Memorandum submitted by Food For Life
Partnership
SUMMARY
1. The Food for Life Partnership has evidence
and experience to show that healthy school food, a good school
food culture and facilities to encourage pupils' participation
in horticulture and cookery are effective preventative measures
to address challenging behaviour in schools.
2. The evidence linking poor nutrition with
behavioural problems is strong. Poor nutrition and, frequently,
problematic behaviour affect disadvantaged pupils most of all.
Conversely, good school food has been shown to improve attendance,
concentration and behaviour and therefore to increase pupils'
motivation and ability to learn. Horticulture improves participants'
sense of wellbeing and food growing encourages children to eat
more fresh fruit and vegetables, improving their physical and
mental health. Food education is also a simple and effective way
to assist parents to address their children's behaviour. A healthy
school meal service, coupled with a whole school approach to food
and nutrition education, can reduce behavioural problems in schools
and equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to maintain
their good mental health and behaviour throughout their adult
life.
Recommendations for government
3. We recommend that the government creates
policy that will:
— Promote a "whole school approach"
to good food and food culture.
— Improve access to good food for disadvantaged
children.
— Encourage food growing in schools.
— Train the right staff and improve their
understanding of food and mental health.
— Educate pupils on the importance of a
healthy diet for controlled behaviour.
— Involve parents and families in food
education.
— Spend school capital on the facilities
schools need to provide good food and increase take-up of school
lunch.
— Increase the evidence base linking good
food and good behaviour in schools.
THE FOOD
FOR LIFE
PARTNERSHIP: AN
INTRODUCTION
4. The Food for Life Partnership is a network
of schools and communities across England committed to transforming
food culture. At FFLP schools great food is matched by food education,
cooking lessons, on-site food growing and improvements to the
dining area. We currently work with over 2,500 schools in England
and more than 200,000 meals are served to Food for Life standards
daily.
5. The Food for Life Partnership is funded
by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the Soil Association, bringing
together the practical expertise of the Focus on Food Campaign,
Garden Organic and the Health Education Trust.
— The Soil Association is the UK's leading
environmental charity promoting sustainable, organic farming and
championing human health.
— The Focus on Food Campaign is the leading
food education support programme for teaching cooking in the UK's
primary and secondary schools.
— Garden Organic is the UK's leading organic
growing charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic
gardening, farming and food
— The Health Education Trust is the national
charity dedicated to initiating and supporting work with children
and young adults to encourage the growth of healthy lifestyles.
6. FFLP takes a "whole school"
approach to decision-making, involving catering staff, teachers,
families and the pupils themselves; promoting personal responsibility
and ownership at every stage. Headteachers report that this approach
brings improvements in attendance, behaviour, attentiveness in
class and attainment, benefits that are also demonstrated by research
into food in schools[64]
and the link between diet and behaviour[65]
(see Appendix A for FFLP case studies).
Scope of our submission
7. Our expertise is in food, so our response
will confined to commentary on school food and nutrition as a
successful early intervention on pupils' mental and physical health
and its effects on behaviour. We will not be commenting on matters
of discipline, and we recognise that good food is not a panacea
but is at its most effective as part of a package of measures
to address behaviour in schools. However, we firmly assert that
improving the quality and availability of food in schools, as
well as the culture that encourages children to eat the food on
offer, will help address the following of the Education Committee's
concerns:
— How to support and reinforce positive
behaviour in schools.
— Approaches taken by schools and local
authorities to address challenging behaviour.
— Ways of engaging parents and carers in
managing their children's challenging behaviour.
— Links between attendance and behaviour
in schools.
8. In this submission to the Education Committee
we will be drawing on our experience working in 2,500 schools
in England, and an extensive body of evidence linking nutrition
with mental health and behaviour and good school food with improved
nutrition for the pupils to eat it, particularly poorer pupils.
We are also supported in our assertions by the three professional
advisory bodies that support the Partnership; our Caterers' Circle,
Cooks' Network and the Educators' Panel of head teachers.
