26 | The Grocer | 24 August 2019 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk
“The government really has shift ed focus away
from what schools can do to support children and fam-
ilies, when children are at school 190 days [a year].”
It’s almost as if healthy food is an aft erthought, she
adds: “If you see any presentations by PHE or the
Department of Health & Social Care, or any of the gov-
ernment departments, they go: ‘oh yeah, and by the
way, schools have to comply with the [school foods]
standards’. That is all you ever get.
“It makes no sense” and is “completely at odds” with
all of the evidence that is coming out about the causes
of obesity, she adds. “It is 80% what goes in your mouth
and 20% exercise – you can’t outrun a bad diet. So the
fact that they have completely focused their attention
on physical activity is at odds with the evidence.”
Even the healthy school rating scheme, “buried”
within the Sport England ‘Healthy Lives’ survey, has
been undermined. It’s a grave mistake, she argues.
First, there are no points for complying with the school
food standards, as this is deemed mandatory. Yet
Ofsted inspectors don’t even ask for evidence of com-
pliance. “Government should be asking who is looking
at school food instead of leaving schools to self-regu-
late,” she says.
The timing is also less than ideal, with the school
foods standards (set in 2015) still under review as partof t he c h ap te r one prop o s a l s , to b r i ng t he m i n l i ne w it h
the Scientifi c Advisory Committee on Nutrition report.
“ T he s e n sible t h i ng wou ld have b e e n to lau nc h t he rat-
ings scheme at the same time as the new standards,”
says Wood.Burden on schools
The reason for this decision, argues the Department for
Education, is that it “ensures the scheme is delivered
effi ciently, builds on existing successful resources for
schools, and represents good value for money”.
Much of the reluctance to include healthy eating in
childhood obesity policy seems to lie in not wanting to
place any additional encumbrance on schools.
“We were determined that our scheme should be
easy for schools to complete, and complement the many
successful existing schemes that operate locally and
nationally,” says a DfE spokeswoman. “We aimed to
minimise any burden on schools who wish to take part
in the scheme.”
Wood isn’t buying it. “Our argument is that they
have to fi ll in a form for absolutely everything else, so
why not children’s health? Healthy eating is all about
attainment, it’s all about children being ready to learn.
To me it makes no sense not to ask questions about that.
“We’re not talking about challenging schools, we’reDon’t pass the
buck over turkey
twizzlers
Could ‘turkey twizzlers
be back on the school
menu’? That was the
question posed by The
Telegraph aft er the
government published
new advice in July
suggesting schools
contact their suppliers
to ‘seek reassurance on
their ability to continue
to meet nutritional
standards and
accommodate special
dietary needs ’. However,
children’s health
and wellbeing
charities
have argued
that the
responsibility
rests with
the government
and it can’t just pass
the buck. With three
million children
dependent on their free
school meals as one
of their main sources
of nutrition, a joint
letter from charities
and NGOs including
Sustain, Children’s
Food Campaign, Sugar
Smart and School
Food Matters, to be
published in The Sunday
Times this weekend,
has expressed concern
‘about how schools that
are already experiencing
budget shortages will
cope with limited fresh
food supplies and price
hikes of up to 10%’ and
the NGOs have called
on the government
to ring-fence funds to
ensure that schools can
cope with rises in the
cost of school meals,
reassure schools what
extra funding will be
available, and guarantee
that the nutritional
standards for school
meals will not drop,
and the wellbeing of
schoolchildren will be
prioritised.
health childhood obesity