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| Pupils 'shunning healthier meals' |
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Healthier school meals are being shunned by many pupils, with figures
published showing that 20% fewer meals are being served in secondary schools.
The Liberal Democrats claimed that the 250,000 drop in meals served in secondary
schools meant that the school meal service was in "meltdown".
But celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, said such an initial decline was not a
surprise as "kids don't like change". Mr Oliver forecast that "we'll see
that negative turn into a positive".
The figures, revealed in response to a parliamentary question, show that the
drive for healthier food in schools has not been popular with all classroom consumers.
In the past two years there has been a substantial fall in the number of pupils
taking school meals - particularly in secondary school.
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| Dinner money problems are a thing of the past |
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Free meals call for summer school |
Which berries will really benefit you? |
Realising every school and school caterer’s dream of a 21st century
tool to solve all their dinner money problems, ParentPay launches eDm².
A unique online dinner money management and administration tool, eDm²
looks set to revolutionise the way that schools and school caterers work.
A centralised online solution, eDm² gives access to all school meals
data for every school anytime, anywhere. Providing them with
up-to-the-minute reports on all cooked and served meal numbers from breakfast
to afternoon break, at-a-glance details of money banked fully reconciled and
hassle free, knowledge of outstanding debts, management reports with all the
information they need including historical trends and a complete outsourced
money collection service – school and school caterers will never look back!
Clint Wilson, CEO of ParentPay, says “eDm² has been developed to make life
as easy as possible for both schools and school caterers in responding to
the latest government initiatives. With 24/7 access to all schools data
and the ability to carry out in-depth analysis and reporting of all food
cooked and served in schools eDm² will prove to be an invaluable tool for
everyone involved in school meals.
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The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) believe
that free meals should be given to children from the
poorest families attending summer holiday clubs, say
researchers. |
No sooner have we grasped the health-protecting, skin-boosting,
brain-empowering properties of one super berry than along comes
another one, with seemingly superior “supernutrient” virtues.
And yet, to date, much of the research that “reveals” their potential
benefits has been carried out in laboratories and on animals, so their
real benefits are just that, potential.
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The 5 a day fools |
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YOUNGSTERS are so ignorant about nutritious food they think
pasta is a vegetable and some snacks can count towards the
“five-a-day” healthy eating quota.
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| Salsa encourages kids to exercise |
Fun with Fish |
mealScene awarded “curriculum online” status |
A great new programme of “alternative” sports to encourage kids to get fit and
healthy TOP Activity was developed by the Youth Sport Trust and launched
today by Double Olympic Gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes.
Supported by Sainsbury’s the programme is aimed at 7-11 year olds and includes fun
activities such as salsa dancing, cheerleading, martial fitness and circus moves!
Its aim is simply to offer fun activities to kids outside of school hours, a great
way to try and involve kids who may not be getting much exercise and help increase
their participation in sports and exercise generally.
TOP Activity was launched at Lordship Lane Primary School, London, will be piloted this
year in 500 schools across the UK through the growing network of School Sport Partnerships.
Schools and clubs participating in TOP Activity will receive a number of benefits and
resources including activity cards, DVDs, music CDs and equipment bags to help deliver
the new activities.
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Following its success throughout Scotland last year, Seafish
(Sea Fish Industry Authority) has launched ‘The SuperHumans’ campaign
to primary schools across England.
Following on from the government’s 5 a day initiative, The SuperHumans
is a fun and engaging healthy eating campaign designed to encourage
children to eat fish as part of their school lunch, reinforcing the
Food Standards Authority recommendations that we should eat 2 portions
of fish week.
Designed to highlight the various health benefits of eating fish, the
campaign also encourages catering staff in schools to include fish on
the menu. Kids are rewarded with a SuperHumans sticker each time they
choose fish and once they’ve collected all five stickers in the series
they get a SuperHumans Clubcard.
A number of schools have already been sent promotional packs, featuring
colourful and interesting characters called The SuperHumans. They also
include stickers promoting the benefits of eating fish for our hearts, skin,
muscles, bones and brains as well as a catering manual explaining how the
promotion works and containing great recipe ideas to help catering staff
rise to the challenge of getting kids to eat more fish.
