Update: School Meals Food and Learning

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UpdateSchool MealsFood and Learning

• Carol Leverkus
• Schools Dietitian
• Autumn 2008

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Update

• School Meals (representing Glenis Quinn and
  Michael Gallacher)
• relevance for opted out schools, outside their
  remit
• blue text on school meals slides!
• Food Policy
• Bedfordshire School Meals week
• The local Change 4 Life programme tackling
  overweight/ obesity
• Schools Dietetic Project
• Multi agency projects NHS Bedfordshire (PCT),
  Council, Healthy Schools (Eden school meals)

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Schools Dietetic Project

• Priorities
• School meals
• support / signposting for schools, not with Eden
  contract, to meet legislation.
• increasing uptake
• improving lunch choices
• School Food Policy supporting Healthy Schools
  accreditation
• 3. Change 4 Life programme targeting school
  communities with higher levels of obesity and
  overweight, focussing on improving habits by
  modelling.

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Regulations for school foodSchool Food Reform
Timetable

• September 2006 interim food-based standards
  for school lunches
• September 2007 food-based standards for
  school food other than lunches
• September 2008 lower and middle schools
  (with traditional service) to meet new nutrient
  based and final food based standards for school
  lunches
• September 2009 secondary schools, most middle
  schools, PRUs and special schools as above

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Standards for school food
other than lunches

• No cakes and biscuits
• Restrictions on salt, condiments, fried foods,
  starchy foods cooked in fats and oils and
  meat products - as for school lunches.
• Where restrictions apply e.g. fried foods 2
  items per week covers lunch and all other food
  services. School lunch and breakfast club liaise.
  
• Suitable foods
• Sandwiches, homemade soups, tea bread, malt
  loaf, currant buns, fruit English muffins,
  bagels, dried fruit (up to 0.5 oil as glaze),
  fresh fruit, vegetable sticks with teaspoon of
  dip, yogurt, leaflet being developed

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. Standards for school food
other than lunches

• No confectionery sold in schools - includes
  cereal bars.
• No savoury snacks other then nuts and seeds
  (without added salt, fat or sugar).
• Variety of fruit and veg. in all school food
  outlets.
• Access at all times to free, fresh drinking
  water e.g.
• water jugs on tables
• No sweetened soft drinks to be sold. Only water
  (still
• or sparkling), milk (skimmed or semi), pure
  fruit juices, yogurt or milk drinks
  (less than 5  added sugar),
• low cal. hot chocolate, tea, coffee.
• Minimum legal requirements and voluntary code.

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Food-based guidance for lunch 2008/2009 for
overheads

• Fruit and vegetables
• Not less than two portions of fruit and
  vegetables per day per child - at least one of
  each.
• Meat, fish and non-dairy protein
• Oily fish at least once in three weeks.
• Starchy foods
• Unbuttered bread as an extra to the meal
  every day.
• Starchy food cooked in fat/oil max 3x weekly
• Starchy food not cooked in fat available
  daily
• Healthier drinks
• water available and drinks as for other food
  service

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Food-based guidance contd

• Milk and dairy - semi-skimmed or skimmed, not
  full fat.
• Cakes and biscuits but with no chocolate/confectio
  nery
• Savoury crackers, breadsticks with dairy food,
  fruit, veg
• No confectionery
• No savoury snacks
• No salt condiments restricted No table salt
  condiments only in 10g sachets or a
  teaspoonful.
• Deep-fried foods restricted - including those
  deep-fried in manufacturing process, max of twice
  a week.
• Manufactured meat products. Economy burgers
  banned and some offal. Four groups. Upto one per
  group every 2 weeks.
  
  
  
• 1. Burgers/
  chopped meat etc
• 2. Sausages etc
• 3. Pies
• 4. Shaped/coated meat products

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Nutrient Based Standards by 2008/9

• Minimum levels per age group of
• Carbohydrate, protein, fibre, vitamins A and
  C, folate, calcium, iron and zinc
• Maximum levels per age group of
• NMES (added sugars not lactose), fat,
  saturated fat, sodium
• Energy per age group /- 5 - bread is excluded

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Opted out schools how many?

