors to consider behaviour and culture in the dining halland the way a school promotes healthy lifestyles. ■ Co-founder of Innocent smoothies Richard Reed and branding expert Wally Olins will help devisea strategy to improve the image of school food, and Jamie Oliver has agreed to help through hismedia work. ■ Ensuring cooking is in the curriculum for all children up to the age of 14. The new curriculum willemphasise the importance of cooking nutritious, savoury dishes, understanding where food comesfrom, and taking pleasure in the creative arts of the kitchen. ■ The government will investigate the case for"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
        [1]=>
        string(4) "life"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "jamie"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "oliver"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

The School Food Plan

17 Jul 2013

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#34710"
  ["title"]=>
  string(53) "New project set to cultivate nation of healthy eaters"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(32) "Creative Teaching & Learning"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(84) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/new-project-set-to-cultivate-nation-of-healthy-eaters/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1162339200)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-34710-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(157) "A look at how a new initiative from the Royal Horticultural Society has helped Tangnere Primary School in Chichester enhance their cross-curricular learning."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(345) "... vegetables during the World War II. This is anexcellent activity as it not only allows the development of anunderstanding of what it takes to grow healthy food – butalso affords the pupils an invaluable insight into what life waslike for ‘normal’ families during World War II. Most modern-day pupils will ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(62) "New project set to cultivate nation of healthy eaters"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(157) "A look at how a new initiative from the Royal Horticultural Society has helped Tangnere Primary School in Chichester enhance their cross-curricular learning."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5770) "teaching & learning  ■  november/december 200524WITNESSING TEACHINGTime for changeThanks largely to Jamie Oliver, concerns aboutchildren’s eating habits and nutrition are now high onthe Government’s agenda. The Government recentlyannounced that it is bringing back compulsorycooking lessons in schools for teenagers as the latestplank in its strategy to tackle childhood obesity. Adecline in food knowledge is an issue that gardeningcharity, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has beenaware of for some time now and according toEducation Officer Judy Moss “Some children visitingRHS Gardens are unable to identify even the mostcommon of vegetables.”A look at how a new initiativefrom the RoyalHorticultural Society hashelped Tangmere PrimarySchool in Chichesterenhance their cross-curricular learning.A new initiativeHowever, to make real changes, a better understanding offood and the importance of healthy eating habits need tobe encouraged in children from the moment they step intoa school. Compulsory cooking lessons in secondary schoolsis a little like ‘shutting the stable door after the horse hasbolted’. So, with this in mind, the RHS has come up with anew initiative called ‘Open Future: GROW IT!  