Food Policy 2023 - 2026

FOOD POLICY 2023 - 2026

“I will be careful what I do.” (Ps 39:1)

This policy has been approved and adopted by the Governing Body in September 2023 and will be reviewed in September 2026.

POLICY STATEMENT

At St. John the Baptist, we recognise the importance of food in our lives and know that healthy eating is vital for long-term good health. We are committed to giving our pupils consistent messages about all aspects of health, to enable them to take responsibility for the choices they make.  

The school supports the ‘Eat Them To Defeat Them’ campaign and The Eatwell Guide to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables every day and choose from each food group, which has been shown to reduce the onset of certain life-threatening conditions, as well as being helpful in tackling and preventing childhood obesity.

AIMS

1. To ensure that all aspects of food and nutrition in school promote the health and well-being of pupils, staff and visitors to our school.
2. To give our pupils the information they need to make healthy choices
3. To continue to actively support and model healthy eating and drinking throughout the school day.
4. To ensure that food provision in the school reflects the ethical and medical requirements of staff and pupils.
5. To make the consumption of food an enjoyable and sociable experience

 OBJECTIVES

1. To continue to promote healthy eating by giving our pupils information about healthy food choices in order to make informed choices.
2. To promote health awareness.
3. To encourage pupils to make healthy choices
4. To review the curriculum to ensure that information relating to food and nutrition is being delivered is consistent and up to date.
5. To provide support for parents and pupils on healthier lunch box choices.
6. To ensure that a teacher has a basic food hygiene qualification and informs/monitors staff as appropriate.
7. To promote healthy eating and drinking messages through the RHSE and Science curriculum.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Fruit/vegetables.

1. All pupils are encouraged to eat fruit/vegetables every day.
2. Our Key Stage 1 pupils are offered a piece of fruit/vegetable daily, as part of the Fruit in School Campaign.
3. A Key Stage 2 Snack Bar will continue to be run by some of our Key Stage 2 children where children may buy fresh fruit or other healthy snacks or drinks.
4. A salad bar and a choice of fresh fruit for pudding are available each day in the lunch hall.
5. Staff actively encourage the children to eat their fruit and vegetables during lunch
6. The whole school participates in the annual “Eat them to defeat them” campaign.

• Drinks.

1. All pupils are required to have water bottles in the classroom.
2. There are sufficient water stations around the school for children to ensure their water bottle is always full.
3. Fizzy drinks and energy are not permitted.
4. All our under 5s are entitled to free milk as are all children in receipt of FSM.  The milk is supplied by a third party chosen by Hampshire.  Any parent with a child over the age of 5 can choose to buy milk through the scheme if they wish.

• Prohibited Food.       

We do not allow any nut products to be brought into school to be consumed at break or lunch.  We also do not allow confectionery, fizzy drinks, and energy drinks. Celebration or community events may allow confectionary and fizzy drinks but must not include energy drinks or nut products.

• Restricted Food.      

We do not allow crisps, cake, or chocolate for mid-morning break, although a choice between crisps, biscuit bars, and cakes is allowed in lunch boxes as part of a balanced diet (having multiple items from this list in one packed lunch does not reflect a balanced diet).  For more information on break time snacks please see Appendix 1.

• School Caterers.      

Our school meals are provided by Hampshire Caterers (HC3S), who have a healthy food policy as part of their tender. They ensure where possible that meals include fresh fruit and vegetables each day as a choice for pupils. There is a three-weekly rota of menus.

• Education.               

Healthy Eating is not just about what goes on in the lunch hall and on the playground.  We have a responsibility to teach children how and why they need to eat a healthy and balanced diet.  We do this through curriculum areas such as RHSE, science, PE, and DT.

• Incentives.             

Children are praised for healthy eating, trying something new, and for showing good manners at the lunch table.  When this is identified they will be awarded a sticker.

• Larks and Owls Clubs

We offer a range of delicious treats for the children to enjoy. These vary daily but include:

• Greek yogurt & honey
• Scrambled egg, beans & toast
• Crumpets
• Scotch pancakes
• Toast & cereals
• Milk and water are always available to drink

Appendix 1

Healthy Eating – Break Time Snacks

Diet and nutrition play an important role in the mental, physical, and social development of a child.  The establishment of healthy eating in childhood can reduce the risk of health problems such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis in later life.  With this in mind, we aim to establish good eating habits, and promote good growth, and hope that these will be continued into adulthood.

Historically, some children were bringing in snacks with a high fat and sugar content and we took the opportunity to work with all the children to enable them to make healthier choices. 

In school, we feel that it is beneficial for all children to have a substantial snack at break time.  This is an important part of the diet for young people who may not get enough energy for growth and development from their three main meals and because snacks can positively contribute towards a balanced diet (providing foods which are high in sugar, fat or salt are avoided) we permit only healthy snacks at break time.

In line with our healthy eating policy, a piece of fruit or vegetable is provided for every KS1 and EYFS child in school. 

Healthy Choices

Possible healthy break time snacks include:

• A piece of fruit
• Dried fruit such as raisins
• Vegetable sticks
• Crispbreads
• Rice cakes
• Breadsticks
• Cheese
• Twiglets
• Crackers

Children in KS2 can choose to purchase one of these items from the Snack Bar.  Sugar and fat-laden foods such as confectionary, biscuits, pastries, sausage rolls, and crisps are not allowed.

Remember we are a nut-free school

Fluids in school

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind parents that children must bring a water bottle to school.  Children require 6-8 glasses of fluid a day to stay healthy and even small levels of dehydration can lead to reduced levels of concentration and affect behaviour.  Personal water bottles can be kept in the classroom and filled up as needed.  We do not allow anything other than plain unflavoured water in these bottles.  Children should take their water bottles home at the end of each day to be washed.