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 Headteacher Christina Oki with children from Rhly Street school |
Kids lunch with flexible friend
School introduces debit card-style system to woo pupils away from junk food
A DEBIT card-style system to encourage pupils to eat healthy dinners has been introduced at a Tufnell Park school.
Acland Burghley brought in the new payment card after half term to help boost the number of pupils who opt for school canteen meals instead of spending their dinner money on junk food.
The 1,300 pupils at the Burghley Road secondary school were issued with the cards as a means of promoting the school’s recently-introduced healthy eating menu.
In the past, large numbers of pupils have bought lunch in nearby Fortess Road, where various cafés and fast-food outlets offer cheap food that has proved popular.
Headteacher Michael Shew said the new system has had a double effect.
He added: “It means students are not walking around with large amounts of money on them each day.
“They can come in with a cheque at the beginning of the week or month and charge up their card.
“It also means they cannot spend the cash they have been given on anything other than school food, which is more healthy than the junk food which has been bought by students in the past.”
The system is managed by catering company Caterlink, which took over the Camden contract this year, so there is no extra work for school staff. Mr Shew said: “We are two weeks into it and I think it will be a success.”
Caterlink announced this week that there had been a four per cent rise in take-up of meals in Camden primary schools in the past three months.
Rhyl Street School headteacher Christina Oki said she was happy with the performance of the new caterers.
The Kentish Town school has six full-time kitchen staff, including a head cook, with all food freshly prepared on the premises.
She said: “The quality is better and the portions bigger. The pupils are trying more varieties of vegetables and slowly getting more used to them.
“The food gets cooked on the premises and this makes it easier for us. We can get hold of the company if we need to.”
Ms Oki believes the healthier eating regime is helping pupils concentrate better. She said: “It is early days but there is an improvement in concentration in the afternoon, although this is not just down to the food.
“And we have had reports back from parents that children are no longer going home and complaining they are hungry, which they used to do.”
The school breakfast club, where food is free, attracts about 50 pupils each morning. Ms Oki said: “This too has helped improve learning and behaviour.”
On Tuesday, the dinner hall was full of youngsters tucking into a menu that included baked potatoes and tuna, pasta with vegetarian bolognese and a choice of cauliflower, green beans or tomatoes. Desserts were yoghurt or an apple sponge covered in custard.
Although many of the pupils admitted they looked forward to Fridays – fish and chips day – the many empty trays being taken to the cleaning trolleys were evidence that the new-style, low-fat, healthy meals were being enjoyed.
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