9. For more information about the Food for
Life Partnership see: www.foodforlife.org.uk
SUBMISSION OF
EVIDENCE: GOOD
FOOD PROMOTES
GOOD BEHAVIOUR
IN SCHOOLS
10. The body of evidence linking poor nutrition
with behavioural problems is substantial and increasing. All of
the evidence from research into the benefits of good school meals
indicates improvements in pupil health, behaviour, motivation
and ability to learn and achieve. A healthy lunch and breakfast
has been shown to improve attendance, behaviour and concentration.
A pleasant dining experience at lunchtime improves social skills,
and the efficiency brought by having enough seats or short queuing
times encourages pupils to stay and eat the food. In turn, a secure
customer base will promote the economic viability of the catering
service and allow a virtuous circle of continued improvement to
school meals, pupil health, behaviour and achievement.
Food, nutrition and behaviour
11. The brain is one of the largest organs
in the body and, like our hearts, livers and other organs, it
is affected by what we eat and drink. Despite the large number
and generally good quality of the research studies scientific
understanding of these links is far from complete, but it is clear
that our diets affect how our brains are made and how they work
throughout our lives. One report proposes that the changes to
the food system seen in the past century may be partly responsible
for the rise in mental health and behavioural problems at the
same time, and its analysis of the research indicates that this
diet is fuelling not only obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and some cancers, but may also be contributing to rising rates
of mental ill-health and anti-social behaviour.[66]
12. What is good for our body is good for
our mind. The combination of nutrients that is most commonly associated
with good mental health and well-being is, of course, the same
type of healthy balanced diet that is widely recommended to keep
our body healthy and reduce our risk of becoming obese or suffering
heart disease, strokes, a range of cancers, diabetes and a number
of digestive disorders and conditions. This healthy diet includes
a combination of polyunsaturated fats, minerals and vitamins,
and limits saturated fat, sugar and certain food additives and
agricultural chemicals. There are some particularly important
nutrients for brain development and function, such as polyunsaturated
fatty acids (particularly the "omega three" types found
in oily fish and some plants), but they can only work properly
if a wide range of other nutrients are also available in the right
amounts and in proportion to each other.[67]
13. An excess of unhealthy, high fat and
sugar foods with insufficient healthy foods to counter their effects
encourages feelings of irritability, anxiety, confusion, depression
or poor memory. A healthy diet, however, can contribute to steady
moods, better concentration and good general wellbeing.[68]
These effects are critical for pupils' success at school and in
society, but much of the population is unaware of the connection
between unhealthy food products and poor mental health, and even
more are unaware of the effect of healthy foods on our mood and
feelings and subsequent behaviour.[69]
In the general population, brown or wholegrain starchy carbohydrates,
fruit and vegetables and oily fish are linked to improved mood
and increased ability to control impulsive problem behaviour.
Conversely, a diet including an excess of sugar, white starchy
carbohydrates and/or caffeine (as well as alcohol and cigarettes)
can contribute to a roller coaster blood sugar level, leading
to mood swings and inability to control violent or impulsive behaviour.
To encourage good mood and controlled behaviour people should
try to keep their blood sugar on an even keel, which is why regular
breakfast (preferably featuring whole grain bread or oats, which
release their energy slowly), healthy snacks and a nutritious
lunch are so important for pupils' behaviour and concentration
as well as physical health.
