Don't let schoolkids hear the ‘H' word

On 1 April we will see the introduction of legislation on "nutritional standards for school lunches". This is the first step in a government attempt to try to encourage our youth to eat a more balanced diet.

The Department of Health is piloting the Fruit in Schools scheme, in which every child in selected primary schools is provided with a piece of fruit each day, usually at morning break, free of charge to the pupil and the school.

Many caterers, both private contractors and in-house providers, are developing programmes that work in partnership with schools to encourage children to choose a more balanced diet. In truth, one of the words I find it is normally best to avoid is "healthy". Most school pupils seem to associate the word healthy with unappetising or boring. "If it's good for you, it must be awful," was the comment I heard from one young secondary school pupil - and he didn't actually use the word awful.

In Havering, we have a number of ideas we hope will affect the way children choose their meals. "Harry Choice" for primary schools represents the balanced and healthy choice of the day, but you will not find the words balanced and healthy on the menu. In secondary schools, we have value meals. Again, these contain all the food groups required for a balanced meal, but we don't relay this message to the pupils.

We have also developed partnerships with schools through the Healthy Schools Initiative. We offer a classroom support service, in which catering staff will take a lesson, along with the class teacher, highlighting what the various food groups are and what are the benefits of each. We link this to the school menu.

You can't expect children to make sensible food choices if they don't understand the benefits and pitfalls. We have also developed a 30-minute play, professionally staged, that gives the same message, but in a similar way to a Saturday morning TV programme.

I guess it's like anything else - if you keep relaying the "healthy eating" message in a variety of ways, eventually the message may get through. Until children want to make the right choices, no amount of legislation will make them eat what they don't want.

RICHARD WARE is head of catering and house services at the London Borough of Havering

Next diary from Richard Ware: 3 May