CATERING & NUTRITION
know how to cook a variety of dishes “so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet”.
A core component of this teaching is introducing the Eatwell Guide, a tool updated in 2016 to reflect the UK government’s dietary recommendations and healthy eating model. It is a visual representation of the components of food that we should eat daily, with the different food groups and portion sizes explained. In short, it summarises a well-balanced dietary intake in the form of animal and/or plant- based protein, wholemeal carbohydrates, dairy products and healthy fats, while limiting excessive saturated fats and foods/drinks high in sugar. To encourage learning, there is a variety of fun, interactive lesson plans and multimedia resources on the Eatwell Guide.
In addition to the core curriculum, children benefit from learning from a whole school approach and behaviours modelled across the school day. For example, school catering plays an important role in educating about nutritious food, offering a nutritious variety of flavours and meal choices, all underpinned by the guidelines set in the School Food Standards. These guidelines state: “Eating in school should be a pleasurable experience. The school food standards are designed to help children develop healthy eating habits and ensure that they have the energy and nutrition they need
to get the most from their whole school day. It’s important to cook food that looks good and tastes delicious.”
In addition, some schools have their own gardens where they can grow fruit and vegetables, to really bring alive the teaching in the classroom. And not to forget, we learn so much from who we eat with, sitting down and eating a lunch meal together and learning from the variety of foods others eat and joining in. A whole school approach, engaging the entire school (children, teachers, parents, governors) reinforces the school’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of their students and wider community.
Recent evidence also supports this school- based approach, a review looked at the effectiveness of sixteen different education intervention programmes designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in 5-12 year olds. Results showed that many of these programmes were successful and achieved a significant increase in the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables consumed. Underpinning this success were programmes that include sustainable and active components such as gardening, tasting fruit and vegetables and cooking activities.
In addition to local work, there are school based interventions that are organised on a regional or national level. In the UK a successful
national campaign is the ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ programme. This is a multi-media campaign designed to encourage children to eat more vegetables, by ‘defeating’ (eating) them. It was started in 2017 and is now running in over 5000 schools and has educated over 1.3 million school children. Their evaluations have shown that this ‘dull’ message with a fun, child- centred approach, has had a positive effect by increasing vegetable consumption at lunch time, in-and out-side of the school. In addition, food and nutrition also can form a part of teaching on sustainability and the ethics of caring for our environment. Helping children understand about the impact food production has on the environment is important and helping them understand that their food choices do matter. There are many initiatives such ‘Meat-Free-Mondays’, removing single-use plastics and reducing food waste, which engage children to have a more positive relationship with food.
Educating children on the benefits of a healthy and sustainable diet has never been so important. Fortunately, there are many programmes ranging from core curriculum to local and national initiatives that can help schools provide this essential lesson, promoting the health and well-being of all children.
June 2025
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