Blog: Getting into the Healthy Zone
Following the isolating and sedentary lockdowns of the last year, it’s been fantastic to see that the key aim of the Healthy Zones project– to create sustained changes to school food environments so that healthy food is prioritised throughout the school day – has been top of these schools’ agendas.
From schools embedding dessert free days, meat free days and becoming water only, to improved breakfast club menus serving up more colour and healthy variety, it’s been fantastic working closely with students, teachers, and parents to ensure changes stick and progress is celebrated within school communities.
Running packed lunch workshops in the playground, creating student council films, relaunching school food policies and electing breakfast club monitors are just a few happy highlights so far. Students have shared some insightful comments; ‘we would probably eat more healthily if cartoon characters we liked were on healthier foods, not junk food’ and great ideas including a healthy eating rap which we’re told has now caught on in the playground.
Also, a big thank you to Brunswick Park Primary School and Fenstanton Primary School, who hosted our
data collection pilots to ensure we have a robust Healthy Zones evaluation framework.
Huge congratulations to the following schools who have already completed one or more Healthy Zones projects so far:
Allen Edwards Primary School, Belham Primary School, Charles Dickens Primary School, Henry Fawcett Primary School, Hollydale Primary School, Kingswood Primary School and Rotherhithe Primary School.
As we finish projects with active schools, begin working with secondaries, special schools and kick off our after-school club support, we are excited to see what the next academic year holds!