Healthy Eating Policy
As part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Programme, at St. Patrick’s N.S. we encourage the children to become more aware of the need for healthy food in their lunch boxes.
What people eat is known to be a key factor influencing health. Research indicates a strong link between diet and performance (e.g. a low sugar intake promotes concentration, lessens hyperactivity, protects teeth, and lessens the risk of diabetes. A low salt intake reduces the risk of heart disease in later life).
We have promoted healthy eating in our school since Sept 2011.
A formal policy was adopted in 2017.
Aims
- To promote the personal development and well-being of the child
- To promote the health of the child and provide a foundation for healthy living in all its aspects.
Objectives
- To enable the child to appreciate the importance of good nutrition for growing and developing and staying healthy
- To enable the child to accept some personal responsibility for making wise food choices and adopting a healthy, balanced diet.
Lunch is an important meal for school-going children. It should provide one third of their recommended daily allowance of nutrients without being high in fat, sugar or salt. It should also provide dietary fibre (roughage).
The traditional packed lunch of water and sandwiches is under attack from a range of convenience foods like crisps, sweets, biscuits, chocolate and soft drinks. Parents and teachers are concerned about this trend but some find it difficult to come up with popular healthy alternatives. We ask you to encourage a healthy lunch right from the start.
The following guide is designed to help you provide quick, appetising, and nutritious lunches for your children
Bread & Alternatives
Bread or rolls, preferably wholemeal
Rice – wholegrain
Pasta – wholegrain
Potato Salad
Wholemeal Scones
Bread sticks
Crackers
Pitta bread
Savouries
Lean Meat
Chicken/Turkey
Tinned Fish e.g. tuna/sardines
Cheese
Quiche
Pizza
Fruit & Vegetables
Apples, Banana, Peach
Mandarins, Orange segments,
Fruit Salad, dried fruit,
Plum, Pineapple cubes
Grapes,
Cucumber, Sweetcorn
Tomato,
Coleslaw.
Drinks
Milk
Fruit juices
Squashes, i.e. low sugar
Yoghurt
A word about Milk
Growing children should get approximately one pint of milk a day, or its equivalent as cheese, yoghurt or milk pudding. This ensures that they get enough calcium, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth. If a child does not drink a glass of milk at lunch, encourage him to have a carton of yoghurt or a small helping of cheese instead.
We ask that children do not bring the following to school:
Snacks known to be high in sugar, saturated fat, salt, additives and preservatives, including the following:
Crisps (including crisp-style snacks)
Fizzy drinks (including fizzy fruit-flavoured water, juices, etc)
Sweets
Chocolate biscuits/bars
Cereal bars
Chewing gum
Fruit winders
Popcorn.
Crackers
Sausage rolls
So as to take a proactive approach to healthy lunches, teachers will from time to time, reward children who can show a piece of fruit or other healthy foods in their lunchboxes.
Green Flag School
We are a green school.
With this in mind, children are also asked to:
- take home (in lunchbox) all uneaten food, wrappings, containers and cartons
- not to use tinfoil
- put only fruit peel into the compost bins
- not to bring in cans and glass – for safety reasons.
N.B. Parents/guardians of any child with a medical condition which requires a special diet should contact the school.