Better Eating, Better Learning

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© Crown copyright, 2015

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First published by the Scottish Government, September 2015
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Published by the Scottish Government, September 2015

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Introduction

Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) sets Scotland's agenda for improving food education and school food over the next decade. BEBL plays a vital part in Scotland's vision of becoming a Good Food Nation. Ensuring that vision is achieved is the responsibility of schools, caterers and suppliers working together in partnership. With Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence Health and Wellbeing experiences and outcomes and the Schools Health Promotion and Nutrition Act (Scotland) 2007 embedded in our education practices, good food and education now play a significant part in ensuring that Scotland's future generations are healthy and contributing global citizens.

This online resource has been developed with the assistance of, and input from, multi-disciplinary groups of health, education, catering and procurement staff and education and wellbeing practitioners. Each section can be used individually or as a whole and its design allows the user to dip in and out of each section according to your local priority needs. Its content is the product of a series of facilitated workshops that included the views and ideas of teachers, pupils and caterers in Scottish schools.

As well as the Scottish Government and Education Scotland, ongoing support for BEBL will come from a variety of organisations including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), Health Scotland, the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, Eco-Schools Scotland and Young Scot. A key organisation in the implementation of BEBL is Education Scotland.

Education Scotland is running a three-year project (2015-2017) to share learning from how BEBL is being integrated into the work of schools across the country. Both Health and Nutrition Inspectors (HNIs) and Education Scotland's Health and Wellbeing Development Officers will work with a number of learning communities providing support and sharing progress in taking forward BEBL. This also includes identifying and sharing approaches to measurable impact. HNIs, who are part of schools inspection teams, will also build discussion and awareness of BEBL into inspection activities.

More information is available here:

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/healthandwellbeing/supportmaterials/foodandhealth/index.asp

This resource is designed to allow users to select sections relevant to their daily practice. It will also be updated as new material or user feedback becomes available.

You can use this material to help you translate the vision set out in Better Eating, Better Learning: A new context for school food:
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/HLivi/schoolmeals

Who should use this resource?

This resource is intended to help schools, local authorities, caterers, and education and health practitioners to support the roll-out of BEBL locally. It aims to help those at service level – in individual schools and catering service providers – ensure all staff are supported and informed. It should be used by:

Those in leadership roles with decision-making capacities who are the driving force behind transformational change in food education and school meal provision, particularly those individuals working in health and wellbeing, education, catering, procurement and community planning

Schools – all teaching staff, catering staff, and partners in the community who are involved in the health and wellbeing agenda, such as health promotion specialists, public health practitioners, Active School co-ordinators, and Parent Councils – to highlight how school food supports local communities.

How to use this resource

This online resource is designed for those who have completed the Better Eating, Better Learning Self-Evaluation Tool to review what has been achieved and help identify what needs to be done next to continue their journey towards improving their whole school approach to school food and food education.

It is very much up to the user to decide which part of the resource they decide to utilise. It can be used in its entirety or relevant sections dipped into as time allows. You may wish to run your own one-day workshop for staff or a series of bite-size workshops over a longer period of time, or it can be used by individuals wishing to learn more about BEBL and their role in its implementation.

Run your own BEBL workshop

If you decide to run your own BEBL workshop you may wish to consider the following:

Best results will be achieved with a multi-disciplinary group, with representation from health, education, catering and procurement to help encourage future partnership working and generate balanced discussion.

Invite a representative group of young people and parents to take part. Children, young people and their families are at the heart of successful implementation and they will provide invaluable insight into how you might engage their peers.

Divide participants into small multi-disciplinary groups with a good mix of different job roles, sitting at tables.

You will need:

PowerPoint for the presentations.

A projector for showing the presentation slides and short films.

Poster-sized paper and pens.

In advance of the workshop, ask participants to bring a copy of Better Eating, Better Learning: A new context for school food and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Introducing Better Eating, Better Learning, by Mr Russell, former Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
The film can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/foodandhealth

An all-staff briefing: Better Eating, Better Learning – the vision at a glance
You can access a ready-prepared PowerPoint presentation that introduces Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL). It will:

Pull out the headline aims and aspirations of BEBL

Explain why and how BEBL came into being

Introduce the seven BEBL key areas for action

Highlight the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool

Encourage the audience to think about what practical steps they might take to help with its implementation.

