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Aims & Objectives (Primary Schools) |
The following Aims and Objectives were arrived at following wide consultation amongst Merton Parents, nutritionists, health professionals, Jamie Oliver's team in Greenwich, the soil association and contract lawyers. We are delighted that Merton Council is largely adopting them and is currently attempting to put them into practise.
You can download a printable pdf version here. (You will need Acrobat Reader).
AimTo ensure that school students are offered only good quality, healthy, appealing food, prepared and cooked from fresh ingredients on site in all our schools, served in a pleasant atmosphere.
Specific Objectives1) Merton Council takes on the process of a robust management of change to guarantee that the schools are provided and continue to be provided with healthy fresh food.This means that the Council needs to agree clear, measurable goals, develop a realistic plan to achieve them and identify the key managers who are responsible for making sure they are achieved. 2) A healthy balanced diet is offered at all schools. This means that each menu should provide a choice of meals that contain the three food groups, protein, fat & carbohydrate and all appropriate vitamins and minerals. The levels, concentrations and amounts of these should follow the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) for a child of the appropriate school age and should be equivalent to the amount that is appropriate for one meal to provide as part of the nutrition for the whole day (and if a child is in school for an extended period the proportion of the recommended intake provided should be increased appropriately).This being so, the final plated meal the children receive must contain the variety and quality of foods that would allow for this.This requires appropriate, planned and enforced restrictions on less healthy foods such as chips, battered foods, high fat and sugar options etc. The meal design, delivery and provision i.e. from production to kitchen to plate should as a minimum meet the new Caroline Walker Trust guidelines.All meals should meet or exceed these standards throughout the duration of the lunch period. There should be an increase in fresh fruits for desserts or incorporated into a dessert. The quality and freshness of vegetables should be improved whether served as an accompaniment or incorporated into meals. All chemicals included in the Hyperactive Support Group list should be banned together with the following 'dirty dozen':
1. Mechanically recovered/separated/meat It should not be possible for students to choose unhealthy food in school.All available choices must be nutritionally sound, part of a balanced diet and made from good quality ingredients as specified in 2 and 3.This is because, as we have learned from the experience of Greenwich, children may be reluctant to change their eating habits and will tend to choose familiar, unhealthy options if these are available. 3) Only good quality ingredients to be used in school meals This means that School meals should aim to meet the Food for Life guidelines:
75% unprocessed The use of seasonal produce and seasonal menus should be encouraged to enable the council to take advantage of more cost effective produce. The immediate removal of all processed and pre packaged food, coloured drinks, additive laden yoghurts and desserts. The replacement of the low quality cheese and margarine products that are currently used, which are high in hydrogenated fats, with butter and a better quality cheese. Upgrading the quality of flour, rice and pasta. 4) All cooking and food preparation to be done on site. This means -preparation surfaces -tools (salad spinners, stick blenders etc) 5) Eating lunch is a pleasant experience for children. This means that attention should be given to the following 6)The school lunch becomes an integral part of the education offered by the school. This means that the children establish habits of healthy eating through the process of having school meals.These habits will have long term benefits for their health. Teachers to teach about healthy food in the context of school dinners. Classroom links e.g. teaching about seasonal ingredients that are contained in the meals, growing herbs in tubs to supplement garnishes. The school meal should be a reflection of the school. 7) The Council sets up an effective system for monitoring school dinners, to ensure that the standards above are met and continue to be met. This means establishing a new system that ensures the regular and systematic monitoring of school meals content, preparation and delivery to ensure compliance with contract standards. If standards are not observed then sanctions against the Contractor should be actioned as defined in the contract.The system should be transparent and responsive to enable improvements to be quickly made and the recurrence of problems avoided. The system should incorporate stakeholder involvement. The following actions are recommended: 8) To agree a target date by which all of the above will be achieved and clear, specific measurable milestones (no more than 6 months apart) on the path to these ultimate goals.
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