14. The evidence linking nutrition with
behavioural problems is strong. The seminal study by Bernard Gesch
at HM Young Offenders Institute Aylesbury in 1996-7, for instance,
found a 26% reduction in the rate of recorded disciplinary incidents
and up to a 37% reduction in the rate of serious behavioural offences,
including violence, committed at the jail among the group of young
prisoners receiving nutritional supplements.[70]
(Because of the nature of controlled studies, with their need
for double-blind conditions, it is often difficult or impossible
to test food itself. Therefore, supplements are often used as
a replacement). Moreover, separate studies have found the same
results.[71]
Another recent study links high consumption of processed foods
to depression.[72]
15. Evidence linking horticulture with improved
wellbeing has found a diverse range of beneficial behavioural
outcomes that are likely to influence pupils' time at school,
including lower rates of crime, lower incidence of aggression,
greater ability to cope with poverty, better life functioning,
greater life satisfaction, and reduced attention deficit symptoms.[73]
Allowing children to grow food can also encourage increased consumption
of fresh fruit and vegetables, potentially improving both physical
health and pupils' ability and inclination to learn.[74]
Gardening is also exercise, even for the least athletically inclined,
and physical activity has been shown to increase the brain's production
of "happy" hormones like serotonin and endorphins, which
improve feelings of wellbeing and motivation. Our experience at
Food for Life Partnership schools is that children develop self-esteem
in learning to grow their own food and learn to take responsibility
for their own actions. This is particularly true in the case of
disadvantaged pupils, who frequently display the most problematic
behaviour.
16. Meanwhile, at FFLP schools a calm and
sociable dining environment teaches children social skills, and
prepares them to be receptive in afternoon classes. FFLP schools
in disadvantaged areas also report an increase in attendance,
as well as improved behaviour (Please see Appendix A for examples
of schools in which staff report and improvement in behaviour
after participation in the FFLP programme).
Food and behaviour in schools
17. A number of published studies have shown
that hungry children behave worse in school, registering reductions
in fighting and absence and increased attention when meals are
provided.[75]
More specifically, two studies have found that school children
who received supplements of essential fatty acids showed less
aggression, compared with controls, when they were placed under
stress.[76]
The School Food Trust has shown that pupils in primary and secondary
schools behave significantly better in class and remain more "on
task" in the afternoon after a nutritious lunch.[77]
18. A majority of the studies investigated
during the 2006 Food Standards Agency systematic review of nutrition
and pupils' performance noted good evidence that eating breakfast
is beneficial to the performance and behaviour of school children.[78]
Schools that have breakfast clubs also report improved behaviour
in the classroom. Two studies found that individuals who ate something
for breakfast every day reported better mental well being than
those who had erratic morning routines.[79]
Immediate benefits include improved memory[80]
and a sense of calm under challenging conditions.
19. Various studies link deficiencies in
particular vitamins or minerals with problematic behaviour.[81]
For instance, the mineral zinc is associated with levels of serotonin,
a "feel good" hormone, and low concentrations of both
zinc and serotonin metabolites have been shown to be associated
with violence.[82]
A majority of children (more than 80% in some age groups) consume
less than the population daily Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI)
of zinc and at least 10% would be considered deficient in zinc.[83]
20. The links between diet and depression,
particularly in adolescents, are becoming increasingly recognised.
Although there is as yet no unequivocal evidence of cause and
effect, populations who eat the largest quantities of oily fish
report significantly lowers rates of depression, and people who
suffer from depression have reduced levels of omega-3 fatty acids
in their blood and other body tissues.[84]
One study of depression in adolescence concluded: "improving
understanding of the role of diet in mental health and promotion
of appropriate dietary practices could significantly reduce the
personal and social impact of depression in young people."[85]
How food in schools contributes to children's
nutrition
21. Reflecting a commonly held belief, a
recent long-term study has confirmed that adolescent behaviour
and mental health may have deteriorated significantly and measurably
over the past 25 years.[86]
Many researchers (along with parents, teachers and campaigners)
have suggested that the changes in nutrition provided in school
and at home over that period may be a contributory factor.[87]
22. Until Jamie Oliver's School Dinners
campaign, central Government made no funding available for school
lunches except to cover the approximate cost of pupils' free school
meals (FSMs). Compulsory competitive tendering by local authorities
in the absence of mandatory food standards created a situation
in which school meal providers were under pressure to deliver
least-cost solutions at the expense of nutrition and quality.