The presentation, along with notes, can be found here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/foodandhealth

Section 1

Who can use this section?

Teachers, Health promotion practitioners, Quality Improvement Organisations and Officers, Caterers, Parent-Teacher Associations, Community Food groups, Pupil or Student groups, and the Voluntary Sector.

Practical exercise 1: What does Better Eating, Better Learning mean to me?
This exercise is designed as an initial icebreaker for workshop sessions and also to help participants consolidate their understanding and, by sharing their ideas, provide valuable insight into the different ways that different people can contribute.

Participants have ONE MINUTE to describe to their group what Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) means to them, and how their own knowledge and skills could contribute to its implementation. (This exercise is best done in small groups of three or four). Participants are asked to further discuss in their groups ideas about how pupils and staff are currently engaged in BEBL.

Encourage participants to think about the following:
Is the lunchtime experience currently viewed as part of a young person's learning experience? How much do pupils know about the food served in their school? Is the school dining room, with its staff, viewed as a resource for offering pupils practical learning experiences?

eye For useful information you can check BEBL and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the section on Food and Health in BEBL.
Read the section on Food and Health in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

'High 5' Case Study: Transforming food education

Successful implementation of Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) relies on our ability to nurture, in children and young people, a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between food and their physical and mental health. In a modern society where children are bombarded with advertising of often unhealthy food products through television and other technologies, never has the school had a more important role to play in helping them become informed and discerning consumers, and in influencing future health outcomes.

The High 5 Health and Nutrition Programme, run by David Rex, Specialist Dietician for Health Promoting Schools, Highland Council, is one example of how we can build the knowledge and skills of existing staff to provide education that will help realise BEBL's vision and achieve health and wellbeing outcomes under Curriculum for Excellence.

Whether you are running a workshop or using these resources as an individual, David Rex's presentation provides food for thought and an excellent springboard for discussion.

The presentation and further resources can be found here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/foodandhealth

Practical exercise 2: Design your own Better Eating, Better Learning hub

The aim of this exercise is to be a blue sky thinking session to help delegates understand how much work is currently undertaken in school food within their community. It helps identify potential service gaps and how combined effort and innovation could further enhance joint learning and efficient use of resources in a local area. It is designed to highlight school and community links where food and learning are common themes. If during the process of the exercise some tangible concepts evolve then it would be up to the delegates to pursue ideas within their own areas.

Delegates are asked to reflect on current practices and policy delivery constraints and design an imaginary Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) Knowledge Hub. It should be a community centre of activity that supports BEBL implementation and future development over the coming years. It should be flexible to meet local needs and cater for the whole range of people involved in BEBL including school cooks, teaching staff, children and young people, parents and others in the community involved in children's health and wellbeing.

Participants have approximately 20 minutes to design a BEBL Knowledge Hub that suits the needs of their own community. Encourage everyone to be creative and think outside the box. They may wish to consider:

Where might it be located?

Who would be involved?

What would the budgetary and resource implications of such a hub be?

How would it engage the wide range of people required to implement BEBL?

What kind of support would be needed to enable the hub to be set up and ensure sustainability?

What would the BEBL Knowledge Hub's long-term vision for school food be?

One idea that could be fulfilled locally

Who might support a BEBL Knowledge Hub and coordinate information sharing?

eye For useful information you can check BEBL and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the section on Food and Learning in BEBL.
Read the section on Food and Learning in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Need some inspiration?

The BEBL bus

A 'BEBL bus' idea came from pupil participants who suggested it would be a mobile hub, travelling to different schools across Scotland, or within a local area. On the bus is information about BEBL, about food and nutrition in general, and practical opportunities for children to get involved in cooking – classes in how to prepare simple, healthy, filling and affordable meals, quickly and easily. Links to online seasonal activities, local businesses and social media would be available. One pupil's suggestion was: "We can invite experts in good food like chefs and family members to hop on and help out or take the classes."

Pupils showcase their work at a Children in Scotland BEBL event, March 2015

A Local Steering Group

One group took a strategic approach, suggesting that each local authority should set up a 'BEBL steering group' with representation from health, education, catering, procurement, and children and young people. The purpose of the group would be to identify resources available and prepare an authority-wide action plan for BEBL implementation.

Section 2

Who can use this section?

