Beechen Cliff School, Bath

Whole School Food Policy

Introduction

At Beechen Cliff we believe that knowledge and understanding of nutrition is essential for good health, conduct and effective teaching and learning. We recognise the important connection between a healthy diet and a child's ability to learn effectively and perform well within the class room environment. An adequate fluid intake has also been proven to enhance energy and alertness.

Aims and Objectives

To improve the health of staff, pupils and their families by helping to influence their eating habits through increasing their knowledge and awareness of food issues, including what constitutes a healthy, balanced diet.

To develop healthy eating and drinking habits that will last beyond pupils’ time at our school and lead to a healthier lifestyle in future years.

To give pupils the information they need to make healthy choices and to encourage these choices by being a good role model.

To ensure that the school community gives consistent messages about food and health and that healthy eating is promoted in lessons, through school publications and by providing good role models.

To ensure that food provision in the school reflects the ethical and medical requirements of all children and staff e.g. religious, ethnic, vegetarian, medical and allergenic needs.

To encourage fluid intake, with an easily accessible water supply provided throughout the day.

To make the provision and consumption of food a positive, sociable experience.

To contribute to the healthy physical development of all members of our school community.

The School Nutrition Action Group (S.N.A.G.)

A core working group was formed when Beechen Cliff first started working towards Schools for Health status in 2005. We achieved this status in July 2006 and are now aiming for National Healthy School status. The government’s new ‘nutritional standards’ are an important part of this, and will provide the guidelines beechen Cliff will follow. The group will continue to meet and includes representatives from the school community which will evolve as new pupils join.

The Breakfast Club

In line with our commitment to encouraging a healthy start to the day, Beechen Cliff runs a breakfast club where a range of hot and cold choices are available. This service is well used and promoted through the Wednesday letter.

Break Time Snacks

No crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate are sold. Snacks include sandwiches, baguettes, cereal bars, fresh fruit and cakes and biscuits made on the premises to drink, boys can choose from fruit juice, still and sparkling flavoured water and cartons of milk. Jugs of water are available free of charge.
We hope to extend availability of hot drinks from just at breakfast club to all breaks.

School Lunches

All our school meals are cooked on site by our own catering team.
No crisps, chocolate, sweets or fizzy drinks are for sale during lunch (or at any other time).
At least 90 % of all food is prepared on site, including fresh pizza, salads, cakes, puddings and fresh custard.
All food bought by the catering department is either locally produced or a recommended supplier that has HACCAP or ISOH in place. Fresh fruit and vegetables are bought in daily as required from local sources. Fresh meat and eggs are also supplied locally.
Beechen Cliff have followed the new food standards and brought in many changes early, as part of becoming a ‘healthy school’ in July 2006
In line with this, there are now no chips, very few fried foods, a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables and no salt and pepper on tables.
A ‘taste before you buy’ option and regular ‘theme days’ encourages children to try something new and widen their diets.
The pupils are consulted about how they feel about school lunches, through surveys and via the school council
Alternatively children may bring a packed lunch to school

The Dining Environment

Pupils can sit where they choose, which encourages a social setting where they can eat with their friends and this is for people eating packed lunches or buying food on site. Staff and visitors use the dining hall alongside the pupils.

Recent changes have been made to the queuing system to avoid ‘healthy/unhealthy’ choices. Instead the healthy option is promoted as priority.
As far as possible we want the dining environment to be an attractive and inviting place to eat, where children are encouraged to interact with each other and enjoy their food. Posters around the hall promote healthy eating. We hope to further improve the dining hall through redecoration and hopefully involving pupils, parents and the art department

Drinks

We recognise that low fluid intake can lead to reduced academic performance through poor concentration and lethargy, reduced physical performance and health problems. We encourage all children to drink water at regular intervals throughout the school day. Water is freely available to all members of the school community via water fountains, push button taps and water jugs on every table at lunchtime. We continue to encourage pupils to bring a bottle of water to school which can be re-filled from various water points around the school.

Food across the Curriculum

There are a number of opportunities for children to develop their knowledge and understanding of food and healthy eating within the curriculum. It is covered in the formal curriculum through PSHE and Citizenship, Food Technology, PE and Science and languages.
Food technology is one of the most popular options at KS3 and GCSE and all boys in year 7, 8, and 9 do a 10 week food module.

Extra-Curricular Activities and participation in local and national events

We are planning a health education evening for June 2007, aimed at parents. This will include cookery demonstrations and ideas for healthy eating.
The school publishes regular articles on aspects of healthy living including healthy eating in the ‘Wednesday letter’, which goes out to all staff, pupils and parents and governors.
We have joined the National Healthy School Award scheme and will be working towards this as a school.
Staff and students have attended national lectures on diet and health in London and at Bath University.

Events and Lettings

The School Food Trust advises that the new standards for school food do not apply to one-off functions such as discos, or fund raising events like school fetes. We don’t believe foods should be ‘demonised but we hope instead that members of the school follow the ‘everything in moderation’ school of thought
Events that run within the school day do try and follow healthy eating guidelines, for example, some of the boys, parents and staff run a smoothie bar on every sports day, making fresh fruit smoothies and selling healthy snacks.

Celebrations

As just mentioned, pupils are taught to view sweets and chocolate as foods to be eaten in moderation on special occasions. In general pupils are discouraged from bringing sweets and chocolate to school. As long as common sense prevails children could bring in sweets and cakes from their holidays as it could be seen to be educational to eat food from other cultures. Currently, these foods may occasionally be given as prizes by teachers at the end of term and at Awards Assemblies. One thought is to keep to fair trade, organic chocolate based prizes!

Monitoring and review

This policy will be reviewed annually to take account of new developments.