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An increasing number of schools are adopting whole school policies
on food and nutrition. These policies provide a framework into which
all work on food can fit. They ensure that an holistic approach
to improving food and nutrition is taken and that messages being
given across the school life are consistent with each other and
mutually reinforcing. A food policy would consider food provision
(what food is being provided and is it appropriate and accessible?),
food in the curriculum (how is food and nutrition being taught and
does food provision and extra-curricular activities support this
work?) and participation (what structures and systems are in place
to ensure that all relevant parties can have a say in the food that
the school provides).
In short, a food policy can help a school ensure there is a range
of opportunities for pupils to learn about and experience food and
nutrition which are co-ordinated and which reinforce appropriate
messages. A food policy can also show a long-term commitment to
improving food and nutrition. Fruit and vegetable promotion should
be seen as one element within a whole school food policy.
The Grab 5! Model School Food Policy
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Implement
the action plan
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Having gone through this process of consultation, auditing and
careful planning the imple- mentation stage should be fun and relatively
straight forward. Good luck and have fun!
Monitoring a project is important for sustained success. Often
one small hitch can bring a whole project to a halt. For example,
children may be enjoying eating apples at break time but they may
have nowhere to put the apple cores. If they discard them in the
playground it causes a problem for the caretaker. Monitoring would
identify this problem and find a solution (e.g. provide compost
bins) before the whole 'apple break' idea folds. Monitoring doesn't
have to be, and indeed shouldn't be, long-winded, boring questionnaires
for teachers to complete. A lot of the work can be handed over to
the pupils! For example, school councils or School Nutrition Action
Groups may be keen to run surveys and follow up with discussion
for new ideas. Teachers may be able to use data, such as tuck shop
sales figures, in their IT lessons to determine children's fruit
preferences.
Collecting the right evidence as you go along can:
- Provide evidence for your school to show what you have achieved
to parents, governors, and Ofsted inspections.
- Help with the planning process for future work.
- Contribute to other schemes your school may be involved in,
such as the Healthy Schools initiative.
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