Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating Policy
Introduction:
We establish our eating habits at a young age. What we eat affects our own immediate health, and for those who are still young enough it will make a significant difference to how healthy they are in later life.
We know from recent Irish and European studies that our young people eat too much sugar, salt and fats. On the other hand they don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. There is a clear link between what we eat and our risk of becoming overweight/obese and of getting heart disease or diabetes.
What we eat when we are young has an impact on how well we are when we are older.
If we encourage young people to choose and enjoy different foods, we have given them a good start to life, and hopefully started some good habits, which will be with them into adulthood.
One believes that the success of such a policy depends on the level of co-operation between parents, schools, health professionals and the wider community.
The healthy eating policy adopts a whole school approach that involves the teachers, pupils, parents and the community, in line with the World Health Organisation’s ‘Health Promoting School’. The Health Service Executive Dublin North East collaborated with St. Columba’s NS in creating this policy.
Healthy Eating Guidelines:
What people eat is known to be one of the key factors influencing long term health of school children and staff. The school day provides the opportunity for having at least one of the daily meals within the school. Food is often a feature of school celebrations. The curriculum provides an opportunity to learn and explore about food and healthy lifestyles. Through these guidelines St Columba’s N.S. aims to help all those involved in our school community, e.g. children, staff and parents in developing positive and responsible attitudes to eating and to appreciate the contribution that good food makes to health.
It is very important that one third of a child’s daily nutritional requirements are derived from the foods that are taken to school in the lunch box. A healthy lunchbox includes a helping of a variety of fresh food from the bottom four shelves of the food pyramid e.g. Energy providing foods (wholemeal bread, rolls, wraps, pitta pockets, pasta, rice), Fruit and Vegetables (fruit, vegetables and salad), Calcium (milk, cheese, yoghurt), Protein (lean meat, fish, eggs, beans, lentils). Foods from the top shelf of the food pyramid contain a lot of sugar and fat such as sweets, cakes, biscuits,crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks etc. As an alternative to these foods we encourage the following healthy snacks: fruit, yoghurt, fromage frais, crackers and / or cheese.
Throughout the school week it is beneficial to vary the type of protein that goes into sandwiches e.g., cheese/ham/egg/tuna/chicken and turkey etc.
Availability of fruit each day in the school will continue.
Including all types of salad fruits in lunchtime sandwiches provides an excellent opportunity to avail of one of the five a day recommended fruit and vegetable servings.
Children should eat a good breakfast before school, sugary/sugar coated cereals should be avoided.
Plain milk and tap/still water are the best drinks.
Good hydration is essential for concentration levels:
Pupils are encouraged to bring a bottle of water to school .If children do not drink enough water, they may become dehydrated, thirsty, tired and weak.
Sweetened fruit juices, juice drinks, squashes and fizzy drinks should be avoided as they are harmful to teeth. Unsweetened fruit juice can be taken with meals.
Milk is an excellent source of calcium which is the main mineral present in bones and teeth.
Keeping Healthy During The Day:
Encourage the children to eat at each break at school.
In order to protect children who have serious food allergies, the whole school community will work together to implement age appropriate, responsible measures to minimise the risk of an allergic reaction. All children in the school will be made aware of the implications of food allergies and how they can assist in preventing allergic reactions.
If your child has a serious food allergy, as parents/guardians you must notify the school. You will be asked to participate with staff in formulating how best to minimise the risk of an allergic reaction for your child, taking his/her age and class into account. It may require precautions or class specific restrictions, in addition to those of not sharing food or containers, being put into place. They are called class specific restrictions, as they will only apply to the class in which there is a child with a life-threatening allergy. Where class specific restrictions are required, the parents/ guardians of all children in the affected class will be informed explaining what the restrictions are and the reasons for them. These will be regularly reviewed and updated.
All children and young people require a minimum of 1 hour Physical Activity each day. This policy promotes active living.
Healthy eating as part of the SPHE curriculum will be covered in all classes.
'Treats’ and rewards should be of a non edible variety. Evidence based research shows that non edible rewards are more appropriate for children’s well –being.
Eating at least one meal per day together as a family has excellent mental health benefits.
Teachers and staff will provide positive modelling and support attitudes to encourage healthy eating.
The 'Healthy Eating Guidelines' will be reviewed on a 2 yearly basis and the policy will be
visibly displayed on the school/website.
This policy was reviewed and ratified by the Board of Management in September 2024. It will be reviewed and amended as necessary by means of a whole school collaborative process.