Primary schools, secondary schools and Nurseries

Our Nutritious & Delicious representative will visit primary and secondary schools with the aim of getting children excited and engaged about healthy eating. Learning is through imaginative and fun teaching, interactive discussion, songs (for infants) and the taste, touch and smell of fruit and vegetables. With cookery classes available for secondary school children and Primary school children where facilities allow.


Primary schools

We spend between 1 and 5 days in the average two or three class entry primary school visiting the children class by class or year by year if funds are insufficient.

We believe that we are so successful because we actually get children to try different fruits and vegetables with their peers and discover the joy of exploring taste thus challenging them and taking away the fear of trying.

Our fun “Ready Steady Cook” type workshops for junior school children and above are extremely popular as children work in groups to put into practice their nutrition and culinary skills to prepare a balanced lunch for their class.

Below is a brief outline of an example of what the sessions for children could comprise of.

DISCUSSION

The principles of balance. What are the food groups, how much we should be eating of each? "There is no such thing as a bad food, just a bad diet". (Working on this in earnest from year 2 onwards).
What good food can do for us. Gives us energy, makes us strong, fast, clever etc. Let’s see what the footballers for example eat and why. Explore how they might perform on a poor diet or having missed breakfast.
The importance of Breakfast.
  The "Five a day" rule.
Advertising and Marketing awareness. (Especially years 3 and 4). How advertising and marketing is aimed at children and why. What to look out for and how to avoid falling into the advertisers' trap.
Peer pressure and its effect on our food choices. How we combat it or use it to our advantage. (Especially years 1/2/3)
The importance of trying new foods. The notion that our tastes mature and foods we once thought we didn't like, we now may like. (Shows we're growing up). "Lets try a new vegetable each this week"
The importance of exercise - "Get into the habit". " Get out of the habit"  e.g. let’s get into the habit of walking to school if we can. Let’s get out of the habit of switching the TV on as soon as we get in.
Importance of reading food labels and how to read them (Especially years 5/6)
Importance of drinking more water and why.


WORKSHOPS

Nursery/Reception

Aim – get the children enthusiastic and inspired about fruits and vegetables
Method – Allowing the children to handle common and exotic fruits and vegetables and explore them using all five senses. Singing songs and story telling.

Year 1/Year 2

Aim – To increase the children’s understanding of what is healthy/ good food particularly focusing on fruits and vegetables and their qualities. 

To understand that there are certain foods which should only be eaten sparingly.

To encourage children to try new and unfamiliar fruits and vegetables.

Method –  Inviting any children who wish to (but not insisting that any child has to) taste new vegetables and also vegetables which they had previously believed they did not like the look or the taste of.

Year 3/4

Aim –To revise the food groups and to show children that good food can be fun to make and also to eat.

Method – Preparing one cold dish in the class with ingredients chosen by pupils.

Inviting any children who wish to (but not insisting that any child has to) taste new vegetables and also vegetables which they had previously believed they did not like the look or the taste of.

Year 5/6

Aim – To ensure a solid understanding and application of the food groups and a balanced diet.

To equip the children with the skills to prepare a balanced lunch by themselves.

To encourage children to try to incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal they make/eat showing how fruit and vegetables enhance a meal as well as being good for us.

Method – “Ready Steady Cook” type workshop. Each class will work in small teams and will be given free rein to prepare a balanced packed lunch using the ingredients which we provide. We will try each team’s lunch and give marks out of 10 to find the most Nutritious & Delicious one.

Download Sample timetable

One day time table
Two days time table
Three day time table

Secondary schools

All our work is centered on “The Balance of Good Health”. In secondary schools, we build on the work outlined above but there is even more scope for “hands on” food preparation. And where facilities allow, we can facilitate cookery classes where children can prepare dishes as varied as bread, pasta sauce, fish pie, Thai or Indian curries, smoothies, pancakes and muffins.

We continue to work on tasting at this age since we feel that this is central to the ultimate goal of helping children to eat a healthy diet.

We work with exotic fruit and vegetables and get the children to explore.

As well as the food groups, we cover topics like

 Advertising, marketing, media and body image.
Peer pressure and its effect on our food choices.
The importance of breakfast.
Preparing healthy lunch boxes
Food budgeting
Food labeling