Kitchen and dining room infrastructure suffered chronic underinvestment
and in many situations the facilities disappeared altogether.
The FSMs themselves were commonly reduced to a "brown bag"
of sandwiches of indeterminate nutritional quality. (The chart
below illustrates the decline in school meal take-up in relation
to changes in school and family policy over the same period).
23. Few children have a perfectly healthy
diet in the UK, but poor nutrition affects disadvantaged pupils
most of all. While many young children may be consuming too much
energy and becoming overweight or obese (the UK already has the
highest rate of childhood obesity[88]
in Europe), many children, whatever their energy intake, are also
malnourished; ie they are not meeting daily vitamin and mineral
requirements.[89]
As Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families Tim Loughton
acknowledged in the Commons, "free school meals have an important
role to play in addressing poverty and inequality… [they]
often represent the only nutritious meal in some children's day".[90]
24. For all children, the mandatory nutrient-based
standards that are now in place in primary and secondary schools
(if schools adhere to them) will provide pupils with a healthy
balanced meal, going a significant way to providing a healthy
diet overall, and for some pupils providing the majority of a
child's daily nutrition.
25. Although Free School Meals are available
in all schools for the worst-off children, without a supportive
school food culture many children are stigmatised for taking FSMs.
Additionally, without adequate take-up from the rest of the school
a hot school meal service is not viable. Schools are not obliged
by law to provide anything more than FSMs and a cold sandwich
can pass for a meal. Decline in the lunch service means children
eligible for FSMs may miss out on a freshly-cooked hot lunch and
all the nutritional benefits that entails.
26. We know that in FFLP schools the quality
of the school meal and dining experience encourage more children
from all backgrounds to eat a healthy lunch, in turn supporting
a financially viable lunch service. At FFLP schools, great food
is matched by food education, cooking lessons, on-site food growing,
visits to local farms and improvements to the dining area. From
enrolment with the programme to receiving their Bronze, Silver
or Gold award (less than two years), meal take-up in participating
schools increases on average by 23%, with our best practice schools
reporting take-up of over 80%. The national average increase in
take-up this year was 2.1% in primaries and 0.8% in secondaries.[91]
A whole school approach, integrating food into all aspects of
school life, is the most effective way to achieve take-up and
its benefits for the good mental and physical health of the school
population, particularly disadvantaged pupils (please see Appendix
B for examples of FFLP schools where this whole school approach
has dramatically increased take-up).
27. School Food Trust research[92]
has shown that school meals are now consistently more nutritious
than packed lunches. This is of particular concern for children
from lower-income families, whose packed lunches contained more
fat, salt and sugar and less fruit and vegetables than children
from wealthier backgrounds. The Trust's recent report into children's
eating habits found that children are more likely to try new foods
during school lunch or cookery classes, in the supportive environment
of their peers, than they are at home.[93]
This suggests that school food is instrumental in encouraging
children to eat a balanced diet, with implications for their mental
wellbeing and behaviour. Parents know that they cannot maintain
their children's good food habits if they are not supported by
schools. Standards at school must also set a model for the food
outside of the school day.
28. Finally, involving parents and families
in school lunch and food education has considerable scope to extend
the benefits of healthy food and to help parents to understand
and address their children's behaviour. At Food for Life Partnership
schools we encourage the participation of the whole school community,
including families and local residents, spreading the benefits
of healthy food and food skills. For instance the Vine Inter-Church
Primary School, a multicultural school in the deprived area of
Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, has an innovative approach to promoting
the health of the whole school community: their "Healthy
Food Days" invite parents and grandparents to join the children
for a healthy lunch and are always exceptionally well attended.
29. Families need the knowledge and skills
to make informed food choices and by promoting a whole school
approach to diet and physical and mental health government can
ensure that they have them. The majority of adults in the UK have
passed through UK schools: there is no other as advantageous an
occasion to influence the population's food skills, knowledge,
health and behaviour.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
ACTION BY
THE GOVERNMENT
30. We recommend that the government creates
policy that will:
— Promote a "whole school approach"
to good food and food culture. The Department for Education
(DfE) should promote to all schools the Food for Life Partnership's
demonstrably successful "whole school" model of good
food, food culture and education. This not only addresses the
quality of food available in schools, but also encourages take-up
of the school lunch; ensuring the good food is eaten and the lunch
service remains economically viable.
