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CHAPTER 10: WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH TO HEALTHY EATING
10.1 The chapter summarises findings on the broader provision of food and water within the school ( e.g. tuck shops, breakfast clubs, free fruit and water), as well as findings on health and the curriculum. Relevant Hungry for Success Recommendations include:
Recommendation 5: All schools should review their current practice in establishing links between learning and teaching on healthy eating in the curriculum and food provision in school
Recommendation 7: Education authorities should promote partnership approaches and schools develop mechanisms to develop partnership working
Other in-school food provision
Tuck shops
10.2 There were tuck shops, or at least a snacks trolley, in most of the case study schools. Generally these were open every day at morning break and occasionally at lunchtime, when they competed with the school meals service. When run at lunchtime, such shops sometimes offered reduced numbers of items and did not open until the majority of pupils had been served their main meal.
10.3 The number of products on offer at the shops varied from school to school, with some limiting the shops to one or two items, and others such as one secondary school where almost the same range of foods (with the exception of hot meals, pizza and chips) was sold at break time as for lunch time school meals. Typically, tuck shops in secondary schools sold a combination of fizzy drinks, crisps and confectionery. In some schools, cereal bars were also included as a healthier option. It was more likely for healthier options to be sold in primary schools. However, not all attempts at including healthy options worked. In one case, a primary school had tried offering fruit, but few pieces were bought and most was wasted.
10.4 Tuck shops were run variously by the school meals service, catering staff, teaching staff and pupils. The extent to which they were used varied and appeared to be due to a number of factors such as the products on offer; the number of days open and the demand from pupils. Some secondary and special schools used the profit generated by the tuck shop to boost school funds. One Head Teacher of a large secondary school that operated a busy tuck shop suggested the profit generated removed the need for additional fundraising for the school. In another secondary school, where consideration was being given to closing the tuck shop, the teacher who ran the tuck shop suggested that Hungry for Success funding should recompense the school for significant loss of funds. Clearly where tuck shops are used for fundraising, considerations of improving health will conflict with the need to sell popular, less healthy items.
10.5 However, catering staff felt that the existence of unhealthy tuck shops diminished the positive effects of the healthy school meals service. They were especially frustrated as they felt they were working hard to encourage pupils to try the new recipes which did not include salt and sugar, and yet the pupils could buy high sugar snacks from the tuck shop:
"..it is defeating the purpose by having a tuck shop and selling them sweets and crisps but then not giving them sugar and salt in their food" (head cook, secondary school) .
Vending machines
10.6 A number of secondary schools had vending machines, located either in dining rooms or adjacent areas. Most of these sold drinks, in particular fizzy drinks, crisps and confectionery. There were also a small number of 'healthy' vending machines that sold sandwiches and fruit, although these did not appear to always be well-stocked. One secondary school had removed a fizzy drinks vending machine, but attempts to replace it with a machine selling water had so far foundered due to the cost to pupils - it would have to be subsidised or sponsored to make it affordable. The qualitative research with pupils did indicate that the decision to remove vending machines from some secondary schools was not particularly popular:
"It's annoying - they took away the can machines and you can't get a drink in school" (pupil, secondary school) .
10.7 Occasionally schools benefited from the profits of vending machines. However, in one school which relied on profits from the tuck shop for fundraising, vending machines were in direct competition as they were not in the school's control.
Breakfast clubs
10.8 Not many of the schools operated breakfast clubs though some schools were considering introducing one, and others had run a club in the past but this had now been discontinued. However, in a large primary school which did run a breakfast club, it had been very well received and was very popular among pupils. This club offered breakfast at no charge to pupils.
10.9 One small secondary school had planned to open a breakfast club but found the logistics of doing so too difficult. In another secondary school, a breakfast club was run by teaching staff, and any profit made from the club was used to subsidise food discreetly given free to pupils with little money or to subsidise healthy food ( e.g. fresh fruit). The teachers were conscious of the nutritional value of the food served but felt the most important thing was that pupils ate something. For example, pupils had requested 'Pop Tarts' and staff had debated whether or not to offer them, but in the end decided that a 'Pop Tart' was better than having no breakfast at all.
Health and the curriculum
10.10 In secondary schools, healthy eating and related topics such as health and exercise were taught through a number of different subjects including: home economics; personal and social education; physical education and biology. Younger pupils in SI and S2 in particular were given lessons on healthy eating in home economics. School nurses were sometimes involved in the teaching.
