2009
August 2009
ASSIST Conference, Scotland
Verner Wheelock was a speaker at the ASSIST Conference 2009 on 27-28 August. The title of his presentation was “Nutritional analysis of food: Why it’s wrong”.
Verner showed the delegates that there are fundamental flaws in both the development and the implementation of the Nutrient Standards for Schools. At the conference, he highlighted some of his criticisms. He also explained why the campaign to cope with obesity is constructed on false premises.
Details of the conference can be found at www.assistfm.com/events.htm .
Dr Wheelock’s PowerPoint presentation from the event is available to view here.
March 2009
Letter to Ed Balls
Back in September 2008 I wrote to the Secretary of State for Schools, Children and Families, the Right Honourable Ed Balls MP to raise my concerns and objections to the Nutrient-based Standards for School Lunches.
I subsequently received a reply but nothing in the eply was able to persuade me to alter my original conclusion that the rationale for the Nutrient-based Standards for School Lunches is fundamentally flawed.
Click here to see Ed Balls' replies to my main objections.
if you agree with the analysis and conclusions in my critique please sign my petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/nutristandards/
March 2009
New Downloads on Hull School Meals project
Two more downloads written by Dr Lisa Gatenby on the Eat Well Do Well project in Hull are now available. This is a very interesting project - one of the only ones which has studied what children are actually consuming
School A Versus School B
The first is a comparison of two schools in different socio-economic areas of Hull, with one school having a a high proportion of pupils eligible for school meals and the other having a low proportion. Food consumption and nutrient intake of pupils from both schools was compared.
Packed Lunches
The second looks at what pupils were bringing to school in their packed lunches and the nutritional content of the food they were eating, in comparison to the meals being offered by the schools.
Download these FREE articles now - no need to sign up or register.
November 2008
New articles on Hull 'free school meals' project
Over the next few weeks we will be publishing a series of articles written by Dr Lisa Gatenby on her findings from the Eat Well Do Well project in Hull. This project was set up as a pilot project to provide free school meals to all children in Hull attending primary and special schools. The are some interesting findings - particularly on how much food the pupils were actually eating, compared with what was being provided. Consumption of school meals is one aspect that is currently ignored by the SFT and the nutrient-based standards.
Read Dr Lisa Gatenby's reports here
October 2008
Sign the Petition!
Dr Verner Wheelock has studied the Nutrient-based Standards for School Lunches in great detail, and the more he has researched them, the more he is convinced that there are fundamental flaws in the data.
He is so passionate about his findings that he has set up a petition to ask the Government to repeal the legislation on nutrient-based standards in their current format because he believes they are unworkable and meaningless.
Read more about Dr Wheelock's comments made at a Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) event at the Brakes Innovation Centre in London in October 2008.
Download his Critique of the Standards which explains his findings here
Sign the Petition here
September 2008
Nutritional Standards come into force in Primary Schools
From 1st September 2008 the Nutrient-based Standards for School Lunches have come into force. These standards are mandatory, which means that schools will have a legal responsibility to comply.
The ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the Standards are met lies with the Local Authority or, if the budget for school meals has been delegated, with the Governing Body of the school.
OFSTED will be monitoring how schools approach healthy eating as part of their regular inspections.
15 January 2008
SFT Guidelines for introducing the food and nutrient-based standards
Guideline for introducing the Government’s food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches are now available. All schools were required to meet the food based standards by September 2008. The nutrient-based standards need to be met by primary schools by September this year and by secondary and special schools by September 2009.
The School Food Trust recommends that schools adopt a whole school approach to school food provision, ensuring that the whole school community (including head teachers,
the senior team, governors, caterers, teachers, pupils and parents) is
involved, in order for schools to meet the standards within the required time frame.
Click here to download the guidelines.
14 January 2008
Half Term Courses 2008
Now is the time to ensure that all your catering staff are fully trained in food safety and nutrition. Allergies in children are also a very important issue so we are also offering a Food Allergy Workshop to help you with the practicalities of how to avoid causing an allergic reaction through food served in school.
Dates are as follows for courses in Skipton:
Mon 11th Feb - Food Allergy Workshop
Tues 12th Feb - CIEH Level 2 Healthier Food & Special Diets
Fri 15th Feb - CIEH Level 3 Implementing Food Safety Management Procedures
Click here for further information or download the booking form.
Any of the above courses can be run in-house at a venue to suit you. If you have 8 or more staff to train, this would be the most cost-effective option. Contact Helen Moore for a quote on 01756 700802.
2007
18th November
Half Term Courses
Our first half term courses in October 2007 went down very well. The next ones are planned for February half-term in the week commencing 11th February 2008.
The Food Allergy Workshop will run again, along with Healthier Food and Special Diets. Both of these courses are useful for school caterers and healthy school co-ordinators and address some of the practicalities of providing safe, healthy meals and snacks to pupils.
Much of the focus on food in schools tends to be on nutrition, but food safety and hygiene is an equally important issue, if not more so. We will be running the CIEH Implementing Food Safety Management Procedures course which aims to assist catering managers and supervisors in setting up a food safety management system in their kitchen, based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points).
