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For the purpose of the Gloucestershire Food Links SEED project 2003/4 the following definition of a "whole school approach" will be used as a basic guideline. It is fare to state that from area to area, school to school, there will need to be flexibility in the criteria. It will be one of the outcomes of the project to establish better, clearer and more practical definitions of "whole school approach" that are relevant for Gloucestershire's communities.
A whole school approach to food means involving, pupils, teachers, governors, parents and external partners such as Health Promotion who offer key elements of support and information. Importantly, in order to be a success at schools Head teachers must lead on the issue. This will be done so as to achieve:
· a long-term measurable difference to the learning experience of all concerned
· increased knowledge and skills of how and why to make choices about the food that is bought, prepared and eaten not only inside school but also outside
· improved access to healthy food for the school community, including families
· increased consumption of fruit and vegetables in schools.
A whole school approach will develop a coherent, consistent approach to food throughout the curriculum and all school activities. This includes mapped progression and differentiation in learning opportunities for all members of the school community, exploring 'food' from a range of perspectives, and in the context of the local and global economy. It will ensure that key messages are delivered in innovative, practical ways bringing alive the fundamentals of food and surrounding issues such as health and environment. Importantly this will done in a way that is fun, interactive and enriching. These messages must then be mirrored by the experiences in the school restaurant where children are customers and traditional "cooks" are chefs.
A whole school approach can address time tabling and infrastructure concerns of a dining area, practicalities for improving nutritional standards of school meals and improvements in general environment of eating food during a schools working day.
A whole school approach must put in place a culture within a school to address food and its surrounding issues as a long-term challenge. A school must share in the input, delivery and outcomes of the work with partners willing to assist. Ultimately though, it is for an individual school to own its whole school approach to food, develop it, and improve it.
School Dinners
"A Year In the Life of the Farmers' Market" project
Setting up a Junior Farmers Market
Junior Farmers Market case study
Setting up a Fruit Tuck Shop
A Children's debate on farmers' markets
Farm Visits
Apple Days
Bees In The Curriculum
Wheat, Barley and Oats
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