Food and nutrition

Understanding the School Food Standards is a simple way of ensuring children are eating a balanced diet during the school day, from the food provided during your wrap around provision to school lunches. It is also important to be aware that food high in fats, sugar and salt should not be served across the school day, which includes the use of these foods in class based learning. To understand the full standards, head teachers check list or to create a culture of healthy eating visit the GOV.UK website to access 'School food standards: resources for schools'.

New school food standards were introduced in January 2015 and have been mandatory in all maintained schools, new academies and free schools since. Governors are responsible for ensuring these standards are being met. 

Below you will find some resources we have created to help support your school to meet the School Food Standards across the whole school day. These include some checklists to help you audit your current provision and top tips posters for food ideas that comply with the standards for all potential meals:

• download the School Food Standards Top Tips poster for Primary Schools
• download the School Food Standards Top Tips poster for Secondary Schools
• download the School Food Standards Daily Checklist for Primary and Secondary Schools
• download the School Food Standards Weekly Checklist for Primary and Secondary Schools
• download the School Food Standards FAQs.

Food a fact of life is a free online resource to help teachers educate young people about where food comes from, cooking and healthy eating for all ages and policy development support to help you achieve that DoE Healthy School Rating. They also have a bank of free online training and CPD for teaching staff to increase their confidence and knowledge in delivering lessons on nutrition in line with the national curriculum and also running practical food lessons. There are also some online webinars scheduled to offer practical based training for teaching staff.

Following on from the success of the family cooking sessions as part of our EatWell programme, we wanted to share a fantastic resource with you. The EatWell team have created some free cook along videos with a wide variety of recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. This resource can be used to support your DT curriculum, after school cooking clubs or as a resource to support parents to cook at home with their children.

The Food for Life School Awards is a way for your school to demonstrate the work you do in providing healthy meals, food education and growing programmes. The programme supports schools to improve health and wellbeing, encourage pupils to take part in activities and enable children to feel empowered to make their own health choices.

Better Health, formally known as Change4life, is a trusted NHS resource where user friendly food and nutritional information can be found, with helpful tools to teach children and families about eating well, sugar intake and tasty food swaps they can make.

Better Health resources also include:

• healthy lunch boxes hints and tips, helping parents make healthier choices for their child's packed lunch
• the sugar calculator which helps children measure their own sugar intake and suggestions on food swaps
• home cooking recipes, from using seasonal vegetables when cooking on a budget to creating family favourite fake away meals.

The Better Health School Zone is where you as a teacher can create an account which will allow you to download Better Health campaign materials to promote healthy eating, physical activity and dental care.

Learn Telford’s Family Learning team offer a wide range of courses, providing skills and knowledge relating to health and wellbeing such as “Mindfulness for Families” and “Family Gardening”.

These courses are aimed at families with low economic and education levels, working with parents/carers and children in a calm and learning-friendly environment.

As well as their listed courses, Learn Telford are able to work with schools to develop bespoke courses that meet the needs of their children and families relating to food, cooking, physical activity and education.

The University of Bath has created an e-learning module around parents talking to their children about weight. The aim of both the module and the corresponding guide is to help parents, caregivers and those who work with families talk with children about weight in a positive way.

The Healthy Lifestyles team support children and families to achieve their health goals such as improving physical activity levels, weight loss and wellbeing, including a stop smoking support service for anyone 12 years and over.

Offering six support sessions, either by telephone, face to face or via Microsoft Teams, the advisors can support individuals and families to set their goals, feel motivated, stay on track and make lifestyle changes, to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, lower cholesterol and manage weight.

Families can self-refer into this service either by completing the online referral form or by calling 01952 382582.

The PhunkyFoods mission is to improve the dietary and physical activity habits of young children (aged 2 - 11 years) across the UK by helping to create supportive learning environments for health in early years settings and primary schools. Rapid increases in the prevalence of childhood obesity means that we must help empower children, alongside their families and communities, to take control over their wellbeing to enable them to live longer, healthier and more fulfilled lives.

The PhunkyFoods Programme aims to help early years settings and primary schools to deliver a whole-school approach to healthy lifestyles and to engage with all pupils, and their families, in promoting tangible health behaviour changes in a fun, lively and positive manner.