• Options to analyse menus, using School Lunch
  Grant
• your caterer
• pay school meals at council to undertake - no
  option for web based terminals
• groups of schools e.g Trusts buy software, need
  right expertise to get menus compliant - web
  based terminal for each school (? 300 per
  terminal)
• link to another Authority and arrange terminal or
  contract them to analyse
• adapt model, compliant menus on SFT site (3
  secondary, 2 primary) temporary measure
• Calculate by food in minus waste and leftover
  stock
• - lunch only service and less flexibility

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Other considerations

• Lifespan of School Food Trust 6 years
• Nutrients standards do not allow for
• - childrens preferences
• - food waste
• - significant errors on food composition
  tables
• - effort by small caterers better spent on
  
• getting more children to eat more healthily
• - fortifying/ disguising foods to aid
  compliance
• does not help learning through modelling
• National nutritional targets placed at school
  level rather than as a national monitoring tool.

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School Food Trust Update

• Review of software packages and menu planning
  tools due review of support services available
• Caterers guide to calculating the nutrient
  content of lunch recipes Sept 08
• Secondary school guide to the nutrient based
  standards for school lunches Sept 08

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SFT contd.

• Nutrient standards for middle schools submitted
  as new act! owers and uppers standards still
  from Schools Dietitian
• Sign up for voluntary code of practice for drinks
• Iron rich recipes and invitation to test them
• Survey of school lunches in 6 schools in
• each Authority
• Special Educational Needs Schools
• - issues around nutrient based standards
• - case studies Dec 08
• on SFT site
• - snack/tuck leaflet being produced locally

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Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives Strategyfor
England January 2008

• invest to ensure all schools are healthy
  schools, including making cooking a compulsory
  part of the curriculum by 2011, for all 1114
  year-olds
• ask all schools to develop
• healthy lunch box policies,
• so that those not yet taking up
• school lunches are also eating
• healthily

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Packed Lunch Policy

• Guidance to mirror regulations for school meals
• Promote social and health benefits of lunch break
  - avoid older children missing meals
• Ban sweets and confectionery to avoid dinner
  money being spent on these!
• Suit your school community

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Governing Body

• Food policy in Schools A strategic Policy
  Framework for Governing Bodies Sept 2007
• Schools with delegated budgets responsible for
  ensuring standards are met. Schools with Eden
  have delegated responsibility back to L.A. for
  their provision e.g lunch, tuck etc
• But all governors responsible for the overview
  are we getting what we should be?, food policy
  incl. packed lunch policy, every child matters,
  healthy schools
• A fresh look at school food procurement
  efficiency and sustainablility

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Bedfordshire School Meals Campaign

• 4 categories for Eden schools
• - Poster , Recipe , Caption and Initiative
• 3 categories for opted out school
• (excluding caption)
• Due by 12th December 08 Initiative by March 09
• School Meals Week 2 6th February 09
• Healthy Schools Conference 4th February

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Million Meals

• Healthy lunch choice
• Social value
• Maintain service and value for
  FSM children and no stigma
• Knife and fork meals
• More veg, lower sodium,
  lower saturated fat, less sugar

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Food Policy

• consultation and debate
  stimulates change and not the
  policy!
• Template to develop one in your school is
  available
• Would Governors like a Food Policy training
  session?

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Targeted capital programme for school kitchens

• Expressions of interest by December 08
• from LA
• Formal bids by February 2009
• 50 matched funding
• 100m available nationally
• Enquiries to Sue Mckeating County Hall ?
• If planning for change to 2 tier remember to
  consider eating/ dining facilities from outset

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Change 4 Life Programme

• Multi - agency programme targeting communities
  identified as having above average levels of
  overweight and very overweight children
• Sandy
• Holmemead Biggleswade and
  feeder schools
• Balliol community
• Daubeney and feeder schools
• Grovebury ward in Leighton
  Buzzard

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Change 4 Life ..

• Link to national obesity social marketing
  campaign e.g Cruel to be kind
• Focus groups to find out what communities want
• Diet, cooking, activity, involving businesses,
  shops etc
• Access parents and improve modelling to improve
  eating habits
• Encompass tackling credit crunch
• Awareness of under nutrition, food and emotional
  well being and eating problems. Lesson plans KS1
  and 2, developed by Healthy Schools - Sally
  Horton. Literacy and social and emotional well
  being

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Further Information

• Business card please email for any
  information e.g
• - food policy templates
• school meals regulations
• school meals competitions
• nutrient standards for 3 tier system
• Jane Jaycocks, Dietetic Asst from early Nov 08
  Nutrition degree.
• Emailcarol.leverkus_at_bedfordhospital.nhs.uk
• Tel [phone]