Other Services
Nutrition Support
for Gloucestershire Schools

In association with the Hucclecote-based PSD team and the Healthy Schools Partnership, I have been providing regular nutritional support to a wide range of schools across Gloucestershire for a number of years.  I am very committed to this work because of the opportunity to introduce students to healthy eating for life.

Over recent years I have noticed the positive impact that the Healthy Schools Programme and T.V. programmes such as Jamie Oliver’s have had upon the interest and knowledge of students.  This can only increase as the food-based standards for school meals are followed by the nutrition-based standards during 2008/9.

I get consistently good feedback from the work that I do in schools (as Hucclecote can also confirm from their surveys), with many schools booking me regularly every year. 

What the students (and the teachers!) seem to appreciate is the opportunity to hear exactly why good nutrition makes such a difference.  I cover this through a mixture of the latest scientific research, straightforward examples of how specific nutrients feed different body systems, highlighting common nutrient gaps in the diet, and the use of case histories showing how diet has changed young people’s behaviour, performance, energy, brain power, confidence and well-being –not to speak of health!

The services I can offer are outlined in the Directory of Gloucestershire Agencies under Blackberry Nutrition (page 8), and include the following:

• Talks to student groups
• Staff seminars and workshops (focusing on staff health)
• Healthy eating briefings for parents

Tailor-made talks for student groups
Whether you want me to focus on food for the brain, boosting energy, the nutritional value of good food or the anti-nutrients and additives in processed and junk food, I can tailor the talk to your objectives, and the age and group size.

Some schools have begun to recognise the value of an expert input for younger students, but  invitations to talk to more senior students are still the most common.  Challenging talks to sixth formers are especially popular.