Section 8 - Nutritional education and the promotion of healthy lifestyles

Did your programme deliver activities to educate participants about nutrition?

The Gloucestershire programme does include the delivery of nutritional education activities.  This is supported by our two part time Nutritionists.  HAF providers are able to access on line training sessions to develop their approaches to delivering sessions in this area and a provider booklet produced before each HAF holiday includes a range of activities, certificates and approaches for providers to use. 

The provider booklets are designed by the GCC nutrition team and aim to give providers ideas for nutritional education, including: recipes to make in their environment (with or without a kitchen).  It also includes information on

healthy eating, a quiz, colouring activities, certificate, and other activities. Providers receive pdf and printed copies to support their HAF delivery.

The nutritionists hold sessions a month before each HAF delivery on understanding school food standards and how to deliver nutrition education for providers.

We have seen an increase in the range of activities being delivered and the confidence of providers growing to deliver this element of the programme as well.

The nutritionists also produce a recipe booklet for parents and carers which are printed and are available on our HAF webpages Recipes - Gloucestershire County Council

Did you involve parents, carers and other family members in training and advice sessions on nutrition and eating a balanced diet? If yes how?

A number of the Gloucestershire providers run sessions that involve the whole family and this includes advice sessions on nutrion and eating a balanced diet.  For example, the Forest of Dean Hartsbarn cookery school offers family cook along sessions which include details on nutrition.

Do the children you worked with now have a better understanding of nutrition and food budgeting? Did their attitudes change over the period of the programme?

Children and young people who have participated in HAF gain a greater understanding of the importance of good nutrition. The education guidance and support is designed to help providers link it to the type of activity they provide. For example, a drama club provider concentrated on hydration and played charades game where children acted out the benefits of healthy hydration making it fun and engaging.  Children’s attitudes have improved in line with growing provider confidence to deliver on these subjects.

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