News
The Learning Lunchbox
Trafford PCT
Helen Hyndman, Healthy Schools Coordinator (Trafford PCT) and other members of the Trafford School Nutrition Action Group (a multi-agency group of health and education professionals).
It has been noted that there are in Trafford, as nationally, increasing levels of obesity among school age children and that there is a need to educate children and their parents about healthy eating. The Learning Lunchbox is an interactive resource, with an accompanying workbook, developed to enhance knowledge about healthy lunchboxes and the wider healthy eating agenda. It has been designed primarily for use with children at Key Stage 1 and is also suitable for use with children with special educational needs as well as in settings such as children’s centres and parenting classes.
The Trafford School Nutrition Action Group believes that it is the only interactive learning tool of its type. Both the Learning Lunchbox and the workbook have been designed to integrate into the National Curriculum and are, therefore, cross-curricular (linking to literacy, numeracy, geography, science and personal, social, and health education).
Trial of the resource by a number of professionals, pupils and parents has demonstrated that it is fit for purpose, easy and fun to use. Funding for the development of the resource was obtained from two successful bids thus enabling the tool to be distributed free of charge to all infant, primary and special schools. It is anticipated that the Learning Lunchbox will help to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity by encouraging children and
heir families to adopt healthier eating patterns.