Transforming food culture
in schools and communities
Evidence of impacts of the
Food for Life Partnership
Ian Nutt
Commissioning Manager: Midlands & East England
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)