Clifton school pupils complete healthy lifestyles programme with three-course banquet
School pupils in Clifton have completed a six-year healthy lifestyles programme by preparing and cooking a banquet for special guests, using ingredients grown in their own kitchen garden.
By Helen Breese | Published on 15 July 2024
Categories: Press office; Research; School of Social Sciences;
The Year 6 children from Milford Academy have been working with Nottingham Trent University (NTU) PhD researcher, Suzanne Gomersall, since they started at the school, with support from a gardener, chef and the school’s Design and Technology lead.
The Healthy Lifestyles Programme aimed to provide the children with the practical skills needed to choose, prepare and cook healthy dishes to feed themselves and their families. It also sought to develop their knowledge and understanding of healthy lifestyles so they could share their learning at home.
Children were given cooking lessons each term, often using produce they had planted and harvested in their own school kitchen garden to design and make their own dishes. Alongside cooking skills and techniques, they also learnt about food knowledge, such as seasonality, dietary requirements, sustainability, and food miles.
Each term, the children have received a top tips leaflet which set a challenge and included the recipe to have a go at cooking it again at home.
Once a year they were asked to complete a food diary, answer questions as part of a small group and have some basic measurements taken.
The project culminated in the Year 6 chefs preparing a three-course vegetarian banquet for their parents – including a vegetable soup, tomato pasta and apple crumble. They also laid the tables with flowers grown in the garden and sat with their guests to talk about the food. The banquet was followed by a tour of the garden and polytunnel.
Pupils prepare food for their guests
Comments from the children included:
“It showed me that it is easy to eat healthy and I’ll use this information later in life.”
“The project has taught me how to cut food and create yummy dishes that are healthy. I like eating the foods I make because they are healthy but yummy.”
“I got to learn how to make all the brilliant foods and ways to cook.”
Through the programme, parents were also given the knowledge, skills and understanding to change their attitudes and perceptions towards leading a healthier lifestyle, while teachers were supported to embed the Healthy Lifestyles Programme across the school and deliver high quality cooking and nutrition lessons.
Suzanne, senior lecturer in Primary Education at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said: “Although research shows that there are many factors as to why we have this obesity crisis, one key issue is the lack of understanding about healthy eating and how to cook healthy dishes among adults.
“This project has explored whether engaging children, teachers and parents with practical cooking and nutrition education every term, from Year 1 to Year 6, would change their attitudes and behaviours towards healthy eating.”
BMI measurements have been taken every year, in line with the National Childhood Measurement Programme, and compared to Nottingham and national data. The current trajectory is for the number of children who are obese/severely obese to be lower in the Healthy Living Programme children compared to both national and local. Waist to Height Ratio measurements were also taken and showed that there are more children with a healthier ratio now that at the start of the programme.
Suzanne added: “Listening to the children and parents talking about the impact this has had on their lives demonstrated to me that the programme has achieved its aims for the families of Milford Academy, and it gives me the drive to make this project accessible to all children, families and schools going forward.”
Suzanne was supported by Anna Bond, from Allotment Education, and Idris Caldora, executive chef at The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Adopt a School Trust.
He said: “It has been a pleasure supporting the delivery of the cookery and food education aspects of this project and it has been a joy to see this cohort of children develop throughout the six years of the programme. We have covered many of the skills required to build their confidence in preparing food and it’s been clear to see that the children have hugely benefited from this intervention. This will give them a solid foundation to make informed and healthier choices as they grow into adulthood.”
Lorren Brennan, Design and Technology lead, Milford Academy, added: “It is truly inspiring to see how far the children have come; their confidence with cooking skills, their knowledge of healthy living and their willingness to try new foods and dishes.”
Notes for Editors
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About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.
The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded The Times and The Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2023 and ranked University of the Year in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023. It was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards), University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with approximately 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
Since 2000, NTU has invested £570 million in tools, technology, buildings and facilities.
NTU is in the UK’s top 10 for number of applications and ranked first for accepted offers (2021 UCAS UG acceptance data). It is also among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was the first UK university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge.
NTU is ranked the second most sustainable university in the world in the 2022 UI Green Metric University World Rankings (out of more than 900 participating universities).