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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/12/independent-school-food-plan
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| The independent school food plan tastes of Alice in Wonderland | The independent school food plan tastes of Alice in Wonderland |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The proposal for the independent school food plan recognises the importance of food in children's health and welfare. It says it aims to increase the number of children eating good food and to support cooking and vegetable-growing initiatives in schools. All admirable aims that I, and others, have been working on for nearly 20 years. So why have I got reservations? | |
| The proposals for the reform of school food are fraught with difficulty, claims and counterclaims. They seem to be based on wishful thinking rather than evidence, and designed to avoid constructive feedback. The website is a series of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland claims and assertions full of cliches and hyperbole, but it is not clear who is the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts. | |
| There seems to be a lack of recognition of 60 years of research evidence in this area, and a number of questions remain to be addressed. | There seems to be a lack of recognition of 60 years of research evidence in this area, and a number of questions remain to be addressed. |
| The claims for school food and educational attainment are vastly overinflated and based on anecdotal or single case studies. The reality is that schools that introduce improved school food rarely do so in the absence of educational initiatives. | The claims for school food and educational attainment are vastly overinflated and based on anecdotal or single case studies. The reality is that schools that introduce improved school food rarely do so in the absence of educational initiatives. |
| There is of course a case for ensuring that children do not go hungry and thus lack concentration. This should be considered a duty of care and one that the founders of the welfare state, such as Richard Titmuss, saw as a social duty. The academic evidence of the impact of nutrition on educational attainment is poor. | There is of course a case for ensuring that children do not go hungry and thus lack concentration. This should be considered a duty of care and one that the founders of the welfare state, such as Richard Titmuss, saw as a social duty. The academic evidence of the impact of nutrition on educational attainment is poor. |
| In much the same way skills and knowledge, such as those related to cooking and growing, are not on their own sufficient to address wider social and food inequalities. They are a necessary and important part of any well-rounded curriculum, but acquisition of such skills does not change the circumstances in which people live. | |
| Education, healthcare and other public services account for 29% of meals served outside the home, but only for 6% of sales of food service, with 9 million schoolchildren to whom 3.25m meals are served every day. For too long this chronic underinvestment has been ignored in favour of an approach seeking efficiencies in the system, essentially a lowering of investment and costs. | |
| The fudging, on the website, around nutrient standards and regulation is based on an assumption that headteachers need freedom to manage their own schools. The evidence is clear – regulation and setting standards which are enforceable lead to change. By setting standards this provides a clear boundary and targets to achieve. | The fudging, on the website, around nutrient standards and regulation is based on an assumption that headteachers need freedom to manage their own schools. The evidence is clear – regulation and setting standards which are enforceable lead to change. By setting standards this provides a clear boundary and targets to achieve. |
| The current nutrient standards are based on science and while they may need some updating they should not be thrown in the dustbin. The fact is that nutrient standards are about the food that students consume and not about some unobtainable standards which headteachers and caterers are expected to achieve. | The current nutrient standards are based on science and while they may need some updating they should not be thrown in the dustbin. The fact is that nutrient standards are about the food that students consume and not about some unobtainable standards which headteachers and caterers are expected to achieve. |
| School food can at best be a sticking plaster in the current round of decisions and cuts that families are making with respect to food every day. Lunches, breakfast clubs and free school fruit are all important but only part of a wider picture. It is hoped that the expert panel in its deliberations locates their considerations within this wider environment of change. | School food can at best be a sticking plaster in the current round of decisions and cuts that families are making with respect to food every day. Lunches, breakfast clubs and free school fruit are all important but only part of a wider picture. It is hoped that the expert panel in its deliberations locates their considerations within this wider environment of change. |