— Improve access to good food for disadvantaged
children. Every child eligible for Free School Meals should
be eligible for a free breakfast, and the DfE should provide additional
funding (perhaps as part of the Pupil Premium) to assist schools
to set up healthy breakfast clubs. Breakfast clubs, FSM and other
healthy food incentives should be used as a first resort for pupils
with nascent behavioural issues, as a preventative measure and
before (or as well as) punishment. The DfE should promote stay-on-site
policies for pupils with challenging behaviour, or for the whole
school population, as part of its guidance for spending the Pupil
Premium.
— Encourage food growing in schools:
Food growing should be a part of the curriculum and funding should
be made available for schools to install gardens and run after-school
gardening clubs. Produce from the garden should contribute to
the school lunch menu and children displaying problematic behaviour
could be encouraged to participate in growing, as a means of encouraging
take-up of a healthy lunch. (Schools should, however, avoid using
the garden as a punishment or otherwise stigmatising participation
in food growing). The DfE should encourage schools to use any
existing garden space to grow food. Plans for new schools should
include space to grow food.
— Train the right staff and improve
their understanding of food and mental health. School nurses,
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education staff,
cooks and lunchtime supervisors should receive basic nutrition
training, linking food to mental health. There is currently no
requirement for school catering staff to receive nutrition training
of any kind. Schools with an external catering provider should
be encouraged to make basic nutrition training for staff a requirement
of their catering contract, and those schools who provide lunch
in-house should be encouraged to use the Dedicated Schools Grant
to fund food skills training for their staff. When the government
provides guidance for schools on spending the Pupil Premium, nutrition
and food skills training for staff should be one of the recommendations.
— Educate pupils on the importance of
a healthy diet for controlled behaviour. Although many schools
now promote healthy eating as part of PSHE, few explicitly link
diet with mood, behaviour and academic performance. In addition
to educating pupils in basic nutrition, school should also teach
the skills in cookery and food growing to enable students to make
responsible food choices for themselves and their future families.
Teaching students about food and mental health can also provide
motivation to eat healthily, as mood and behaviour are more immediate
issues for the majority of young people than diet-related health.
— Involve parents and families in food
education. Parents and families should be invited to join
the children for a healthy school lunch and to take part in nutrition
education programmes linking diet and mental health, especially
the parents of children with behavioural issues. The decline in
cookery and food skills is now well documented, and many parents
no longer have the knowledge to pass these vital skills to their
children. FFLP schools find that frequently parents learn healthy
food skills from their children. This issue is particularly significant
for parents from disadvantaged backgrounds.
— Spend school capital on the facilities
school need to provide good food and increase take-up of school
lunch. School capital funds should be spent on installing
and maintaining kitchens capable of producing freshly-prepared
meals and providing adequate dining facilities. No new schools
should be built without kitchens and dining facilities capable
of accommodating the whole school population. Capital funding
should be made available for schools to renovate or maintain existing
facilities, as unpleasant or inadequate dining facilities are
one of the main reasons students choose to leave the school at
lunchtime, frequently eating unhealthy food from the "school
fringe" instead of a nutritious lunch.
— Increase the evidence base linking
good food and good behaviour in schools. The School Food Trust,
or equivalent, should further research the effects of specific
nutrition and food education interventions on problematic behaviour
in schools. The evidence base linking diet, mental health and
behaviour is strong, and some studies have investigated pupils'
behaviour in class after participating in breakfast clubs or eating
a healthy lunch. There is scope to investigate the benefits of
food growing, nutrition education and increased access to healthy
food to pupils' problematic behaviour.
