Health Promoting Schools

Nutrition

Photographs of a teenage boy trying a healthy drink and a primary boy holding an apple

It is important that schools should develop policies on nutrition and diet. Policies should recognise that nutrition education does not end with what is taught in class. Positive attitudes to healthy eating should also be promoted throughout the school, and there should be consistency between aims and policies and practice.
Health Education for Living Project (HELP) Update, 1998

Within the formal curriculum, one exemplar of curricular content follows. This is expanded in more detail within the HELP Update, 1998.

Pre-school:

  • why we need food
  • cleaning our hands, teeth and body.          

P1-P3:

  • eating, growing and changing
  • food hygiene – washing and preparing food.          

P4–P6:

  • nutritional needs
  • food hygiene – storage and preparation.          

P7–S2:

  • physical health needs, for example, diversity of healthy body sizes
  • media influences
  • social health needs, for example, consumer rights.          

S3–S4:

  • independent living skills
  • using health support agencies
  • food issues, for example, breast-feeding and safe dieting
  • basic first aid and food handling skills.          

S5–S6:

  • healthy independent living
  • food for healthy lifestyles
  • independent living skills.          
Photographs of a boy eating a slice of melon and girl drinking from a water bottle

Whole school

As with other aspects of health promotion, nutrition education is a whole school issue. Healthy eating habits should be promoted and effective links will exist with external agencies, such as:

  • health visitor
  • dental hygienist
  • community dietician
  • environmental health officer
  • school catering manager
  • the Red Cross
  • parents.          

Provision should exist for pupils who have special dietary requirements, or who come from varying ethnic backgrounds.

Accommodation and resources should also encourage healthy eating, in terms of:

  • the attractiveness, reception and atmosphere of the dining room
  • pupil/staff relationships within the dining room
  • pupil consultation on school meals
  • suitability of kitchen and servery facilities
  • use of display to promote healthy choices, not just in school lunches but also within breakfast clubs and tuckshops.          

Resources

Find practical resources on nutrition using our Resources search including the following:

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