Consultation – Proposals For Healthy Eating In Schools Measure

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA),

Ms Ruth Hatton
Deputy Committee Clerk
Legislation Office
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
CF99 1NA

29 February 2008

Dear Ms Hatton

Subject: Consultation Healthy Eating Measure

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA), a registered charity, advances education by promoting partnerships between home and school through support for Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs).  The organisation represents approximately seven million parents and teachers, with more than 13,000 individual PTAs currently in membership across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The remit of the NCPTA is to support PTAs and represent the views of parents generically (to Government and in the media etc).  The NCPTA’s involvement in the healthy school food agenda is longstanding: I was pleased to be a member of the Schools Meal Review Panel and over the last 18 months we have been working closely with the School Food Trust.   Our aim has been to: (1) ensure the views of parents are heard as the agenda to improve the quality of food supplied and consumed in English schools moves on apace; and (2) provide PTAs with support to operate within the new requirements when they were introduced in England.

The NCPTA welcomes the focus on healthy eating in Welsh schools.  The evident implications in terms of improving health expectations and school engagement are now well documented.  This is also supported by parents.  In a demographically weighted survey of 500 parents commissioned by the NCPTA ⁽¹⁾ 93% reported they welcomed the Government’s plans to remove junk food from schools.  

However, the support of parents should not be taken for granted.  The English experience has sadly shown that despite agreeing with the principle of healthy eating the way in which this is implemented in schools can alienate parents.   As is acknowledged, this has certainly been as a result of the speed of change.  However, we would also like to highlight other issues:

• Much of the discourse around the implementation of school food standards in England has referred to parents generically as part of the problem.  This has not been helpful and has possibly offended many parents who feel that they have been struggling to maintain a healthy diet for their child whilst the standard of school meals has been declining;
• The stringent nature of the food standards imposed appear to be about excluding whole ranges of food from a child’s diet in school as opposed to teaching children to enjoy good quality food and make informed choices.  The standards are therefore far removed from the experience of most parents whose interaction with children around food will not be in the same sanitised environment; and
• The move to implement the new standards has often come before other important issues have been resolved.  These include ensuring that all children eligible for free school meals can afford to buy a whole meal under the new provision.  Some schools have experienced difficulties in providing timely access to food under the new requirements preventing children from taking part in other lunch time activities.

However, the NCPTA predicts that the English standards are most likely to cause conflict with parents as these become the basis for locally agreed packed lunch policies and are used to dictate and impose restrictions on the food and drink pupils bring into school for their own consumption.  

In England, a majority of children still have packed lunches (58% ⁽²⁾) and we would assume that this is likely to be the case in Wales.  It is increasingly expected that parents will exclude many foods from what they are providing as well as preparing a range of foods which are expensive in terms of time and money, (please see the pack lunch planner provided by the School Food Trust).  The NCPTA is concerned that the School Food Trust has now issued guidance on the right approach for confiscating items from a child’s lunchbox.

We are therefore delighted that the proposal acknowledges that there should not be any requirement to restrict the food and drink pupils bring for their own consumption.  The NCPTA would instead recommend working with parents to inform as the basis for achieving a voluntary change in the food provided in lunchboxes.  This is the route which is much more likely to influence the rest of the food a child consumes in the home.

In short, the NCPTA, along with parents, is supportive of the move to improve the quality of the food provided in Welsh schools.  However, we would also like to highlight the need to work in partnership with parents, to retain their good will as well as influence their behaviour.  The NCPTA would like to offer its support in achieving both objectives.

If you would like to discuss further any of the points made in this response or have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

David Butler
Chief Executive

⁽¹⁾ - Independently conducted by ERS by telephone survey in August 2006
⁽²⁾ - School Foot Trust