Food Poverty and Schools in
Devon: Briefing
"Food
poverty is ‘the inability to access or afford food to make up a healthy diet’.
This can include quality as well as quantity of food. Food poverty is a complex
issue but schools have an important role to play in ensuring that no child is distracted
by hunger or poor nutrition. Schools provision to improve children and young
people’s access to a healthy diet is one aspect of delivering the early help strategy" - Sue Clarke, Head of Education & Learning and Dr Virginia Pearson, Director of Public Health
Thank
you to the 79 schools who completed a survey on food poverty in May 2015, the
results have informed this briefing. 56% agree or strongly agree that food
poverty, including children turning up to school hungry and going hungry in the
holidays, is an issue in their school.
This Briefing includes an update on:
- Breakfast clubs
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Holiday schemes
- Food banks
- Whole-school approach to food and healthy eating
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Increasing free school meal uptake
Breakfast clubs
Breakfast clubs can support nutrition, social and educational outcomes. 64% of respondents in Devon run a breakfast club.
Most ensure that free school meal eligible children can come for free, for example by using pupil premium or other funds where appropriate, or funds from partner agencies. Consider finding sponsorship for breakfast clubs from local businesses or charities.
“Breakfast club offers free breakfast to any child who comes in. We offer cereals, toast and juice. Parents make donations of food and drink if they can. The club caters for about 20 children per day - out of 77 - and provides valuable nutrition and socialisation. Children help to set the tables and clear up. We feel that this is a very valuable part of our provision. We utilise some of pupil premium to help fund the breakfast club but the school is happy to meet the additional costs because we can see the benefits in terms of improved concentration, better diet and improved social interactions and responsibility.” Lew Trenchard Primary School, Okehampton
Magic Breakfast is a national charity delivering free, nutritious breakfasts to schools where over 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. Watch Carmel McConnell’s recent talk at TEDxExeter in April 2015. |
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Holiday schemes
The
All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food recently highlighted that school
holidays can be challenging for families who rely on free school meals during
term-time. They published a report on Filling the Holiday Hunger
Gap and a guide to planning school holiday projects. 52% of Devon
schools run an after school club where food is provided. 35% run holiday
schemes but only 18% provide food. Many of these are paid schemes so may not be
accessed by the most disadvantaged pupils. Schools can consider a range of
solutions by working in partnership with their local community, such as youth
groups, children’s centres, businesses or charities.
“We use some of our pupil
premium funding to provide safe places for children in the holidays through the
holiday club and we also use the breakfast club to provide an 'airlock' from a
disruptive home so the transition from home to school in the morning is less
traumatic and we know that the child/ren concerned have breakfast.” St Martin’s Primary and
Nursery School, Cranbrook
National and local examples
Holiday Kitchen
offers family learning, food and play opportunities during the school holidays
to children in the West Midlands. The aim is to improve children’s well-being,
educational outcomes and life-chances through fun activities and experiences.
The evaluation report provides useful learning, such as how to run a scheme
that is enjoyable, non-stigmatising and provides added value through
educational and health activities.
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Make Lunch is a national charity that partners churches
with schools to open community kitchens in the holidays. One of the
coordinators, Steph Walker, is based in Exeter and can answer questions about
how the scheme works. Contact her at steph@makelunch.org.uk. Stoke Hill Primary
School, Exeter and The Castle Primary, Tiverton, are both exploring this model
and are happy to be contacted to share learning. |
The
Exeter Community Food Network, part of the Sustainable Food Cities Network, is piloting a Summer
Cookery and Crafts School this summer at St Sidwell’s Centre, Exeter, working
through local schools to invite children who may particularly benefit. The
scheme will include vouchers for families to get discounted meals through the
rest of the holiday.
Honiton
Primary School link with their local children’s centre and Haytor View Primary
School, Newton Abbot, are exploring a partnership between the local community
centre, school and children’s centre.
Highweek
Primary School, Newton Abbot, have an independently-run holiday club that
includes food growing, cooking and eating, continuing the good work that they
do under the Food for Life Partnership
Award in
term-time.
Okehampton
College are running a two week summer school for year 6 pupil premium
children and exploring if local charities could extend support for the rest of
the holidays.
Students who qualify for free
school meals at Exmouth Community College are eligible for a free hot meal at
the Open Door
Community Café in Exmouth during the holidays
Food banks
Food
banks meet the immediate needs of people in crisis. Find out the referral route
for your local provider and establish a link. Okehampton School raise money for
their local food bank as they know in return they help some of their families.
Click here
for a directory of food aid
providers in Devon and Cornwall.
“We have first-hand
experience of hardship and hunger within families in our community. This
includes children who do not get access to sufficient food and adults not
eating so their children can be fed. Children going without breakfast is common
and they might not have had access to a cooked meal on the previous evening.
Use of food banks and donations by charities including access to our school
hardship grant is rising. Families will often hide that fact that there is
insufficient food in the house and it will not come out until a disclosure from
a child, or until the family liaison worker starts to support the family.”
Whole-school approach to
food and healthy eating
“The food poverty issue is
not just about lack of food, there is a wider issue which is seen through poor
diet, poor food choices, an over reliance on processed and ready-made meals. We
are addressing this through cookery courses for parents, cookery club for
children and making sure healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle are embedded
in our curriculum and in our ethos, our menus at breakfast clubs and on
residential.” Whipton Barton Federation
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The
Food for Life Partnership helps
schools to transform their food culture through a whole school approach, making
healthy, sustainable and tasty food the norm. National research shows that it can increase
healthy eating, improve educational outcomes and tackle inequalities.
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Any school can use the Food for Life framework and work towards a Food for Life Award, but further support, training and advice is available through local Food for Life Programme manager, Polly Frost, funded by Public Health Devon, including;
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Cooks Network, for In-house Catering Managers
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Growing Devon Schools Partnership Forum
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Transforming School Food Culture
To find out about next term’s courses, please email fflpevents@soilassociation.org
Click here for the latest news about Food for Life in Devon.
The
Food for Life Partnership is one way for schools to meet the recommendations of
The School Food Plan, and also helps with the
new Ofsted requirements for schools to evidence “a culture or ethos of exercise and healthy eating throughout
their entire inspection visit, in classrooms as well as the school canteen.
They will look at the food on offer and visit the canteen to see the atmosphere
and culture in the dining space and the effect it has on pupils’ behaviour.”
Food for Life Partnership works closely with Growing Devon Schools,
a partnership supporting teachers in the development and delivery of outdoor experiential curriculum that
builds skills, environmental awareness, a lifelong healthy relationship with
food and an understanding of its production and preparation.
This short film follows the Growing Devon Schools project as it concludes it's first year of teacher training aimed at bringing children in closer contact with the food they eat by growing vegetables at school.
Increasing free school meal
uptake
Making
school meals as appealing and popular as possible for everyone is an important
way to eliminate stigma for children eligible for free school meals. Encourage parents to sign up for free school meals wherever possible, and
create a system where children do not know which of their peers are receiving
free school meals.
In autumn
Devon County Council are launching a citizen’s portal that will enable the
applicant to self-serve for free school meals and receive an instant decision
on their application. Parents/carers will also be able to use the same portal
to access other local authority services, such as 2 year old early years funding and admissions.
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