HES 16 - Conwy County Borough Council
Consultation – Proposed Healthy Eating in Schools Measure Committee
In response to your letter dated 16 May 2008 regarding the above, these are the written evidence for the Committee from Conwy Education Services on the following:
1.Is there a need for an Assembly Measure to promote healthy eating in schools in view of existing initiatives within this policy area?
Points for Consideration
Although we can rely on the County Catering Services to operate within the Appetite for Life Guidance, it is much harder to ensure that all independent caterers will do so. Bearing in mind that any school could establish their own catering company or buy into an established service with its headquarters outside Wales, legislation is the only guaranteed way to ensure consistency of service across all schools.
However this needs to be supported by local initiatives to ensure customers do not ‘vote with their feet’ and find methods to rebel against the healthy food on offer as has been reported in England.
Offering a free healthy school meal to all pupils as is the case in Finland would be the most effective way of ensuring 100% take up for school meals.
Many local authorities and health partnerships are now developing joint food and fitness policies and this is a recommendation through Welsh Assembly Government, Food and Fitness - Promoting healthy eating and physical activity for children and young people in Wales (2006), a 5 year implementation plan for children and young people. Some ‘Appetite for Life’ implementation groups are looking at both. It would be a backwards step to look at food/healthy eating in isolation. There is encouragement through the healthy schools scheme and Welsh Assembly Government grants to increase activities to promote food and fitness.
The inclusion of other premises needs to be clarified as this may have a big impact on increasing extra curricula activities, out of hours learning, after school clubs, community focused schools and activities set up by schools in local authority leisure centres.
2. Do you support the key provisions set out in the proposed Measure,
i.e: the duty on Welsh Ministers, governing bodies, head teachers and local education authorities to promote healthy eating in schools;
Yes, this is ongoing in Conwy at authority level and Head teacher level in all of our educational establishments. However this would be an extension to governor responsibilities and would require initial training
Local education authorities would need to receive adequate support in implementing/delivering the proposed measure and would need to elect personnel to co-ordinate the implementation county wide.
The Measure needs to promote a whole school approach to food, fitness and health and recognise that pupils and parents need to be a part of the decision making and implementation process. Families should be engaged with rather than reported to.
The method of reporting needs to be clear as will how an ‘increase in Healthy eating’ will be measured.
healthy eating should be part of the inspection regime and includes reporting requirements on Welsh Ministers, the Chief Inspector of Education and training in Wales and governing bodies;
Welcome this as it raises the status of healthy lifestyles and would ensure head teachers take an active interest in the provision of food, but inspectors would need training in this field to ensure consistency of approach. It should become part of the whole school self-evaluation process which will bind into School Development Plans.
Estyn will provide evidence to WAG following school inspections, identifying Estyn inspectors for this specialist reporting will require sound selection , and training.
Awareness of Estyn requirements with regards to meeting Appetite for Life benchmarks need to be addressed with school headteachers and governors through awareness raising sessions, and training.
It is important to include all aspects of school food as part of Estyn inspection if it is to become integral to the school. This will need to include not only school meal standards, but also changes to the curricula, other aspects of school meals and school food policy attainment.
power of Welsh Ministers to specify nutritional standards, including the requirement to specify maximum levels of salt, sugar and artificial additives in food and drink provided for pupils on school premises;
No objection to this.
Requirements to include specification regarding maximum levels of fat including saturated fat and possibly trans fats.
encouraging take up of school meals and protection of identity of those whoreceive them;
Welcome the emphasis on encouraging take up of free school meals. Unsure how this could be enforced unless very specific guidance is given to schools on how to do it.
Even cashless systems can go wrong (when you have a cashier yelling out ‘you can’t have that, it’s a pudding or a drink’ for instance).
Authorities with clients who have an entitlement should be encouraged to complete application(s) for children on a one stop shop scenario i.e a common facility /application basis for determining entitlement e.g housing , Benefits/allowances.
the duty on local education authorities to ensure availability of drinking water for pupils.