September 2010
APPENDIX A
EXAMPLES OF SCHOOLS IN WHICH STAFF REPORT
AND IMPROVEMENT IN BEHAVIOUR AFTER PARTICIPATION IN THE FFLP PROGRAMME
Better behaviour in class and record attendance
for disadvantaged children
"The change in the children's behaviour
when we changed the food from processed to freshly prepared and
organic was incredible! They're much happier and more attentive
in class now. Over 72% of the children now have school meals and
even those who previously refused to eat vegetables are trying
(and enjoying) them for the very first time".
Louise Rosen, Headteacher at St John the Baptist
School in Hackney, East London, where attendance is hitting its
highest ever levels at an average of 96%, with many classes now
reaching 100%.
Chestnuts' Primary, Haringey, London
Chestnut's Primary School is a Food For Life
Partnership flagship school in Haringey, north London, and provide
children with the opportunity to grow, harvest and cook their
own food at school. Cal Shaw, the head teacher, is convinced that
healthy school meals and the participatory food culture have played
a significant part in the improved behaviour of pupils.
"When I took over as Headteacher in September
2004 the children's behaviour was incredibly challenging. In fact,
many of the children lacked any kind of boundaries."
Many teaching days at Chestnut's were lost through
exclusions, and playground incidents were a daily occurrence.
However, since bringing catering in-house and becoming part of
the Food for Life Partnership, exclusions have fallen dramatically
with none in the last 12 months and Ms. Shaw notes: "Immediately,
the school noticed a big difference in the quality of the food
and the children's behaviour….Now it is very rare to see
fights in the playground."
Good manners at lunchtime helps behaviour in the
afternoon
Cowes Primary School on the Isle of Wight has
a large dinner hall that got very noisy at lunchtime, discouraging
some pupils from taking school lunch. As part of the Food for
Life Partnership programme, pupils and teachers worked together
to solve the problem. They came up with rules that called for
good manners, good behaviour, taking responsibility and respecting
others at mealtimes. Staff interacted with the children more and
marks were awarded for the table with the children behaving the
best. All of these minor but important changes to the dining experience
have created a more sociable and pleasant atmosphere in the dining
hall, making it a nicer and calmer experience for the pupils to
eat their lunch. School lunch take-up increased and staff reported
calmer, more attentive pupils in afternoon classes.
APPENDIX B
EXAMPLES OF FFLP SCHOOLS WHERE A WHOLE SCHOOL
APPROACH HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED MEAL TAKE-UP
Crondall Primary School: a "whole school"
approach to take-up success
At Crondall Primary School in Hampshire food
has become as important a part of the school day as science or
reading, and it shows: their school meal take-up has gone up from
52.6% take-up in 2008 (when the school enrolled with FFLP) to
72.8% in 2010, an increase of 20.2%. Head teacher Megan Robinson
feels that it is because the school values food so highly and
uses it to teach the school day that the children themselves want
to eat the school lunch.
The children themselves are involved in making
decisions about what is served at lunch and grown in the school
garden through the School Nutrition Action Group, which also has
representatives from the local village and the children's parents.
Parents and members of the local community regularly join the
school for lunch, when the children take visitors on a tour of
the school kitchen and allotment. Mrs Robinson makes sure the
school is always well represented in the parish magazine and the
cook contributes a recipe to the school's newsletter. All this
means that parents and families are reassured about the school's
commitment to their children's food.
At lunchtime, every pupil has a role to play.
The oldest pupils help serve and Year Five are charged with helping
Reception to choose food and finish their plate. The school has
raised funding to invest in a permanent cookery room (which they
will rent to the local community for food education classes) and
children grow some produce for the lunch menu on the school allotment,
making food a central part of the school day and reaping benefits
in increased take-up.
Eden Foodservice, Croydon : Financial benefits
of "whole school" approach
Caterer Eden Foodservice employed a new member
of staff to make sure their cooks maintained the Food for Life
quality standard, and to promote the FFLP model to other schools
served by Eden in the London borough of Croydon. They did so because
they saw the immediate benefit of the FFLP programme to food quality
and the financial return of the "FFLP effect" on take-up.
