Supporting your students with a healthy food culture

To help schools build a whole-school approach to healthy eating, action must be taken in three key areas

There is a growing body of research showing that what children eat can affect not only their physical health but also their mood, mental health and learning and, according to Age UK, evidence is now accumulating that supports a link between diet and brain processes such as our thinking and cognitive skills.

Ofsted’s new Common Inspection Framework includes a judgment on personal development, behaviour and welfare. In order to reach this judgement, inspectors will consider how schools are supporting students to gain knowledge about how to keep themselves healthy and make informed choices about healthy eating, and fitness.

Schools should be taking a whole-school approach to encourage a healthy food culture and there are a number of areas you can take action in to get good results.

Leadership

If you are going to successfully incorporate a healthy food culture for your school, you must lead by example. Engaging key stakeholders and promoting healthy eating across the school can be done by:

• building a ‘whole-school’ food policy that can be shared with staff, pupils, parents and carers;
• promoting healthy eating and learning what works through breakfast and after-school clubs;
• engaging senior leadership and governors in what children are eating and drinking;
• including strategies for healthy eating in your school development plan;
• gathering ‘take up’ data to determine how many students are eating school meals;
• engaging with awards and schemes such as Food for Life, Schools Awards, Children’s Food Trust and Healthy Schools.

Provision

You must be able to provide the suitable resources if you are going to make a success of encouraging healthy eating. ‘Resources’ can include the supply of food itself, environments that promote healthy eating, and processes which facilitate easy access for students. Examples of good provision include: 

• an attractive, happy and calm dining environment;
• the opportunity for staff and children to eat together;
• engaged and happy catering staff;
• conversations with pupils and parents about healthy eating;
• cashless payment systems to reduce queues;
• free access to water.

Education

Finally, it is key that pupils are educated on healthy eating so that they can continue to make healthy choices when they’re out of school – and into the future. To guide pupils to adopt a healthy eating culture, schools can:

• place consistent messaging regarding healthy eating across school subjects;
• ensure that time, space and practical resources are provided for students to eat healthily;
• offer food education schemes 
• provide ingredients for pupils who are unable to bring them from home when taking part in cookery lessons;
• encourage food growing and gardening activities.