Food Policy

Background

This policy has been formulated to enable Newtown Soberton Infant School to develop and maintain a shared philosophy on all aspects of food and drink. Its key aim is to develop healthy eating and drinking activities within the school that benefit pupils, staff, parents, caterers and others associated with the school.

The policy has been formulated through consultation with pupils, parents and staff, and its development must continue to be by consultation. The policy and future amendments to the policy must be communicated clearly and consistently to pupils, parents and staff.

Aims and Objectives

- Newtown Soberton Infant School recognises the important connection between a healthy, balanced diet and a student?s ability to learn effectively and achieve high standards in school.
- The school aims to ensure that pupils are well nourished at school and that every pupil has access to safe, tasty, nutritious food, and a safe, easily available water supply during the school day.
- The school recognises that it has a responsibility to ensure that all members of the school community are able to make informed choices about the importance of food and its production.
- Through effective leadership, the school ethos and the curriculum, all school staff can bring together all elements of the school day to create an environment which supports a healthy lifestyle.
- The school is committed to providing a welcoming eating environment that encourages the positive social and cultural interaction of pupils and teachers.
- The school recognises that sharing food is a fundamental experience for all people: a primary way to nurture and celebrate our cultural diversity: and an excellent bridge for building friendships, and intergenerational bonds.
- The school is committed to ensuring that food provision in the school reflects the ethical and medical requirements of staff and pupils e.g. religious, ethnic, vegetarian, medical and allergenic needs.
- The school is committed to ensuring that it involves pupils and parents in guiding food policy and practice within the school, and enables them to contribute to healthy eating and acts on their feedback.
- The school is committed to provision of training in practical food education for staff, including diet, nutrition, food safety and hygiene.

Guidelines
In accordance with the aims and objectives of this policy, the following guidelines will apply to the food policy and provision in the school.

Break time

All pupils are provided with a piece of fruit for the morning break time. Water or Milk may be drunk.

Water

Plentiful drinking of water by school children has been recognised in improving behaviour and concentration. Therefore, all pupils can bring a plastic water bottle with water in to drink throughout the school day. Children are regularly reminded to drink water at break times. Drinking water is provided in all classrooms via a cold tap.

School Lunches

School lunches have undergone a thorough review by Hampshire Caterers, our contractors, to ensure that the children receive all the nutrients required for a balanced diet.

On a daily basis, pupils must be offered carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables on their plate. Every effort must be made to ensure that appropriate choices are available for all pupils throughout lunchtime.

We are committed to our school lunches meeting the healthy, sustainable practices listed in the aims and objectives. The school is committed to keeping parents and carers informed about recent and future changes to the nutritional content of school lunches, whether brought about by local or national initiatives.

Currently, all our school meals are provided by the Local Authority's chosen contractors, HC35. All meals provided must meet the Government's Minimum Nutritional Guidelines for school catering. It is noted that Genetically Modified foods, foods containing nuts and mechanically re-claimed meat is strictly banned from school lunches.

o Chips only feature on the menu once a week.
o A traditional roast will appear on the menu each week.
o Meals will be more traditionally cooked with vegetables added to the recipes.
o There will be more variety of vegetables and fresh herbs on the menu.
o Fruit will be included in the traditional sweet served with custard sauce, or a fresh fruit cup option will be provided.
o The overall choice has been reduced in order to help younger pupils choose healthy combinations.
o Drinks offered will be either milk bases or fruit based with no added sugar.
o All menus have had salt, sugar and fat levels reduced.

The school is committed to publicising menu information received from the contractors to parents and carers. This information should be available in the school newsletter each term and on request at the school office.

Packed Lunches

The Food Standards Agency survey of packed lunchboxes showed that many children?s lunchboxes contained too much sugar, salt and fat and too little fruit and vegetables. The school is committed to encouraging parents to provide healthier lunchboxes for children at Newtown Soberton Infant School. To facilitate this, the school will provide guidance to parents based on the food in schools recommendations of what constitutes a healthier lunchbox; this guidance should be via regular newsletters.

The school actively discourages some packed lunch foods. A list of foods considered to be in this category includes the following: Crisps, Sweets & Confectionary, Chocolate Bars, and ?Squash? or Added-Sugar and/or Sweetened Drinks.

The school recognises that parents provide packed lunches for a variety of reasons, including dietary requirements or intolerance, and religious observance. For this reason, no food may be swapped or shared from packed lunches. Food swapped or shared may be confiscated.

Food not eaten in a packed lunch will be taken home by the child to ensure that parents know what their child has or has not eaten. We will encourage parents to include in lunchboxes those foods which are known to have a positive impact on the child's physical development and ability to concentrate and thus learn effectively. Lunchtime staff will engage with children and chat to them about what they are eating. A balanced lunchbox will receive a Healthy Food sticker.

The Dining Environment

The school is committed to providing a welcoming eating environment that encourages the positive social and cultural interaction of pupils and teachers. The school will aim to provide a calm, ordered environment conducive to mutual respect and good behaviour.

It is also committed to the following:
- Active help for children who find the physical process of school dinners or packed lunch difficult ? for example, carrying trays, opening tubs or packets.
- Encouraging all children to eat the food they have been provided with.
- Equal treatment of children having School Dinners and Packed Lunches, in terms of provision and supervision.
- Provision of water jugs, containing clean water and cups on every table.
- Encouraging children to wash their hands before eating.



Celebrations & Festivals

The school also recognises that food plays an important role in celebration of cultural, personal or community milestones, such as religious festivals, birthdays or the end of term. Food given should form part of a balanced, healthy diet, at an individual teacher?s discretion.


Food in the curriculum

Food represents many things to us all: energy, nutrition, commodity, livelihood, communal activity and pleasure, to name but a few. Its significance in our lives means that it can and should be used to enrich the school curriculum. The school curriculum can in turn be used to enrich pupils' experience of food and healthy eating. Schemes of work will reflect the whole-school emphasis on healthy eating.

Curriculum content will focus on:

o The importance of food groups and the role they play in promoting growth.
o The development of strong healthy bodies.
o What constitutes a balanced diet.
o An understanding of cultural diversity.
o The development of respect and understanding towards the beliefs and attitudes of others.
o How food is produced.

Subject co-ordinators are asked to develop schemes of work, detailing the learning objectives and activities relating to Food, Nutrition and Healthy Eating.


Partnership with parents and carers and pupils

The partnership of home and school is critical in shaping how children and young people behave, particularly where health is concerned. Each must reinforce the other. This is not always easy but our school is well placed to lead by example.

Parents, carers and pupils must be regularly updated on food policy guidelines through school and class newsletters, and consulted on a regular basis.

During out of school events, eg Christmas Fair, Barbeque etc., the school will encourage parents and carers to consider the Food Policy in the range of refreshments offered for sale to the children.


Role of the Governors

Governors monitor and check that the school policy is upheld and are responsible for developing this policy in consultation with the school community.


Monitoring and Evaluation

Evaluation of the progress made by the school in implementing and sustaining the Aims and Objectives of this policy will be undertaken by the governors annually.


Communication/dissemination of the Policy

The policy will be sent to parents and comments taken into account at the next review. The policy will be available to all members of the school community via:

o School Web Site
o Display in the School Foyer


Review

Written Spring 07
Review Spring 09 Back to top