Jump to content

Hot news!

This page will keep you up-to-date with everything that's going on in the world of study support. It will be updated every month, so check it regularly to read about the latest developments, find out what's new on the Study Support ETC website, and download any new resources or publications.

£££ And don't forget to check out the New Funders page for your latest news on funding £££

The last three months' news items are available in the archive pages. View September's news.

Tough nutrition standards for English primary schools

Robust nutrient standards for school lunches come into force this week in English primary schools.

The new standards specify the nutrient values of an average school lunch. These include the maximum levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt, and the minimum levels of carbohydrate, protein, fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, zinc. 

Junk food has already been banned from being sold in canteens and school vending machines.

The standards will be statutory for secondary schools in England from September 2009.

For more information on the nutrient standards and sample menus visit www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk.

In Scottish primary schools there are new restrictions this term, including a ban on sweets and fizzy drinks and restrictions on fried foods.

Northern Ireland have similar nutritional guidelines and Wales are currently piloting healthy meal schemes in a number of local authorities, as part of the Appetite for Life action plan.

 

Free school meals pilot

Primary school children in deprived areas of England will be given free healthy school meals in a £20 million drive to cut obesity and get young people eating more healthily.

Local Authorities in deprived areas are being invited to bid to take part in a two year pilot which will look at the health benefits of free school meals. It will investigate whether free school meals:

• reduce obesity / have an impact on a child’s BMI
• change eating habits at home
• impact on behaviour and academic performance at school
• improve school standards
• improve general health and well being.

Less that half (43.6 per cent) of primary school children currently sit down for a cooked school meal.

 

Free cook books and compulsory cooking classes

The Government is publishing a new, free cookbook for all 11-year-olds, to help them learn healthy versions of old favourites – including spaghetti bolognese; risotto; lamb hot pot; lamb rogan josh; roast chicken legs; chow mein; and apple crumble.

The Real Meals cookbook contains 32 classic recipes and was chosen after the public was asked to nominate the basic dishes every child should learn how to cook.

The cookbook is available online and secondary heads will be able to order copies for all their Year 7 pupils.

In addition to this, the government has announced a package for compulsory practical cooking lessons in secondary schools from 2011.

The new funding includes £150 million ringfenced capital investment to build food technology teaching areas in secondary schools currently without facilities and £750,000 specifically to recruit and train 800 new food technology teachers.

The free Real Meals – Simple Cooking Made Easy cookbook is available from Teachernet.

 

Free childcare for 50,000 families

Low income families across England are to get free childcare so they can access training and return to work, thanks to a new £75million programme.

The ‘Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work’ programme will support 50,000 low income families where one parent is working and the second parent wants to improve their skills so that they can return to work. As well as free childcare, families will receive help from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to identify and attend training. Workless families who cannot get support from elsewhere will also be eligible.

Childcare costs of up to £175 per week per child (or up to £205 per week per child in London) will be paid directly to the registered childcare provider.

 

Ofsted website to publish childcare information

Ofsted has announced that it is to publish more details about nurseries, pre-schools and registered childcare settings on its website.

The information will include names, addresses, type of provision, time and duration of the childcare, and other details. The personal details of childminders and at-home childcare will not be published.

For more information visit www.ofsted.org.uk.

 

£36 million investment in Sports Unlimited

Sports England has announced a £36 million investment in Sports Unlimited – an initiative to get more children and young people to take part in sports outside of school.

Sports Unlimited offers ten-week taster sessions in sports which young people have requested.

900,000 11 to 18 year olds will be able to choose to take part in a wide range of sports, such as sailing, cycling and snowboarding.

Sports Unlimited has been successfully delivered in twelve pilot areas, and is now being rolled out across the country, with 4,000 new sporting projects being set up.

For more information, visit the Sports England website.

 

Level of inadequate childminders doubled

The number of childminders judged inadequate by Ofsted has more than doubled since 2005, Children and Young People Now has reported. The level of childcare settigs which Ofsted have classed as inadequate has jumped from two to six per cent.

Leading to Excellence reviewed over 90,000 childcare and early years inspections from between 2005 and 2008.

The report also found that the quality of childcare was lower in disadvantaged areas.