Operations Manager Michael Calder explains that
taking part in FFLP "gives the children a purpose to have
a school meal". The "whole school" approach to
health promotion and food education engages the children and gives
them a reason to choose a healthy school lunch over other available
options.
Eden Foodservice saw the immediate effects that
FFLP had on the quality of food they served, and in turn the take-up
of school meals, over as little as 21/2 school terms. This justified
the expense of promotion for one of their existing cooks, Suzanne
Martin at Atwood Primary, whom they employed to support other
Croydon schools to enrol with the FFLP.
Mr Calder is adamant that they have achieved
their success with a straightforward approach to raising food
quality and good service and an honest promotion of the food provenance
to parents. Children will not be fooled by low quality food. Parent
engagement has been key; over 32,000 flyers are sent home every
time the menu changes. A cashless system in the dining hall to
reduce queuing times and shield Free School Meals pupils from
stigma have also contributed to an improved experience for all.
Charter's school, Ascot, Berkshire
"The School Food Trust warns that all the
time, money and effort that has been invested since 2005 in transforming
school food is at risk of being wasted unless school canteens
work efficiently and are appealing environments for children.
Charters has seen the number of pupils regularly
eating a hot dinner at lunchtime increase from less than half
in 2006 to somewhere between 60% and 70% now. But, Vanessa Stroud,
business manager at the 1,600 pupil school stresses, the food
at Charters is only part of the explanation for the big jump in
the number of children opting to eat in the canteen. Changes in
the dining area itself and in the organisation of the school day
have been just as important, she says. In 2004, the school introduced
staggered lunchbreaks to help its 250-capacity canteen cope with
the number of pupils who even then wanted a hot lunch. Thus there
are now three half-hour slots for lunch, starting at 11am. That's
earlier than in most schools, but a necessity if Charters is to
satisfy demand.
Charters has also spent about £50,000 over
the last five years, improving both its canteen and its kitchen.
Replacing old tables with new folding tables and realigning the
seating layout means the canteen now has the capacity to feed
300 pupils during each lunch sitting, while new ovens have speeded
up food preparation".[94]
64 For instance, www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/research/research-projects. Back
65
"The Links Between Diet and Behaviour: The influence of
nutrition on mental health" Report of an inquiry held by
the Associate Parliamentary Food and Health Forum, January 2008. Back
66
"Changing Diets, Changing Minds: how food affects mental
well being and behaviour" Courtney Van der Weyer, Sustain,
the alliance for better food and farming. (2005). Back
67
For a fuller discussion on the effects of diet on mental health
and behaviour, see for instance: "Feeding Minds: the impact
of food on mental health" Mental Health Foundation (2006)
The report can be found at www.mentalhealth.org.uk. Back
68
"Feeding Minds: the impact of food on mental health"
Mental Health Foundation (2006) and "The Links Between Diet
and Behaviour: The influence of nutrition on mental health". Back
69
"Feeding Minds: the impact of food on mental health"
Mental Health Foundation (2006) page 37. Back
70
Gesch B et al. Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals
and essential fatty acids on the anti-social behaviour of young
prisoners, British Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 181: 22-28.