10.11 In primary schools healthy eating was taught variously through project work; annual healthy eating weeks and making posters on healthy eating. One primary school reported they had updated their curriculum this year to include weekly sessions on healthy eating. The emphasis in the teaching was on balance and choosing a healthy diet rather than labelling individual foods as unhealthy.
10.12 A range of teachers in one special school taught aspects of healthy eating. The subject was formally taught as part of health education to primary pupils and in home economics. Teachers organised food tasting sessions, such as of different fruits, to encourage wider choice. Pupils were encouraged to write poems about food in English as part of national poetry day. These poems were displayed in the dining hall. The science teacher had helped pupils plant and grow fruit trees, rhubarb and herbs in the school grounds. Older boys in particular were encouraged to eat healthily by the football coach.
10.13 Pupils in all types of school generally appeared to have a reasonable knowledge about healthy eating. For example, when asked about their ideal lunch, pupils did appear to be aware of what foods were healthy and unhealthy, even if they did not always choose the most healthy options:
"You understand enough but most folk don't follow it because pie, burgers and chips taste that good" (pupil, secondary school).
10.14 The pupils in the primary school where teaching emphasised balance rather than focusing on the health effects of individual foods challenged the researcher when they were asked to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy choices.
10.15 At the detailed level, when considering which specific foods were more or less healthy, some products such as fish fingers, crisps, and pasta, did cause confusion or pupils said the foods could be either healthy or unhealthy. For example, one special school pupil said that pasta could be unhealthy sometimes depending on how it is made and who makes it:
"..some chefs put grease on it and make it fatter but if my mum was making it she would only put a wee drop of grease in it and make it nice".
10.16 In some cases, pupils said they learned about healthy eating at home. A number of pupils said they felt healthy eating was really common sense and occasionally questioned the need for it being included in the curriculum. However, there were also other pupils who called for more teaching of healthy eating.
Policies and strategies to promote health
Free fruit initiative
10.17 In primary schools, P1 and P2 pupils received fruit each day as part of the Free Fruit initiative. In some cases, older primary pupils were also given free fruit, although less frequently. Pupils struggled with the larger sized fruit which had to be cut up by staff. Often, the fruit was prepared by staff and presented to the pupils in individual portions. A Head Teacher said that dried fruit had been tried as an alternative to fresh fruit, but this had not proved popular. In one of the special schools, which included both primary and secondary age pupils, the Head Teacher said that the fruit was not provided automatically, until the school asked for it. It was now provided to all primary aged pupils in the school.
Water provision
10.18 Most of the primary and secondary schools supplied water to pupils. Water fountains or coolers were placed at various points around schools. Some secondary schools reported strong demand from new pupils moving from primary schools where they were used to water being provided. The extent to which pupils were allowed to drink water in class varied from school to school. Some were provided with water bottles and allowed to fill them up and drink as required. Drinking water in class was sometimes left to the discretion of teachers. While some allowed this, not all did; others only did so at certain times, such as the start of the class.
Rules on consumption
10.19 While pupils were sometimes allowed to drink water in class, they were generally not allowed to eat during lessons. Occasionally rules were set on food and drink consumption at other times. For example, one school had banned the consumption of fizzy drinks and flavoured crisps during break times.
10.20 However, staff did point out that schools could not control all aspects of behaviour. For example, consumption of specific food and drinks could be banned at break times and removed from sale in schools, but they had no control over contents of packed lunches. Instead, one secondary Head Teacher had written to parents suggesting healthier options for packed lunches. In a different secondary school, uptake of school meals was particularly low and many pupils ate outwith the school. The Head Teacher said it was extremely difficult to prevent pupils leaving school at lunchtime. There were a large number of alternative, often relatively unhealthy, options for eating out close to the school. This meant that, in reality, promoting healthy eating through changes to the school meals provision would have limited effect.
Health promoting strategies
10.21 A few schools were working to a specific strategy for health promotion. One primary school was at the beginning of a three year development plan to become a health promoting school. Another school was part of a collaborative group with other schools in the local area whose broader work included health promotion for both pupils and teachers. This collaboration had prompted changes to the curriculum.
10.22 Health promotion was primarily undertaken by the inclusion of healthy eating in the curriculum, described in the previous section, and through the school meals service itself, mainly covered in Chapter 4.
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