Should not provide any problems - however it has to be the duty of the caterers to provide free water with meals, rather than the school.
There is a cost implication to this to ensure enough distribution points are funded per head of school population, and the ongoing cost of repair and maintenance for these units need to be considered.
3. What are the practical implications of putting these provisions in place?
Appetite for Life funding will help for the first 2 years, but more funding is required to ensure the infrastructure of the catering facilities are capable of preparing for the revised food and nutrient requirements.
Further funding post two years will be required to address sustaining the initiatives.
Local Authorities need specialist education advisors or equivalent to strengthen and support the curriculum developments.
Current design and technology teachers do not necessarily have the expertise, guidance or resources to deliver increased food and nutrition in the curriculum and teacher training will need to be addressed.
This has to be seen as a sustainable Measure which will require regular and long term monitoring (longer than 2 years). It will require experienced personnel to lead on delivery of the measure, as well as provide guidance and monitor outcomes appropriately. There is a need for a long term action plan e.g.10 year plan in order to accrue sufficient evidence of good practice and sustainable outcomes (which is currently limited).
4. Are there further provisions that you would like to see added to the proposed
Assembly Measure?
Consideration given to restrictions on what pupils can bring in to schools to eat and drink?
We have had instances of parents/peers rebelling against rules that schools have imposed.
Ensuring that a school Code of Conduct involves staying on school site during lunch breaks would restrict all pupils to access school lunch. In order to assist delivery larger schools will need to work around a staggered lunch break. This will involve careful timetabling so that all can access dining halls.
There is a need to demonstrate a commitment to integrating the subject of food and nutrition within the school curriculum, promoting a cross curricular approach and avoid addressing it in isolation. There is a need to promote a whole school approach to food, fitness and health and school personnel need to receive adequate training and guidance on how to deliver on this.
There is a need to develop the curriculum to incorporate knowledge and skills, effective methods of nutrition education, provision of healthier choices, marketing and promotion and inclusion of the wider school environment.
The establishment of School Nutrition Action Groups with representation from School governors, pupils, school catering, community dietitian, teaching staff and parents would support the availability, promotion and provision of healthier food in schools.
Providing healthier options alone will not necessarily guarantee the uptake it needs to be about informed choice. The inclusion of OCN (Open College Network) level 2 Food and Nutrition Skills courses and OCN level 1 Practical Cooking Skills courses within the school curriculum would benefit pupils and staff.
Integration of food and nutrition activity within extracurricular programmes and out of hours learning e.g. promotion of OCN (Open College Network) level 2 Food and Nutrition Skills courses and OCN level 1 Practical Cooking Skills courses, WAG funded Cymru Cooks.
The Measure should encourage the linking of feeder primary schools with secondary schools through food based activity e.g. practical cooking workshops, peer led food and nutrition workshops managed and delivered by trained secondary school pupils to primary school pupils.
Consideration will also need to be given as to how the ‘healthier eating’ message is conveyed, i.e. less emphasis on the banning of food and more emphasis on the importance of eating a balanced, varied diet, and eating more of foods from particular food groups, e.g. fruit and vegetables.
The 41 proposals set in the Appetite for Life consultation document provide clear detailed guidance on how to implement the action plan and could be used to support the implementation of the measure.
5. Do you think the proposed Assembly Measure will achieve its overall purpose and aim, i.e. to enable a holistic,comprehensive ‘made in Wales’ policy on nutrition in schools to be developed and implemented?
Yes - because in Wales the ground work has been done, through grants for catering services, Healthy Schools, setting deadlines for Food and Fitness policies, making cooking and food preparation a more prominent feature of the design and technology curriculum, food and fitness grants etc.
Investing time and energy into developing and delivering the proposed Measure will require constant supervision and monitoring it will require long term vision, guidance and support by all relevant partners. It should be viewed as a positive sustainable Measure.
Yours sincerely
R Geraint James
Statutory Head of Education Services