Teachers, Health Promotion Practitioners, Quality Improvement Organisations and Officers, Caterers, Parent-Teacher Associations, Community Food Groups, Pupil or Student groups and the Voluntary Sector.

Understanding sustainability through school food

The goal of sustainable development is to enable people to meet their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without harming the quality of life for future generations. School food offers the potential to unlock a more sustainable Scotland. It presents perhaps the best entry point we have for young people to learn through food what sustainable living means in the broad sense. In terms of school food, healthy, seasonal and fresh food, sustainably produced, is better for the environment. School food can deliver many benefits in society by giving all young people access to good food and nutrition and the types of food provided on menus can create employment and strengthen local economies.

In this session we should begin to understand the complex nature of sustainability and how to apply the concept in practice and recognise how individual and organisational changes in relation to school food can lead Scotland to a more sustainable food system. For more information visit: http://www.greenerscotland.org/eat-greener-avoid-waste

To help, a report, 'Environmentally sustainable school meals', by Dr Jennie MacDiarmid, Research Fellow at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, explored what healthy and sustainable means for food in schools. A presentation of the findings reveals the complexity of this issue and the challenges and opportunities involved in achieving sustainability through school food. The report and presentation is available here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/foodandhealth

eye For useful information you can check BEBL and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the section on Sustainability Through Food in BEBL.
Read the section on Sustainability Through Food in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Practical exercise 3: Improving sustainability through school food

This exercise aims to get participants thinking about sustainable food sources and menu design. After reading 'Environmentally sustainable school meals' and watching the presentation, in groups, analyse and critique one of your recent menus. Think about small steps that could be taken to improve its 'sustainability':

Purchasing food that is fresh and seasonal

What does the menu tell people about the use of seasonal and fresh produce? What value does your menu place on local farming, animal welfare standards and certified sustainable fish? How effectively do you communicate to staff, parents and pupils in order to instil confidence in your school meal service?

Do sustainable menus cost more or less?

In many cases, there is a narrow focus on buying cheaply rather than valuing quality, provenance, nutrition and sustainability. Is there a perception that sustainable food costs more? Do you think cost can be offset by using less but better quality meat, and adapting menus by reducing the quantity or frequency of meat included in recipes? Do you feel able to balance out the cost and quality of food ingredients across a 4/5 week menu cycle? Remember what it takes in terms of energy, water, land use, labour and finance to produce the food you are cooking and serving. Are you managing food waste well?

Thinking about recipes

The type of food we eat and food waste has a significant contribution to Green House Gas Emissions. Making small changes to existing dishes can improve their sustainability. Some people say foods with the lowest impact on the environment tend to be the foods recommended for a healthier diet, so is an environmentally sustainable menu also a healthy menu? What do you think? Food and nutrient guidelines for school meals suggests that red meat (beef, lamb, venison, pork) is served around twice a week to assist in meeting the mandatory nutrient standards for school lunches. How many times is it on your menu? Could some quantity of meat within a dish be replaced with vegetables?

Telling the story about our school food

How well does your school food service 'sell the story' of school menus and the quality of food used to deliver them?

Is it clear to all staff, parents and pupils where the food used for school meals comes from?

Do your parents, staff and customers know how much care has been put into producing sustainable menus and sourcing great food?

Practical exercise 4: Reducing food waste

The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate that although sustainability is a complex issue there may be ways you can still improve your existing service provision to make it more efficient. It is designed to make you think differently about the way you and potential partners work. Are there lessons to be learned from this? Car manufacturers Toyota said "the summation of many small, simple, cheap improvements can have a very big impact".

Learning from others and being willing to adapt new ways can save time and improve service. The following short film demonstrates this. It shows how a relief agency in New York City asked Toyota to help them make small changes to their system to improve food distribution following Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The film can be found through the following link: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/foodandhealth

In this exercise, participants are asked to focus on one of sustainability's key challenges – reducing food waste. We throw away a huge amount of food. 80,000 tonnes of food waste is produced each year and of that, 83% is avoidable – it could be eaten. In the context of schools, most waste comes from the dining rooms where children and staff throw away uneaten food (mostly fruit and vegetables). The amount of waste averages at 23g per child per day. Add this up across the whole country and even a 20% reduction would be huge.
Source: Wrap report on Food Waste in Schools (2013)

Discuss and note down any changes that have been made to reduce food waste within your school or authority. Discuss any short, medium- and long-term changes that could further reduce food waste in your own dining room.

