Healthy Eating
As a school we subscribe to the view of celebrity chef and school dinner campaigner, Jamie Oliver, who said: “We need to make sure that all kids are given the opportunity to learn about food and good eating habits whilst they’re still young, so that they’re sorted for life.”
Consequently, we strive to educate our students on healthy eating through the food we offer and the messaging we give out through our curriculum offer.
Healthy eating is about being well-informed, self-aware, and self-regulating and we encourage our students to adopt a balanced diet where they experience the pleasures of their favourite foods whilst also avoiding slipping into unhealthy habits.
School Canteen
Our school canteen operates with a staggered service to make the best use of the space and seating we have and it sees the following arrangements:
Break 1 – 11.05-11.30am – Open to Year 10-13 students
Break 2 – 12.30-1.00pm – Open to Year 7-9 and Y12-13 students
Our menus offer a wide range of items which include main dinners, vegetarian options, street-food, ‘grab-and-go’ items, salads, cold subs and desserts.
We also offer a range of options for specific diets; such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc, and whilst all items are labelled, canteen staff are also there to be approached with any specific requests or questions.
Our daily offer would see plenty of student tucking in to their food and enjoying plenty of fruit, vegetables, and drinks which count as ‘1 of the 5 a day’.
The following menus give an overview of the type of items on offer:
Spring Lunch Menu Week 1
Spring Lunch Menu Week 2
Spring Lunch Menu Week 3
Canteen Price List
We also offer a breakfast service between 8.20-8.40am for those children whose early start means they cannot always get a breakfast at home.
Similarly, at the end of the school day we offer a snack shop between 3.05-3.25pm for those children taking buses home and needing a little something to keep them going until they get home.
A water cooler is available to all students at set points through the day and we recommend that all students bring a water bottle to top up when they need to. Students are allowed to take discrete drinks of water during lessons.
Healthy Eating Campaigns
Our curriculum builds in various healthy eating campaigns whether it be through specific lessons in Design and Technology or Science classes, or through our Focus Weeks and PHSE provision. Our Focus Week often gives us an opportunity to link in appropriate menus to add a flavour to the learning; whether it be a religious focus, local and British produce, or alternative food sources such as insects.
Recent campaigns have seen Focus Weeks on Farmhouse Breakfast Week, Alcohol Awareness Week, Fair Trade Fortnight and British Food Fortnight and these have involved community projects, cooking demonstrations and liaison with external organisations.
These events see partnerships with The George Hotel in Lichfield, local chefs dropping in to lead student teams and deliver demonstrations, representatives from the National Farmers Union (NFU) in school to publicise local produce, and engagement with national schemes to use healthy and more unusual ingredients, ranging from pheasants to seafood, such as via The Food Teacher’s Centre’s Fish Hero Programme which has provided us with free mussels and salmon.
Furthermore, we regularly conduct assemblies and poster campaigns encouraging healthy eating as a means of helping personal health and well-being.
Further Information
If you require any further information about our Healthy Eating provision and projects, please contact Lottie Hearn, Deputy Headteacher, via office@friaryschool.co.uk.
