Guidance to Help Schools Promote Healthy Eating

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Published: 10 August 2009

Guidance to Help Schools Promote Healthy Eating

A CD-Rom resource pack to help schools promote healthy eating as part of the Appetite for Life Action Plan was sent to all 22 local authorities across Wales.

Appetite for Life was launched by the Welsh Assembly Government in November 2007 and sets out the actions needed to improve the nutritional standards of food and drink provided throughout the school day.

The Action Plan aims to improve pupils’ food choices: to increase their consumption of fruit, vegetables and other essential nutrients and reduce their consumption of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.

Appetite for Life recognises that schools provide an ideal environment to convey positive messages on healthy choices.

It supports children and young people by encouraging and promoting a whole school approach to food and fitness.

This new resource pack contains a series of materials to promote healthy eating and wellbeing, including:

· Reward charts for children who make healthy food choices with spaces for stickers, stars or stamps

· Reward certificates for staff to customise, such as recognising pupils who have tried new foods or overcoming a nutritional challenge

· Poster templates to promote new healthy menus, themed days or interesting facts about food on the menu

· Healthy breakfast factsheets, including join-the-dots activities and colouring sheets

· Template and samples press releases for schools to promote activities with local media

Education Minister Jane Hutt said:

“I commend local authorities and schools across Wales for embracing Appetite for Life and making efforts to improve school meals and educate children about a balanced diet.

We must however continue to drive forward our messages on eating the right food and getting enough physical activity to reduce the number of cases of obesity in children and associated health problems.

In the short-term it can help pupils improve their concentration inside and outside school; in the long term it can help prevent ill health later in life.

This CD-Rom demonstrates our ongoing commitment to a healthy diet and lifestyle, and the activities in this pack are colourful and fun and designed with children in mind.

Evidence shows that introducing change rapidly without testing increases the risk of failure.

To successfully introduce better food and drink standards, we must engage with and involve children and young people to ensure they actually consume healthier options on offer.

This resource pack makes healthy food fun and interesting for pupils.”

Promotional work and activities with schools to support Appetite for Life needs to be planned and co-ordinated at a local level and WAG are providing the Appetite for Life contact and the Healthy Schools co-ordinator in each authority with five copies each of the CD Rom.

They will to work together to determine how best to use and distribute their resources to maximise the local Appetite for Life marketing campaign within their area.

Further information

Appetite for Life

Climbing Higher - creating an active Wales

WAG – Health and social care

Mind, Exercise, Nutrition... Do It! or MEND for short

NICE guidelines on overweight and obesity

Healthy and Active Lifestyles in Wales

WAG – Sport and recreation

WAG – Health improvement

A healthy future for Wales

Sports Council for Wales

Wales Active