Pupils hailed for school-grown veg in dinners

A school in Coventry where pupils grow their own fruit and vegetables for use in school meals said the approach made a "big difference", ahead of plans for an "overhaul" of school menus.

Under government proposals, schools in England won't be able to offer unhealthy "grab and go" foods like sausage rolls and pizza every day, with fruit replacing some high-sugar treats.

Rebecca Bollands, head teacher of Earlsdon Primary School, spoke of how pupils grew vegetables on an allotment, including potatoes for their Christmas dinners.

"Because the children have grown it over time, when they know that it's food that they have grown, they really want to eat it...it makes a big difference," she said.

"They grow out from seed, they nurture it, they water it and then they go and harvest it, bring it back to school, they take it to the chef and suddenly they're completely invested in trying it and eating it."

Schools are being told to cut down on sugary desserts, and provide more vegetables and whole grains for pupils under the plans to tackle obesity, but some schools have warned the funding may not stretch.

The Department for Education said the changes would mean millions of children will get healthier and more nutritious meals at school each day.

Bollands said the school also had its own chef who created menus for picky eaters, as opposed to using catering companies.

She said they encouraged children to try healthier foods but if they did not like it, the chef would always provide an alternative.

"We've got our own amazing chef so we know we can really adapt really quickly to changes but we have our own allotment on Beechwood Avenue, so the children grow a lot of their own fruit and vegetables, which gets used in the meals," she added.

"We have got complete flexibility; if we notice that there's a particular meal that the chef thought would be lovely but a lot of children are saying they don't like it, we just take it straight off the menu the following week."

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