COOK IT!’The idea behind this initiative is to inspire youngchildren to grow and cook their own food. It was launchedin September of this year and has been initiated andsponsored by the Helen Hamlyn Trust, which wasestablished in 2001. The project is a partnership betweenNewprojectset tocultivatenationof healthy eatersteaching & learning  ■  november/december 2005 25WITNESSING TEACHINGthe Helen Hamlyn Trust, the Royal Horticultural Society’sFlourish Campaign and the Focus on Food Campaignfounded by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). A significantamount is being invested in the project, which is runninginitially as a pilot until July 2006 in ten primary schoolsacross the South Coast of England from Eastbourne in EastSussex to Portsmouth in Hampshire. The objective is todeliver a totally holistic approach to children growing,cooking and sharing food together in school. “The aim ofthis project is to encourage children to choose healthyfoods and to enjoy cooking meals with fresh ingredientsfrom scratch. It allows us to start reconnecting childrenwith nature and to bring them the pleasures and benefitsof growing their own fruit and vegetables,” says ClaireDudley, Outreach Education Manager at the RHS.Two specially trained RHS Horticultural Officers havejust started a programme of school visits and are workingwith children at Key Stages 1 and 2. The children areinvolved in designing, planting and tending their ownfruit and vegetable gardens to develop their ownhorticultural skills. They are learning about containerplanting for indoor and outdoor spaces, composting,how to build teepees and wigwams for beans and peas,the importance of herbs in different countries and whywater is so important to plants and communities. TheFocus on Food culinary project officer is visiting all theschools in the project to involve the children in preparing,cooking and serving their kitchen garden produce.Children are taught essential basic culinary skills toenable them to prepare enjoyable meals from simple,fresh ingredients.  Local produce supplements the rangeof harvested fruit and vegetables from the buddingschool garden. Children own and taste the food theyproduce and are encouraged to decorate the table, makeand serve their own dishes and enjoy the rituals ofconversation and friendship during the meal.Embracing the projectOne of the first schools visited by Flourish manager ClaireDudley was Tangmere Primary School in Chichester, whichhas embraced the project with great enthusiasm.  This yearthe school has three core themes running through itsactivities for Years 5 and 6: sustainability, health and fitnessand ‘Dig for Victory’ (World War II).Term 1As part of the project, the children will be studying Africaand looking at the whole idea of creating sustainablecommunities. For Tangmere Primary School, the pupils’ workwill focus upon ways of making our own communities moreself-sufficient and then applying this knowledge to Africa.As part of this the school will be looking at the way supportagencies help in developing nations.Term 2Tangmere Primary School will be studying aspects of a healthylifestyle – so growing and cooking the produce will be relatedto exercise and nutrition. From an early age, children shouldbe introduced to different food groups and develop anunderstanding of what a ‘healthy’ meal comprises of.Term 3The knowledge the children have gained will be tested bytheir challenge to keep their family supplied with enoughfruit and vegetables during the World War II. This is anexcellent activity as it not only allows the development of anunderstanding of what it takes to grow healthy food – butalso affords the pupils an invaluable insight into what life waslike for ‘normal’ families during World War II. Most modern-day pupils will have no comprehension of what it must belike to have no access to fast food or cheap, mass-producedready meals – so this is certainly a lesson well learned.ConclusionsIt is high time for children in primary schools to learn howto grow and cook their own food. The habit of having aschool greenhouse or vegetable patch should never havebeen allowed to die out and it is clear that children are farmore likely to eat healthy foods if they have been activelyengaged in growing and/or preparing the food. Initiatives(such as the ones offered by the RHS) are"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
        [1]=>
        string(4) "life"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "jamie"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "oliver"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(32) "Creative Teaching & Learning"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Creative Teaching & Learning