14th May
Excellent reviews for 'Healthy Eating in Schools' Handbook
Our book, Healthy Eating in Schools - A practical handbook of case studies has been very well received and we are delighted that it has received excellent reviews in two well respected magazines, The TES magazine and Network Health Dietitians magazine. Here are some short extracts from these reviews:
"The book is entertaining, readable, and a useful, practical handbook for anyone who wants to do something about what's on the menu in their school."
The TES Magazine
"If any part of your job involves discussion and decisions on school meals, then reading this book will greatly enrich your ability to make a grounded contribution to the health improvement of our children."
Network Health Dietitians Magazine
For more reviews, click here.
2nd May
Conference Programme Announced
We are now able to confirm the speakers who will be presenting at our one-day conference on Tuesday 3rd July in York. Click here to see the final programme.
Bookings are now being taken. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment. New for this year we have introduced credit card payment, and all delegates will receive a FREE copy of Verner Wheelock's book 'Healthy Eating in Schools: A handbook of practical case studies'.
27th April
New and revised SFT publications now available
The School Food Trust has published a revised version of the Guide to the Government’s new food-based standards for school lunches. Click here to download this and other new and updated publications from the School Food Trust including a draft version of the nutritional standards.
5th April
Healthy Eating in Schools Conference
Following on from our successful series of conferences in 2006, we are planning another conference on 3rd July at Askham Bryan College near York. The conference will focus on the latest developments in food in schools and will include several successful case studies from schools, as well as a speaker from the School Food Trust.
The aim is to help those responsible for improving and managing food provision in our schools implement successful healthy eating policies and will be suitable for headteachers, governors, bursars, school business managers, bursars, parents, caterers and health professionals.
19th March
Whole School Meals Ltd awarded Cooks in Schools Grant
Whole School Meals Limited, the local school meals company formed by local parents, governors and business people, and owned by 21 schools in Deal & Sandwich who benefit from its success, has been awarded a £1600 grant by ‘Cooks in Schools’. This charity was founded by the prestigious ‘River Café’ where Jamie Oliver did part of his early training.
The Cooks in Schools funding scheme was set up to raise the standard of catering across schools in the UK, to improve children’s long-term health.
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Cooks in Schools awarded Whole School Meals a grant to support the cooks' and others' craft skills development. Each week the Cook Trainer and Operations Manager work together with one or two Cooks and other catering staff to prepare a range of items from our menu. |
We use this as an opportunity to do further training with the Cooks and they can request certain menu items or types of dish that they particularly want to work on. The dishes are then served to parents and children at a taster event, timed to coincide with this training. "It's a great opportunity to further develop our cooks' skills along with encouraging parents and children to try the new meals. So far we have had great feedback", said Whole School Meals Director, Stephanie Hayman. |
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BBC Radio Kent came along to a recent event at Eastry Primary School and you can listen to interviews with Whole School Meals staff and directors, and local parents here:
http://www.wholeschoolmeals.co.uk/RadioKent.html ( click on the ‘Listen Again’ button on the left of the page).
Read Stephanie Hayman's account of how Whole School Meals Ltd was set up in our Healthy Eating in Schools book.
22 February
Book Launch
The launch of the book Healthy Eating in Schools: A handbook of practical case studies took place at The Utopia Building, Broughton Hall, Skipton on 22 February from 10.00am. Several of the authors attended, along with Dr Verner Wheelock, the editor of the book.
Neil Stoddart (ECS), Stewart McGiffin (Grow Active), Karen McQuade (Crown Foods), Verner Wheelock, (VWA), Jackie Crombie (Greggs plc).
18 January 2007
St. Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire began working towards improving the quality of the food they provided to pupils back in 2000. Now the school's catering enterprise is recognised as one of the leading examples of good practice in the UK.
The school has recently launched catering4schools.com, an interactive website which aims to share the knowledge and experience the school's staff have gained over the past few years. The Catering4schools website is designed to meet the needs of School
Managers, Finance Managers, School Catering Managers/Cooks and anyone who has an interest in or a responsibility for improving school food.
The website, contains a comprehensive range of recipes for main meals, healthy “fast food” options, soups, baked potatoes, salads,
sandwiches/baguettes, desserts and sauces, created by St Aidan's Catering Manager. It is constantly being monitored and updated to ensure access to the most up to date information possible. It also provides all the
documentation required for setting up a school based catering enterprise.
Catering4schools is a unique product that will provide each user with a wide range of suitable meals and snacks. A clever calculator will even weigh out ingredients specifically to the number of portions
required. The school's Dietitian has produced a nutritional analysis for each recipe to comply with the nutrient standards introduced by the Government for 2008-2009. The website has many other features including:
Catering4Schools is available for an annual subscription of £195 for secondary schools and £100 for primary schools. Any proceeds from the subscriptions will be used to maintain and develop the school's catering enterprise work, including establishing a training kitchen, which will be based on the St. Aidan’s site.
Take a look and see for yourself, the website will definitely provide food for thought.
Visit www.catering4schools.com for more information.
Read the full story of how Deputy Head, Steve Hatcher successfully devised and implemented the in-house catering operation at St Aidan's in our Healthy Eating in Schools book.