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Curriculum Online has awarded mealScene supplier status.
As part of ParentPay’s continuing commitment to education, ex-teacher and ParentPay
founder Lynne Taylor worked with other teachers to develop the mealScene FREE online
resources for schools. Besides being able to display menus online, show simple
nutritional analysis and personalise schools’ own pages, mealScene will engage kids
and parents in dialogue about healthy eating. Take full advantage of our FREE
classroom resources.
That’s right, schools don’t need to spend their eLC’s on mealScene its absolutely FREE to all UK schools!
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| Free KS2 curriculum resources |
New Standards for School Food |
Pupils swap chips for stickers |
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mealScene launches free teaching and learning
resources to support ‘Healthy Eating’ themes in
Science and PSHE at KS2. Activities and tasks relate
to real menus in school, emphasising the need for a balanced diet.
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In line with the recommendations from the School Meals Review Panel, the
Education Secretary today published new minimum nutrition standards for
school food. Banning meals high in salt, fat and sugar or containing
low quality meat from lunchtime menus the new standards will ensure
healthier food choices in schools. The standards are the result of more
than a years' work and consultation with professional associations,
dietitians, health charities, and food and drink organisations. |
Children in four Derby schools are to be rewarded for eating their greens in a new loyalty card scheme.
Pupils will be given a sticker or stamp when they choose fruit, vegetables or salad at lunch time. |
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| Small change, big difference |
Junk food-ad rules 'a sham' |
New school meals |
The Health Department's Small change, big difference campaign is aimed to get all of us
to make minor changes in our lifestyles which will give us a better chance of living
longer, healthier lives.
It is aimed at adults with a message that it is never too late to start, and that
even small changes in diet and physical activity can make a difference.
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The consumer group Which? pronounced today that the government plans to control food
advertising directed at children is a "total sham". Under the regulator Ofcom’s plans,
famous people and film or TV characters would not be allowed to take part in any food or
drink commercial targeted at the under-10 year olds. But Which? says the most popular shows
amongst children are Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale and these fall
outside the restrictions. There has been fierce opposition from but media
companies and food related businesses to restrict junk food ads before 9pm. |
Thousands of pupils in Reading, Berkshire, are set to tuck into a new school menu which will include vegetable korma and Cajun chicken.
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| Standards for non-school lunches |
The Education and Inspections Bill |
School snack plans |
Schools Minister Jacqui Smith today launched a consultation with key stakeholders
on standards for food which can be sold in schools through vending machines, tuck
shops and at break times, breakfast clubs and after school.
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In autumn 2005 the Government published the Schools White Paper Higher
Standards, Better Schools For All, a major step forward in the Government’s
aim of ensuring that every child in every school in every community gets the
education they need to enable them to fulfil their potential. Many of these
changes do not require legislation; others are taken forward by the Education
and Inspections Bill which was published on the 28 February 2006. The Bill also
includes some provisions which were not included in the White Paper, for example
those on inspectorate reform.
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Measures which would see the sale of fizzy drinks and unhealthy snacks banned
in schools have been set out by a nutrition advisory body.
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| 70’s Children 'did twice the exercise' |
Eating Disorders Awareness Week |
Food labeling |
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Children are putting their health at risk by doing half the unplanned
exercise that their parents did a generation ago, according to a survey
to be published today.
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The Eating Disorders Association (EDA) will be highlighting
the views of young people who are at risk from these serious,
life threatening conditions during Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2006.
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Experts from 23 European Member States came together this week
to debate the future of food labelling at a major conference.
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| Support your local children’s hospice |
Encourage kids to be more active |
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Draw a butterfly and support your local children’s hospice
Somerfield are calling on Artistic children throughout the UK to draw a colourful
picture of a butterfly to help raise money for its charity of the year, the
Association of Children's Hospices (ACH).
