Fresh ideas (2011)

Is there ever really such a thing as a new idea? Or are most initiatives inevitably based as much on the reworking of an existing scheme (or ‘borrowing’ someone else's) as they are on genuine creativity and innovation? It is human nature to hold on to ideas that work, but it is so refreshing to dust them off from time to time and introduce something new. This edition of Nutrition Bulletin has the usual wide range of papers, reviews and comments – this time with a particular focus on children and young people. Weichselbaum et al. set a broad context for the topic of nutrition in schools in their concise review of work currently being undertaken by a number of European Nutrition Foundations (p. 124). Reporting on recent meetings held in London and Madrid, they highlight the (often similar but interestingly different) variety of approaches to the role of nutrition education in the school curriculum as well as food and drink provision in schools. With ten members already signed up to the network of European Nutrition Foundations, this seems an excellent mechanism for sharing information and good practice across Europe and fostering potential collaboration in the future. Several authors in this edition explore recent initiatives in the UK in greater detail. In their News and Views piece, Fisher et al. outline Inspire! a competition (not for pupils but for teachers) that was run by The Grain Chain for the first time during 2010 (p. 120). Intended as a vehicle to encourage teachers to share good practice, it attracted high-quality entries from teachers throughout the UK and, the authors assert, ‘highlighted the imagination, drive and talent that there is within the UK teaching industry to deliver engaging, effective practical lessons’. It is so good to read some of these outstanding lesson ideas, which would be guaranteed to inspire other teachers and to motivate students to aspire to high standards of achievement along with a genuine sense of enjoyment. Another project that also builds on Licence to Cook, a Department for Children Schools and Families programme established by the former Labour government, focuses on out-of-school settings for young people. Gatenby et al., from Leeds Trinity University, report on a pilot project, entitled Cooking Communities, aimed at promoting cooking skills, healthy eating, and multicultural cohesion with 12-to-13-year-olds in Yorkshire and Humberside. Based on an intensive 10-week cooking programme, including ingredients to take home, they suggest that this model of after-school cooking clubs merits consideration for adoption by other schools and youth settings in the future. The opportunity for young people to make at home recipes that they have already tried out at the after-school clubs seems an excellent way of consolidating their learning and imbedding the routine of cooking from scratch at home. Also in this issue, Monks takes a closer look at the current state of food technology in the secondary school curriculum in England, from a personal perspective as an Advanced Skills teacher (p. 113). While this is a subject that has undergone a number of changes and not been without its critics in recent years, she concludes that in her experience, food technology is a ‘hot and happening’ subject for teachers and students alike and, specifically referring to students, ‘. . . in many cases, a reason why they thrive at school and can help them to progress onto exciting and challenging careers’. Shifting the focus from the curriculum to the provision of food and drinks in schools, it seems that there are some useful lessons to be learned from the School Food Trust's research into factors that enhance or inhibit the consumption of school food, according to the findings of a small-scale 3-year pilot scheme (Eat Well Do Well) conducted in Kingston-upon-Hull (Gatenby, p. 87). While considerable progress has been made in improving the nutrient profile of school meals in recent years, it should not be assumed that children consume all of (and only) what has been provided. The researchers found interesting differences between the nutrient intakes of children bringing packed lunches from home and those eating a free school meal, and highlighted the need for information and advice for parents. Spring is an ideal time to have a good clear-out. It can be quite cathartic. It is time to review and refresh existing working practices and to enjoy the stimulation of introducing some new ideas. There is plenty of inspiration in this edition of Nutrition Bulletin, so I thank all those contributors who have generously shared their ideas, and commend you to do as I intend to do, and pinch a couple of them!