See also the Natural Justice website, www.naturaljustice.org.uk. Back
71
S J Schoenthaler, S Amos, and W Doraz et al, "The
Effect of Randomised Vitamin-Mineral Supplementation on Violent
and Non-Violent Antisocial Behaviour among Incarcerated Juveniles,"
Journal of Nutr and Enviro Med 7 (1997).. Schoenthaler and Bier,
"The Effect of Vitamin-Mineral Supplementation on Juvenile
Delinquency among American Schoolchildren: A Randomized, Double-Blind
Placebo-Controlled Trial.". Back
72
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2009), 195, 408-413 "Dietary
pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age" Akbaraly,
T, Brunner, E, Ferrie, J, Marmot, M, Kivimaki, M, Singh-Maoux,
A.. Back
73
ISHS Acta Horticulturae 639: XXVI International Horticultural
Congress: Expanding Roles for Horticulture in Improving Human
Well-Being and Life Quality. "Horticulture, wellbeing and
mental health: from intuitions to evidence" Kuo, FE., 2006. Back
74
Evidence from reviews by, for example, Garden Organic and the
Food Policy Unit of Defra. Back
75
For instance, the following three studies: J M Murphy et al,
"The Relationship of School Breakfast to Psychosocial and
Academic Functioning: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Observations
in an Inner-City School Sample," Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
152, no 9 (1998). J M Murphy et al, "Relationship
between Hunger and Psychosocial Functioning in Low-Income American
Children," J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37, no 2 (1998).
R E Kleinman et al, "Hunger in Children in the United
States: Potential Behavioral and Emotional Correlates," Pediatrics
101, no 1 (1998). Back
76
"Changing Diets, Changing Minds: how food affects mental
well being and behaviour" Courtney Van der Weyer, Sustain,
the alliance for better food and farming. (2005) Page 31. Back
77
School Food Trust, "School Food and Behaviour in Primaries"
and "in Secondaries" (2009) www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/research/research-projects. Back
78
Summerbell C et al. A systematic review of the effect of nutrition,
diet and dietary change on learning, education and performance
of children of relevance to UK schools. 2006 (FSA Project Code:
N05070). Back
79
A P Smith, "Breakfast and Mental Health," Int J Food
Sci Nutr 49, no 5 (1998). A P Smith, "Breakfast Cereal Consumption
and Subjective Reports of Health," Int J Food Sci Nutr 50,
no 6 (1999). Back
80
D Benton, O Slater, and R T Donohoe, "The Influence of Breakfast
and a Snack on Psychological Functioning," Physiol Behav
74, no. 4-5 (2001). Back
81
The Links Between Diet and Behaviour: The influence of nutrition
on mental health" Report of an inquiry held by the Associate
Parliamentary Food and Health Forum, January 2008. Back
82
The Links Between Diet and Behaviour: The influence of nutrition
on mental health" Report of an inquiry held by the Associate
Parliamentary Food and Health Forum, January 2008. Page 25. Back
83
Ibid. Back
84
Op. Cit. Page 26. Back
85
Bamber, D J, Stokes, C S and Stephen, A M (2007), The role of
diet in the prevention and management of adolescent depression.
Nutrition Bulletin, 32: 90-99. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-3010.2007.00608.x. Back
86
S Collishaw et al, "Time Trends in Adolescent Mental
Health," J Child Psychol Psychiatry 45, no. 8 (2004). Back
87
"Changing Diets, Changing Minds: how food affects mental
well being and behaviour" Courtney Van der Weyer, Sustain,
the alliance for better food and farming. (2005). Back
88
www.foresight.gov.uk/OurWork/ActiveProjects/Obesity/Obesity.asp. Back
89
National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2010). www.food.gov.uk/science/dietarysurveys/ndnsdocuments/ Back
90
Hansard, Free School Meals debate, 30 June 2010, 10.46am. www.parliament.uk Back
91
School Food Trust, Fifth Annual Survey of School Meal Take-up
in England, July 2010 www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/school-cooks-caterers/reports/fifth-annual-survey-of-take-up-of-school-meals-in-england Back
92
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/school-cooks-caterers/reports/school-lunch-versus-packed-lunch-evidence-of-compliance-with-school-food-standards Back
93
"School food helps fussy eaters try new food", Survey,
2nd September 2010. www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/news-events/news/school-meals-help-fussy-children-try-new-foods Back
94
"Healthy School Meals Win Over Secondary Pupils", Denis
Campbell, Guardian newspaper, 10 August 2010. www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/aug/10/healthy-school-meals-attract-pupils Back
| 