The following may help generate discussion:

Have you asked pupils? – What will they tell you about why they throw food away?

Portion size – Do younger children get the same portion sizes as older children?

Outside influences – Children's food preferences are influenced by external factors such as family, culture, media and advertising, and what is available beyond the school gates.

Food taste and presentation

The system – Do children have enough time to eat their meals? Is there anything you can do to encourage them to choose foods they would otherwise be reluctant to opt for?

Marketing – Think about how dishes are promoted. Might this have an impact on how popular they are? One school found that 'chicken chow mein' did not sell at all. However, when the same dish was marketed as 'chicken with noodles' it sold out.

You can repeat the same exercise with non-food waste.

Think about:

Food packaging

The separation of food and non-food waste using separate bins

The use of disposable cutlery and serving utensils.

Practical exercise 5: The dining experience

Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) wants every child and young person to have a positive experience during school mealtimes, so that these mealtimes become a valuable learning experience that they look forward to, enjoy, and most importantly, choose to be a part of.

As part of this exercise, participants should experience a school meal as pupils experience it – ranging from queuing and choosing what to eat, to paying and eating at the dining table. Sit alongside pupils during the meal and talk to them about their mealtime experiences – the positives and the negatives.

After the meal, discuss in groups what you have observed and learned from the experience, and what changes and improvements could be made to improve the overall dining experience for pupils. Think about:

Queuing – Is the queuing system well organised? Were you served quickly?

Serving – How well is the food presented? How do catering and school staff interact with pupils? Are pupils encouraged to make healthy choices? Is there a good selection of food for the pupils and staff to choose from?

Payment – Is it efficient and straightforward?

Dining – Is there enough seating? Do you have enough personal space at the table? Are the cutlery and plates fit for purpose? Is the dining furniture and environment clean?

Food – Is it well presented, attractive, healthy and tasty?

Atmosphere – School dining halls are usually bustling and noisy, but was there a friendly and pleasant atmosphere in which pupils could enjoy their meal?

Menu – Is there clear information about what is on offer, and cost?

How it compares to the 'competition' – In many secondary schools the catering service may have some competion from high street stores, takeaway outlets and mobile vendors beyond the school gate. How did your experience today compare with what they offer? What makes your service better than theirs? How best can you demonstrate the benefit of the school meals service versus a service primarily concerned with profit?

Taking your observations into account, are there any changes that could be made to improve the overall dining experience for pupils?

eye For useful information you can check BEBL and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the sections on School Food and Drink Provision and the Dining Experience in BEBL.
Read the sections on School Food and Drink Provision and the Dining the Experience in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Section 3

Practical exercise 6: Communication and engagement

The vision set out in Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL) relies on how well teachers, caterers and suppliers, working in partnership, are able to engage with key stakeholders – children and young people, their parents, and others in the wider community.

In this exercise, participants can draw on ideas generated during previous discussions to think about the role that different stakeholders have in achieving BEBL's vision, and how they could encourage their 'buy in'.

Working in small groups participants can be asked to look at one, or all, of the following:

Children and young people
Children and young people are at the heart of BEBL and should be at the forefront of any decision-making. Think about what BEBL wants to achieve. Discuss, and make notes on, the following:

What role do children and young people have in helping to secure the best chance of success for what BEBL is trying to achieve? Consider a) What we need to know about their current knowledge, skills and attitudes; and b) What knowledge, skills and attitudes they may need in the future.

What approaches can we use to find out what children know and think, and how will we ensure they inform all forthcoming in decision-making relating to BEBL?

What approaches can we use to move children and young people forward in the direction that BEBL advocates?

eye For useful information you can check BEBL and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the BEBL section on Communication and Engagement.
Read the section on Communication and Engagement in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Need some inspiration?

Participants in previous workshops have discussed pupils' knowledge about: the links between food, physical health and mental wellbeing, including their ability to concentrate; how their food choices are influenced by advertising and marketing; how food is produced, stored and prepared for consumption; and the links between food and environmental sustainability.

They also discussed techniques such as surveys, whole-school audits and social media to find out what children think and inform BEBL decision-making, and making the most of Curriculum for Excellence to provide rich, practical opportunities for pupils to extend the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills including growing their own food, and getting involved in both preparing and marketing their school meals.

