New guide helps special schools to meet food standards

9th June 2009, 11:56am

The School Food Trust today launches a guide to help special schools prepare for the new nutrient-based standards for school food, which come into force in September.

A booklet and CD entitled 'Eat Better, Do Better: A practical guide to adopting a Whole School Approach to food in special schools' will be sent to all special schools in England today offering advice in achieving and maintaining a positive healthy eating culture for the whole school community.

Prue Leith, School Food Trust chair, said: "Children in special schools, like children anywhere else, need healthy delicious food in a pleasant environment and with time to enjoy it. But ensuring they get such an obvious need is not always easy. This guidance should really help: it is drawn from the practical experience of professionals who have already managed it."

The guide contains a case study of The Livity School, Lambeth, where good practice and partnership between the school, the Lambeth Children and Young Peoples Service Contracts Unit and Harrisons Catering demonstrates how the nutrition-based standards can be met whilst still meeting the individual needs of pupils.

For example, the school used signage, symbols and pictures to assist pupils in navigating the lunch service, introducing voice buttons so pupils could hear the menu and using colour coded menus to help children identify foods.

The guidance and CD resource has taken over a year of development and joint collaborative working involving the School Food Trust, National Healthy School Programmes and other partners.

Further information is available on the School Food Trust's website: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/resources/specialschools

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