Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum welcomed the pilot scheme but said, 'It is now the pre-school food served in nurseries that needs a makeover. There are no regulations on food in nurseries, and so the reverse happens. They get good food at home but not good food in nursery.
'I think nursery meals should be improved and if we had that, we would be well on our way to our children having nutritious food.'
Mr Fry said that the national curriculum fails to prepare children to care for themselves in adulthood and there needs to be more practical teaching on nutrition.
Director of family and education at the social education think-tank Civitas, Anastasia De Waal, said, 'Nutrition should be taught within subjects like science, where children can understand the principles behind it and so make better choices. Research suggests that life skills classes like PHSE aren't engaging.'
Ms De Waal said that free meals would not correlate to improved learning and that at a time when school budgets are being squeezed they were not the best allocation of funding.
'Ironically, spending in areas like PE has been curbed. This would be a much more effective and fun way to make a significant difference to children's health.'
The guidelines of the Caroline Walker Trust state that a minimum of 50p should be spent per child on a meal. But a report last year by Organix and the Soil Association found some nurseries spent just 25p (News, 22 October 2008).
SAMPLE MENU IN FREE SCHEME
- Week 1
Minced lamb hot pot, boiled potatoes, Savoy cabbage, creamed carrot and
swede
Ratatouille, pasta, peas, baton carrots
Fruit with ice cream or fresh fruit
- Week 4
Chicken and broccoli pasta bake, crusty bread, side salad
Vegetable stir fry rice, peas
Queen of Hearts tart with custard or fresh fruit