Parents or carers

The influence of parents or carers can often be overlooked yet they have a critical role to play. Think about what BEBL hopes to achieve and discuss, and make notes on the following:

What role could parents or carers have in helping to secure the best chance of success for what BEBL hopes to achieve? Consider a) How much do they currently understand about the wider context for school food and food education?; b) What attitudes and knowledge about school food and food education will they need in the future?; and c) What more could parents do to help implement BEBL?

What approaches can you use to help ensure parents buy in to the BEBL vision and are pro-actively engaged and involved in its implementation?

Others

No single professional, or group of professionals, can achieve success working alone. BEBL relies on partnership working between education, health, catering, suppliers, and others in the wider community, such as local businesses.

Make a list of who you need to engage to work in partnership.

What role will each of these partners play? Consider a) How much do they currently understand about the wider context for school food and food education?; b) What attitudes and knowledge about school food and food education will they need in the future?; and c) How might each partner contribute to BEBL implementation?

What approaches can you use to encourage and support partnership working?

Practical exercise 7: Training and CPD

This session aims to identify priority training and development areas for participants and their organisations.

Effective training and CPD, preferably delivered in an integrated way across education, catering and health to support partnership ethos, will help ensure everyone is working towards the same, shared outcomes. Working in small groups, participants should:

Think back over the last year and list training and CPD undertaken in relation to food and health and wellbeing.

Reflect on the list. Are there gaps? Think about the kind of training you are likely to need in the future in order to implement Better Eating, Better Learning (BEBL).

Prioritise a top three.

Need some inspiration?

Participants in previous workshops have suggested that, in the future, they would like to do training in:

Achieving sustainability through school food

How to reduce food waste in schools

Innovative techniques for food education

Using social media as a marketing tool to engage children and young people, and

Customer service skills.

Practical exercise 8: Developing a plan of action

In this final activity, participants will think about short, medium- and long-term actions that will help ensure your school/local authority can drive forward transformational change.

It may be helpful here for participants to refer to the BEBL Self Evaluation Tool.

Participants should write down:

An immediate, short-term action that can be taken forward after completing this workshop

Two development actions that can be taken forward with your Community Planning Partnership and other partners

A long-term plan, up to 2020.

eye For useful information you can check BEBL review and the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool:

Read the section on Training and Support in BEBL.
Read the section on Training and Support in the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool.

Need some inspiration?

Participants in previous workshops have suggested:

Asking all staff to familiarise themselves with Better Eating, Better Learning: A new context for school food and use the BEBL Self-Evaluation Tool

Incorporating BEBL into school improvement and cluster improvement plans

Building a 'BEBL Hub'.

Further information and resources

A list of all relevant policies and legislation, in alphabetical order, with links:

Beyond the School Gate – Improving Food Choices in the School Community:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Healthy-Living/Food-Health/BeyondTheSchoolGate

Chefs at School: Inspiring food education: http://www.chefsatschool.org/

Education Scotland Food & Health support for Curriculum for Excellence:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/healthandwellbeing/supportmaterials/foodandhealth/index.asp

Food for Life Scotland: http://www.soilassociation.org/foodforlifescotland

Food for Thought: Exploring food and drink through Curriculum for Excellence:

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/f/foodidl.asp

Glow: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/approaches/ictineducation/glow/index.asp

How school food delivers for a range of policies:
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0044/00446562.pdf

Obesity Route Map Action Plan:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/17104457/2

Scottish Food and Drink Federation (SFDF): http://www.sfdf.org.uk/sfdf/

Supporting Healthy Choices: A framework for voluntary action: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/06/8253

Other sources of information and supporting organisations:

ASSIST Facilities Management Scotland: http://www.assistfm.com/

Association for Public Service Excellence APSE: http://www.apse.org.uk/apse/

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities COSLA: http://www.cosla.gov.uk/

Health Scotland: http://www.healthscotland.com/food-and-health.aspx

International School Meals Day: http://www.internationalschoolmealsday.com/

Scottish School Meals: http://www.scottishschoolmeals.co.uk

Scottish Food and Drink Federation: http://www.sfdf.org.uk/sfdf/

Young Scot: http://www.youngscot.org/