New project set to cultivate nation of healthy eaters

1 Nov 2006

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#34496"
  ["title"]=>
  string(35) "Too many headlines not enough cooks"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(66) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/too-many-headlines-not-enough-cooks/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1162339200)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-34496-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(142) "We are all agreed on the need to improve childrens eating habits - and school caterers believe its not just their responsibility but everyones"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(407) "66CateringCateringCateringCateringCatering School mealsManaging Schools Today November/December 2005cooksFollowing Jamie Oliver’s recent campaign, schoolmeals have become the subject of an intense publicdebate. The widespread chorus of disapproval castsschool meals as the cause of children’s poor diets andfalsely implies that all are of the poor quality shown inthe TV programmes ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(35) "Too many headlines not enough cooks"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(142) "We are all agreed on the need to improve childrens eating habits - and school caterers believe its not just their responsibility but everyones"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5671) "66CateringCateringCateringCateringCatering School mealsManaging Schools Today November/December 2005cooksFollowing Jamie Oliver’s recent campaign, schoolmeals have become the subject of an intense publicdebate. The widespread chorus of disapproval castsschool meals as the cause of children’s poor diets andfalsely implies that all are of the poor quality shown inthe TV programmes.The fact is that children’s curr ent eating habits arethe result of a number of complex legisla tive andsocial fact ors, and no one group of individuals isentirely at fault. Equally, the task of changing children’sdiets is not achievable by just one group alone. I t isthe r esponsibility of everyone from manufacturers,r etailers and restaur ant owners to the G over nment,governors, head teachers , scho ol meal providers andparents.The Lo cal Authority Cater ers Association (LACA)r epresents the largest network of public and privat eschool cater ers in the country. I t has consisten tlyvoiced conc erns ab out the position of the schoolmeals service in the light of escalating criticisms overWe are all agreed on the needto improve children’s eatinghabits – and school caterersbelieve it’s not just theirresponsibility, but everyone’sToo many headlines,not enough67November/December 2005 Managing Schools TodayCateringCateringCateringCateringCatering School mealsthe quality of school meals, and about caterers beingsingled out as the solution to transforming children’sdiets.The legacy of policy, legislation and bureaucracyover the past 10 years is what has left the scho ol mealservice in its current under-funded stat e. This, togetherwith a lack of infrastructure, has been underminingcaterers’ ability to provide the higher quality of foo dnow being called for.Since the introduction of compulsory competitivetendering (C CT) in the late 1980s and early 1990s,school cater ing ceased to be a ‘ health and welfare’service and became a commercially competitive,price-driven business. This has affected the quality ofprovision. Children were no longer just pupils: theybec ame customers as well.LACA has been saying for the past ten years tha t ifimproving school meals is seen as a means of reducingfuture health problems and the NHS bill then theGovernment needs to invest far more into the schoolmeals service. Furthermore, if the future health ofchildren is of major concern then the Governmentneeds to make up its mind as to whether the schoolmeals servic e should be a ‘health and welfare’ pro visionor a commercial operation. With greater funding, muchmore could be done to make improvements to thequality and range of ingredients.There is another question that should also be raised.If the Government is truly serious about improving thelong-term health of all children then should we notbe calling for school meals to be available to everychild free of charge? If school meals are being seen asintegral to a healthy school ethos and the academicday, then just as lessons are freefor all, universal free school mealswould ensure that e ver y pupil istreat ed equally, with the samechance for a healthier diet andfuture life. But there is unlikely tobe any change to the position ofthe school meal ser vice in theforeseeable future, particular lyregarding delegation of c at eringbudgets to schools and cater ingbeing run as a commercial operation.There needs to be a better education frameworkwhich prevents school meals being viewed as acommercial sideline and that healthy schools andhealthy pupils are seen as important as ac ademicachievement. Pressur e on timetables is currentlyforcing heads to short en lunch breaks, some to as littleas 30 minutes. No amount of nutritional education isgoing to benefit  i f  scho ols do not al low pupilssufficient time to eat lunch. A half-hour lunch break isCompulsory competitivetendering made catering acommercially competitive,price-driven business. Childrenwere no longer just pupils: theybecame customers as wellhardly sufficient time to lay tables , serve a properlunch to 1,000 pupils and return from the dining hallfor lessons. In fact, this actively cultivat es a fast food,snacking culture in schools.Social factorsApar t from budgetar y and educational issues, there aremany social fac tors that need to be taken into acc ountin relation to impr oving standards, reducing theavailability of popular foo ds and a move back to moretraditional ‘home-cooked’ meals. One in particular is thewillingness of children and young people today to eatmore healthily.I t is important that we place school meals in context.School meals are eaten once on 190 days out of 365,representing 15 per cent of a child’s overall food intake.Children live in a proc essed fo od culture with at leasttwo generations of parents who have no time to cookor who, as a result of co oker y having been removedfrom the curriculum some time ago, cannot cook and,like their children, are unfamiliar with certain foods. Thereality is that the vast majority of children will not eatin school what they are not familiar with and do notencount er outside of school.There is no quick fix for children’s attitudes to foodsand their dietary habits. We need wider, fundamentalchanges in society and the education sy stem. Childrenwill not eat what they do not reco gnise on their plat e.We cannot expect t o enforc e on children a radicalchange of eating in school when we as adults – as thewider nation – have yet t o embrac e this healthiereating philosophy. For children t o understand good,healthy foo d and choose to eat it,we need to nur ture"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(4) "food"
        [1]=>
        string(4) "life"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "jamie"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "oliver"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "healthy"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Too many headlines not enough cooks

1 Nov 2006

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Create an account to read this article

£7.00+ VAT

Register for free

Cookies