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.
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.
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.
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.”