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Health Health Health Improvement ImprovementImprovement Improvement Team Team TeamTeam 2 Contents SECTION 1 BACKGROUND Page 4 SECTION 2 STEP BY STEP GUIDE & TOOLS Page 6 Step 1: Project planning/ task group Page 8 Step 2: Carrying out a packed lunch survey Page 9 Step 3: Discussion and consultation Page 10 Step 4: Write the packed lunch policy Page 11 Step 5: Marketing, promotion and communication Page 12 Step 6: Review, monitoring and evaluation Page 13 Incentivising pupils and parents to follow the policy Page 14 Packed lunch slip Page 15 Lunchbox ideas and activities Page 16 Lunchbox policy guiding principles Page 17 Packed lunch policy planning tool Page 18 Packed lunch policy checklist Page 19 Useful websites Page 20 SECTION 3 RESOURCES Page 21 2 Welcome This toolkit has been It provides helpful guidance There are three sections developed to help you developed from experience within the toolkit: and knowledge gained from work with the whole Section 1 Background pilot projects in Ealing and information and a summary of school community to good practice gathered from the issues. create healthy packed schools around the country. Section 2 A step-by-step lunches in your school, The toolkit also draws on guide to creating a packed along with a policy to national resources to provide lunch policy. support this work. a useful guide with advice to help set up a packed lunch Section 3 A resources section The aim of creating a packed policy. consisting of checklists, lunch policy is to offer a posters, forms, templates, sensible approach to promote lesson plans and activities healthier packed lunches in which fully develop the line with the national school themes set out in section 2. meal standards that restrict access to foods high in After reading each fat, sugar and salt. step in Section 2, A packed lunch policy answer the questions is not mandatory but on the planning tool can improve pupils’ on page 18 that concentration, correspond to this behaviour and step. attainment. Schools that decide to put their own policy in place should first consult with pupils and their families, using the different steps and stages in this toolkit. About the toolkit This toolkit has been designed to provide Information, tips and solutions for primary schools to improve the types of food brought into school in packed lunches. 3 Background In January 2015, the In the first study of its kind, in This toolkit will help schools to government launched a 2010 the Leeds research develop a successful packed team surveyed 1294 children lunch policy that will new set of standards for from 89 schools in the UK. encourage pupils and parents food served in schools. The researchers found that 82 to pack a healthy lunchbox. As part of the new per cent of lunchboxes Schools need to have a contained foods high in standards, caterers packed lunch policy to achieve saturated fat, salt and sugar must provide a variety their Healthy Schools London ) such as crisps, sweets and of vegetables or salad HSL) Bronze award and biscuits. Only one in five every day, wholegrain schools can also choose packed lunches contained any ‘lunchbox policy’ as their foods must be available, vegetables or salad and about health priority area to achieve and fried food and foods half included an item of fruit. their HSL Silver award. that include pastry must This study also found that only Under the new Ofsted be limited to two one in 100 pupils' packed inspection framework released lunches meet the basic dietary portions a week (see in September 2015, schools standards that school meals new standards on will now be asked what they provide. opposite page). are doing to support pupils to We welcome these changes to Ealing pupil’s health data lead healthy lifestyles. A food served in schools as Ealing’s Health Related packed lunch policy is an foods high in fat, salt and Behaviour Survey (2013) excellent piece of evidence to sugar are linked to a range of found that 32% of pupils in show inspectors that your health issues affecting children Ealing meet their 5 A DAY and school is committed to healthy. including obesity, tooth decay, 7% of pupils ate no fruit or supporting pupils to be anaemia, and diabetes. A long vegetables the day -term diet, high in salt, sugar before the survey. and fat, and low in other foods According to Ealing’s such as fruit and vegetables, NCMP 2013/14 data, is likely to lead to diseases 38% of Year 6 pupils later in life such as heart are overweight or disease, stroke, and some obese. cancers. In 2007, eight schools About half of all children in in Ealing participated in England take a packed lunch a packed lunch audit. to school. Many parents The audit found that mistakenly imagine that a only 16% of lunches packed lunch is the healthiest surveyed included any option. However, packed fruit or vegetables and lunches often include 36% of lunchboxes convenience food items which contained foods high in tend to be high in salt, sugar fat, sugar or salt. and fat. 4 5 Step-by-step guide Step by step guide to developing your packed lunch policy. STEP 1 STEP 2 PROJECT CARRY OUT A PLANNING TASK PACKED LUNCH GROUP AUDIT STEP 3 STEP 4 DISCUSSION AND WRITE THE CONSULTATION PACKED LUNCH POLICY STEP 5 STEP 6 MARKETING, REVIEW, PROMOTION AND MONITORING & COMMUNICATION EVALUATION 6 7 Read the 6 steps on the following pages to find out how to develop a successful packed lunch policy. 7 Step 1: Project Planning/Task Group Choose a lead person new group if you already and set up a group of have a health-related working group set up A SNAG is a group of pupils and/or staff to within your school. people including work on creating a You can use an pupils, teachers, packed lunch policy. existing group such cooks and SMSAs Alternatively, ask the as your School that promote healthy school council to look Nutrition Action Group eating. Learn more here: http:// at the topic as part of (SNAG) or your school council. Or you could www.healthedtrust.com their school council ask a group of pupils who meetings. Include the bring packed lunches to project in your School school to represent pupils Improvement Plan. across the school. Pupil input packed lunch policy, as solutions may need to be The key to a successful is essential at this early stage found in the early stages of the project is careful planning. of development as it helps planning and working process. Before starting to develop your pupils to understand the need for a packed lunch policy. You packed lunch policy you will These may include: could also involve parents in need to think about the more pupils taking school following: this planning group. meals or free school meals; Clear leadership is essential What is the aim of the longer queues for school policy? from the start, so a member of meals; staff should be chosen to What will be the end staff time needed and results? manage the work and lead the staffing allocation during working group. During your meal times; How long will it take? planning, it is also useful to more litter and recycling; Who will be responsible for conduct an impact the day-to day running of space in the dining room; assessment. This is discussed the project? behaviour in the dining further in step 3. This will allow What are our key activities? room; you to consider and recognise seating arrangements; and Including it in your School the possible impact of your Improvement Plan. the effect on your open Creating a packed lunch policy gate policy. involves and affects the whole For more information, clear school community. You can guidance as to ‘what counts’ begin to involve the school towards a healthy packed community in the early lunch such as snacks, and planning stages by setting up help with this early planning a working group. This working stage, you can look at the group can begin to set out a Children’s Food Trust guide to clear and shared vision for introducing the Government packed lunches in your school. food-based standards for You do not need to create a school lunches. 8 Step 2: Carry out a packed lunch audit To gather information tool in the resources section have completed all your about the current (page 24). Hand out the Letter lunchbox activities to find out to teachers (page 25) what impact your policy has contents of packed alongside the lunchbox audit had on improving the nutrition lunches, the working tool so that teachers know how of pupils’ lunchboxes. The group or school council to carry out the audit. audit can be completed in should carry out an Alternatively, carry out a photo several ways: audit by taking pictures of audit. Audit results Staff or school council can should be collated and pupils’ lunchboxes and then carry members can carry collate your results from the shared with the whole out a paper audit or photo audit using the Audit table on audit at lunchtime.