Case Studies
Alison Bloomfield, Healthy Schools and PSHE Co-ordinator at Throston Primary School, Redcar & Cleveland (372 pupils)
“We started implementing the PhunkyFoods programme in October 2010 with the aim of increasing the children’s awareness and interest in healthy eating and physical activity. We wanted to use the ideas from the programme to enhance our curriculum, and also to develop a parent/child cookery club. The programme is used more comprehensively in certain year groups where the physical activity scheme is also followed, and interest in PE has certainly increased since introducing the activities to Year 1 children. Our parent/child cookery club has proved to be very popular and we use the PhunkyFood’s resources to get healthy eating messages across in a fun way. Since starting PhunkyFood’s, and with the help and support of the school cook, more children are making healthier choices during school lunches. The most important aspect we felt is whatever we are doing needs to be manageable in order for it to be sustainable so the work we do linked to Phunky Foods is built into an existing framework which enhances the delivery of the curriculum area.”
Alison Gribben, Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Allonby Primary, Cumbria (23 pupils)
“We’ve been running the PhunkyFood’s programme in school since January 2011 and Friday afternoons are dedicated to the programme. We wanted to take PhunkyFood’s on to be able to implement fun activities to introduce the children to the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. The programme is used throughout the school in the shape of a carousel activity; with children moving around in groups. We also dip into the programme when our art, P.E. and I.C.T curriculum link with the content. Our pupils have benefited from a better awareness of healthy eating and the sources of food production, and as a result our children are more aware of what foods they should be eating. Packed lunches which are brought into school have become much healthier, and parents have been informed of the programme running in school.”
Mrs Laura Hill, Year 5 teacher/PSHE and Healthy School’s co-ordinator at Southill Primary School, Dorset (208 pupils)
“We decided to start the PhunkyFood’s programme to teach our KS1 pupils about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles and to raise awareness of different types of fruit and vegetables. We’ve been using the resources during KS1 PPA time for almost a year now and children are definitely more aware of what makes a healthy meal, and they also seem to be eating more fruit at playtimes. What we really like about PhunkyFood’s are the fun lessons and colourful resources, plus the fantastic interactive and hands-on ideas.”
Nancy Lees, Headteacher at Milburn Primary, Cumbria (27 pupils)
“We took the PhunkyFood’s programme on because we were working on achieving Healthy School Status and for the first time we had an area in school in which we could cook and prepare food. We wanted to enhance both our after-school provision and curriculum content. Our aim was to encourage children to have some basic food preparation skills and to be interested in food in general and the effects different foods have in the diet. We utilise the programme in our after-school club and we also dip into it when it links in with the curriculum through science and PE. We very much use the lesson plans as they stand - they are a great time saver on our small staff’s very heavy workload and the quality of them we felt was superb. As a result the children are now actively interested in food and food preparation. There have been many discussions around the plate of good health. The children monitor what we sell in our snack shop and ensure they are healthy nutritious snacks (previously they had juice and a custard cream!). The children now have a better understanding of the effects of diet and exercise on the body, they are able to talk about healthy choices and understand the need for balance.”
Angie Kitchen, Teacher at St Bede’s RC Primary School, Redcar & Cleveland (205 pupils)
“We started the PhunkyFood’s programme because we wanted to deliver a curriculum which included healthy eating and to maintain our healthy school status by providing our children with another fun aspect of healthy living. The programme is led by myself in school but is taught by our TA staff during PPA time. As there can sometimes be little time to teach extra lessons, St Bede's found that the children were benefiting from weekly lessons and the children had become used to their PhunkyFood’s lessons being on certain days and times. The children enjoy the practical side of learning. The scheme provides enough resources to make lessons enjoyable and easy to teach. The children, from Key Stage 1 right through to Key stage 2 are having a clear progression of learning. The learning objectives are linked to what the government say children of a certain age group should know about healthy food and the lessons do not overlap so we can continue to teach in each year without repetition. The PhunkyFoods programme is easy to use, it has clear progression and staff are able to adapt the lessons to fit the children they are teaching. During healthy days and activities the children become particularly excited about making food especially fruit kebabs. The children really enjoy the lesson as their behaviour in class is always focused on what they are doing. At the moment, no parents have been involved with lessons or the initiative. However, parents are aware of the lessons taking place and the children enjoy talking about their learning with their parents.”
Christine Wilson, Teacher and Healthy Schools Co-ordinator at The Avenue Primary School, Middlesbrough (150 pupils)
“We started implementing the PhunkyFoods programme in order to provide staff right across school with a hands-on resource. We have now been running the programme in school for one year and we have found it be a very practical resource which meets the needs of a variety of age groups so that it can be utilised across school. The hands-on, practical activities are more fun for children and help them to learn by enthusing them. We teach the foundation subjects in our school as topics under the heading - creative curriculum. Built in to this annual plan is a block of two weeks devoted to healthy living, which is where we see the understanding of the children really increase because the teaching is completely focused upon it. It gets picked up in other ways as well for example through science and through other creative curriculum topics BUT the main gains are through the blocked healthy lifestyles topics. We have strong links with our parents and they are invited into school regularly to share in the work the children have produced as a result of the creative curriculum topics they cover.”
Mrs Helen Deane-Hall, Class teacher at Loddington C of E Primary, Kettering (67 pupils)
“We have been running the PhunkyFoods programme in school since November 2009. The programme is being used to compliment and continue the theme of growing food and eating healthily, which we had already started to focus on through our work in the school garden. I take three groups of children; KS1, lower and upper KS2, for sessions in the garden and the PhunkyFoods programme has allowed me to follow by providing detailed lesson plans and resources on healthy eating. This has been beneficial to the children as they gain a greater understanding of healthy eating and healthy living. We’ve also tried to involve the parents by running a healthy eating road show and since starting our work on healthy lifestyles I have noticed that children are starting to bring healthier foods in for lunch and are encouraging their parents to buy and cook a larger variety of healthy foods.”
Sue Woodland, Quilters Infant School
I just wanted to let you know what a huge (quite literally!!) success the banana costume has been in our school over the last week. We had someone dress up in it each day at lunchtime – a male governor one day, a member of staff another and even a parent on one day (who loved it and didn’t want to take it off despite the 30 degree heat)!
Banana Man (as the children called him) went in to the dinner hall on some days, the playground on others and then on two lunchtimes based himself in our library to greet the children as they came out of the dinner hall. We had turned the library into a colourful market, decorated it with flags and your fruit and veg posters and set up a market stall with lots of fruits and veg on display. We had then cut up lots of fruit and veg for the children to try. Lots of children tried things they had not eaten before, such as gooseberries, radishes, courgettes, fresh peas, cherries, avocado – even ginger (not a particular favourite)!
The children had such a great week taking part in all our healthy activities in the classrooms which was then topped off with our sports day and family fun day on the Friday. Once the morning’s sports day had finished the parents all stayed for a whole school picnic and Banana Man made another appearance. This was a great success. The children flocked round him along with lots of younger siblings and mums and dads all taking photos. He even gave out bananas to the children. Parents said they had been hearing all about this huge banana all week and could now see why. It really made the day.
I would really recommend the hiring of the suit to every school – we only wish there were other fruits to choose from for next year!!!