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Sainsbury’s go all out to encourage kids to be more active
Following the success of Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2005, thousands of schools
across the UK benefited from a share of an incredible £17 million worth of
Active Kids equipment and experiences. This success has inspired Sainsbury’s
to run the campaign for a second year.
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| Don't say yuk say yum |
£270,000 boost for school meals |
Parents have say on school meals |
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But it's not just celebrity chefs who can raise awareness, young people
in London are also taking action, as reporters from Children's Express,
the UK's only news agency for young people, found out:
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Efforts to improve the quality of school meals are to be given a £270,000 cash boost.
The money - provided by the government - has been allocated by West Berkshire Council to improve catering staff training over the next three years.
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An infant school in Kent has been asking parents to help find the right recipe for its school dinners' menu.
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| Anti-Junk food push 'a success' |
Muddle over school drinks ban |
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Moves to encourage young primary pupils to eat more healthily
are proving fruitful, ministers have insisted.
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The government "is in a muddle" over its plan to ban fizzy drinks in England's schools, a Labour MP says.
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| Leading LEAs delighted with mealScene |
Specialist Schools Conference |
Computer shows junk food effects |
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Catering managers’ from Staffordshire, Luton and Croydon LEAs agree that mealScene
is a fantastic tool for schools and are working closely with us to ensure that
mealScene offers the best information on healthy eating for schools.
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mealScene will be officially launched at the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust
Conference on 24 & 25 November at the ICC in Birmingham.
Developed by ParentPay, mealScene is an online tool designed for schools and school
meal providers to enable teachers, parents, pupils, governors and even inspectors
to see what pupils are eating at school. Engaging parents and pupils, mealScene
encourages learning and positive choices about healthy food.
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A computer has shown what could happen to kids who eat too much junk food
and avoid doing exercise.
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| Kids – naughty or badly nurished? |
Not a sausage? |
Packed lunches ‘no healthier’ than school dinners |
Research suggests that if we address the problem of poor nutrition amongst
children, we could also solve many of the problems that occur in some of
our schools such as anti-social behaviour, exclusion and poor literacy standards.
This might seem like a tall order but research carried out by Dr Alex Richardson
of Oxford University, involving young children aged from 5 to 12, proves otherwise.
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Research shows that the gulf between economy sausages and the best made bangers could not
be wider, yet sometimes looking at the labels it can be hard to tell them apart! We eat
nearly 5 billion sausages at home, and our appetite for them is expanding …
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The health of children who eat school dinners is no worse, and may even be better,
than pupils who bring in packed lunches, a new study has claimed...
Lead researcher
Professor Peter Whincup said: "Current efforts to improve the quality of school dinners
are to be applauded...
However, to improve the diets of British children and adolescents,
we need to look beyond school dinners and address overall dietary patterns and their
societal determinants."
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| Sausage sales go with a bang! |
Sausage sales go with a bang at estate
Summer at a tourist attraction, near Stafford, went with a pop, bang and sizzle this
year after sales of a secret recipe sausage went through the roof.
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| Pupils healthier on school food |
Just the meal-ticket |
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Pupils who eat school dinners are just as healthy, if not healthier, than those who eat meals brought in from home, research suggests…
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Staffordshire County Council has warmly welcomed Government plans to introduce a ban
on food served in school with high levels of sugar, salt and fat.
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| LACA welcomes announcement by Ruth Kelly |
Turning the tables: transforming school food |
Junk food to be banned in schools |
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The Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) welcomes the announcement
made today (Wednesday 28 September) by Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly as
part of her Labour Party Conference speech about the banning of junk foods
from sale at school lunchtimes and in school vending machines. She also
spoke of her intention to introduce tough new Nutritional Standards for school meals…
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The report "Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food" by the independent
School Meals Review Panel is published today.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly welcomed the publication of the report which
recommends redesigning the nation's school menus to set new minimum standards
for food in schools and ensuring pupils get essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals...
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Foods high in fat, salt or sugar are to be banned from meals and vending
machines in English schools. The ban, from next September, has been announced
by Education Secretary Ruth Kelly at the Labour Party conference...
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