Healthy Eating Policy
Ballyshannon NS
Healthy Eating Policy
Introduction
As part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (S.P.H.E.) Programme we encourage the children to become more aware of the need for healthy food in their lunch boxes.
Aims:
1. To promote the personal development and well-being of the
child.
2. To promote the health of the child and provide a foundation
for healthy living in all its aspects.
Rationale:
1. For primary school children to achieve their full potential, it is essential that they eat a healthy diet. Healthy eating provides the building blocks for lifelong health and well-being. Primary School children are at a time of physical growth and development – the most rapid since infancy requiring adequate intake of energy and nutrients.
2. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC, 2014) report has shown that many primary school children have poor eating habits.
3. The home plays the major role in determining healthy eating habits. The school, in partnership with parents, can make an important contribution. A Healthy Eating Policy developed in consultation with the whole-school community which includes Teachers, Parents, Students and the Student Councils as part of the school planning process will help to integrate healthy eating into school life.
Objectives:
1. To promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating patterns for the students
2. To enable the child to appreciate the importance of good
nutrition for growing and developing and staying healthy.
3. To enable the child to accept some personal responsibility
for making wise food choices and adopting a healthy,
balanced diet.
4. To help develop student concentration and improve energy levels
5. To inform the adults of the school community about healthy eating in school
6. To have a healthy school community
Lunch is an important meal for school-going children. It should provide one third of their recommended daily allowance of nutrients without being high in fat, sugar or salt. It should also provide dietary fibre (roughage).
The traditional packed lunch of milk and sandwiches is under attack from a range of convenience foods like crisps, sweets, biscuits, chocolate and soft drinks. Parents and teachers are concerned about this trend but some find it difficult to come up with popular healthy alternatives. We ask you to encourage a healthy lunch right from the start.
Pupils should be encouraged to have a role in preparing their own lunches and meals in order to promote responsibility or their own health and nutrition.
We encourage children to bring in a water bottle (that can be recycled) so they can have access to water throughout the day. Hydration is important for concentration.
Curriculum/Education
There are many opportunities in the primary school curriculum for learning about the importance of living a healthy
The importance of balanced nutrition and healthy food choices is explicitly taught through the SPHE curriculum. Food and Nutrition is an important part of the Strand Unit: Taking Care of My Body at each class level and is taught each year. These themes are also dealt with in other subjects such as Science and
A copy of the healthy food pyramid is on display in every classroom. Healthy eating week is held annually.
As part of our environmental awareness programme and in keeping with our green school’s status lunches should be packed in recyclable boxes avoiding the use of tin foil, cling film and plastic bags. All litter and uneaten food are to be taken home.
The following guide is designed to help parents provide quick, appetising, and nutritious lunches for our children:
Bread & Alternatives
Savouries
Bread or rolls (preferably whole-
meal, whole-grain or whole- wheat varieties)
Wraps Pitta bread
Bread sticks
Rice – wholegrain Pasta – wholegrain Wholemeal Scones/ Crackers.
Lean Meat (e.g., chicken/turkey, ham)
Eggs
Tinned Fish eg tuna/sardines/salmon
Potato Salad
Hummus
Drinks
Water or Milk are the ideal choice Fruit juices - without added sugar. Pure
fruit juice also contains natural sugar and should be diluted with water)
Yoghurt
Dairy
Milk
Natural Yoghurt
Cheese (triangles/slices/ small blocks of cheddar/gouda/edam etc)
Fruit & Vegetables
Apples, Banana, Peach Mandarins, Plums
Orange segments
Fruit Salad, dried fruit
Pineapple cubes Grapes
Cucumber, Sweetcorn, Tomato
Pepper slices
Carrot batons
A very simple approach to healthy eating is to use the Food Pyramid:
Sugar Sparingly
Sweets etc
Meat, Fish 2 portions per day
Peas/Beans
Milk, Cheese 3+ portions per day
Yoghurt
Fruit & Vegetables 4+ portions per day
Bread, Cereals & Potatoes 6+ portions per day
Implementation/Monitoring:
If children bring prohibited food or drink into school, they will be asked to put it away until after school as they are not permitted to eat “junk food” in school.
If children persist in bringing unhealthy food to school, the class teacher and principal will organise a meeting with their parents/guardians to remind them of the Healthy Eating Policy. It is very difficult to implement the policy successfully if all children do not adhere to the guidelines. It is also not fair on the children who comply with our Healthy Eating Policy to see children who clearly do not obey the rules
Friday is treat day. On treat days pupils are allowed a small portion from the top shelf of the food pyramid e.g., fun size chocolate bar/small iced bun/biscuits.
Foods with artificial additive and colours e.g., Smarties, M & M’s, boiled sweets, cereal bars etc. should be avoided. Special events and celebrations e.g., Green Flag days, food festivals, food demonstrations, end of term parties - on these occasions foods other than fruit or vegetables may be offered, but the staff will remind the children that this is an “occasional” treat and not “every day food”.
Other Considerations
Allergies
The school community is aware of the possibility of food allergies within the school population, particularly nut allergies. Parents or carers of children who are on special diets for medical reasons, or who have allergies, will be asked to provide as much information as possible about which foods are suitable or foods which must be avoided. This information will be relayed to all staff.
There is a total ban on nuts and nut products due to serious allergies of some pupils.
Useful Links with Ideas for Healthy Lunches: (these URLs may be subject to change)
http://www.safefood.eu/SafeFood/media/SafeFoodLibrary/Documents/Education/2012- Safefood-Healthy-Lunchboxes-Leaflet-v4.pdf http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Healthier_Lunchbox_Leaflet_09_10_Ir ish.pdf
www.indi.ie (Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute website) You will find a leaflet ‘Are you packing a healthy lunch www.healthpromotion.ie
http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/healthy-lunchbox-picnic.aspx http://www.freshforkids.com.au/lunch_box/lunch_box.html http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/packing-school-lunchbox
Roles and Responsibilities:
Role of Parents:
Provide a healthy well-balanced lunch for children
Encourage healthy eating
Inform the school of any child’s special dietary needs
To implement school policy by not allowing their children to bring chewing gum, crisps, chocolate bars or sweets to school except on treat day.
Role of Children:
To eat their lunch
To bring home any uneaten lunch
To help make their lunches and remind parents of the Healthy Lunch Policy
Not to bring chewing gum, crisps, chocolate bars or sweets to school except on treat days.
Role of School Staff
To promote and encourage healthy eating.
To educate children by teaching the appropriate content from the curriculum.
Responsibility for review:
A policy review will take place in autumn 2024
.
Communication and Ratification
A copy of the reviewed policy will be sent to all parents and a copy will be included in the enrolment pack for new pupils. The policy will be published on the school website