Evidence of impacts of the Food for Life Partnership

Ian Nutt

Commissioning Manager: Midlands & East England

Transforming food culture in schools and communities

Transforming food culture

“TV chef Jamie Oliver is credited with putting school food back on the political agenda. However, the most ambitious programme in the UK to date has been the Food for Life partnership, which champions a whole-school approach and is working with 3,600 schools in England to enable children to eat good food, learn where it comes from, how it is produced, and how to grow it and cook it themselves.”

Kevin Morgan, professor of governance and development in the School of city and regional planning at Cardiff University, April 2011

What is FFLP?

Multiple outcome intervention that uses food to engage young people

and their families and nudge them towards the behaviours that matter

for public health, sustainability and education.

We achieve this through a framework for whole school approach to

food, drawing on networks of stakeholders & partners and giving schools

a measurable awards programme that embeds a new food culture.

Who is the FFLP?

How does FFLP work?

Awards scheme (Bronze, Silver & Gold) concentrating

on 4 strands:

Food Leadership: parents, staff, pupil & governors

Food quality/provenance: local, fresh, seasonal, organic,

animal welfare

Food Education: embedding in curriculum & whole school

education

Food Culture & Community: dining experience, events &

parent/community engagement

What impacts have we had?

• 3-year programme evaluation by the University of the West of

England (UWE) and Cardiff University

• Supporting studies by New Economics Foundation (NEF),

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and

Centre for Research in Education and the Environment (CREE)

Public health impacts

An increase in the number of primary school-age

children reporting eating

• 5-a-day went up 5% points to 21%

• 4-a-day went up 12% points to 49%

Significant positive associations between pupil

participation in cooking, growing, farm visits and

these reported increases.

Impact travels home

45% parents report eating more vegetables as direct result of the Food for Life Partnership

43% parents report changed food shopping behaviour

Free school meal take-up

Over a 2-year evaluation (July 2008 – September 2010) free school meal take-up increased

• + 13% points on average

• + 20.9% points in secondary school

• + 21% points in Silver/Gold schools

These figures can be compared to national figures

(August 2009 – September 2010)

• + 0.2% points in primaries

• + 2.7% points in secondaries

School meal take-up

3.7% point increase in first year of evaluation (2008 - 2009)

Nationally, take-up decreased 3.7% points in primary schools that year.

5% point increase over two years of evaluation (2008 - 2010)

Impact greatest in:• Secondary schools (+5.7%)• Gold schools (+6.0%)• Disadvantaged schools (+7.1%)

School meals: social return on investment for local authorities

NEF: for every £1 invested in Food for Life menus, there is a return of over £3 in value to the local economy and society.

Most of this value lies in local economic opportunities around supplying local, seasonal food, and resulting employment.

Learning impacts - UWE

Twice as many Food for Life Partnership primary schools received an Ofsted rating of outstanding following their participation (37.2% compared to 17.3% pre-enrolment).

Attainment levels in Food for Life Partnership schools increased at a greater rate than the national average.

Learning impacts - NFER

Head teachers report a positive impact on pupil behaviour, attention and attainment.

“In addition to all the other things, the biggest impact has been in engagement, enjoyment, learning, their learning behaviours have improved, they are very positive.”

Headteacher, cited in National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) evaluation

What the schools say

“Being part of the Food for Life Partnership is the best initiative that we as a school have undertaken in the last 10 years. It isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about hands on experiences for the children which will stay with them for life. It gives the children skills which have disappeared over the last generation and prepares them for their future.”

Penny Wetton, Headteacher, Helpringham Primary, Lincolnshire (Silver award)

What the schools say…

“The children are developing new skills, gaining in confidence. The Food for Life Partnership has raised awareness of the whole of food culture and the children really enjoy this aspect of our curriculum. Many people comment on how food orientated we are, which I feel is invaluable because we have been identified as an area with a high obesity problem.”

Rowena Herbert, Headteacher, Bolsover Junior School, Chesterfield (Gold award)