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Jamie's
Dinners Improve Behavior, Schools Say
Sarah Cassidy, Independent Online Edition, August 12,
2005
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Jamie Oliver's
drive to rid schools of junk food has produced a big improvement
in children's behavior, teachers say.
Schools which took part in the TV chef's experiment to provide
nutritious meals report a massive improvement in children's
concentration in lessons and a drop in the number of fights
between pupils.
Children were now returning to afternoon lessons ready to learn
having eaten a healthy lunch, whereas a diet of junk food and
sugary snacks had previously left them aggressive and unable to
concentrate, schools in Greenwich, south London, where Oliver
pioneered his healthy eating program, said yesterday.
The biggest improvements have been seen in the children who had
displayed the worst behavior.
Trisha Jaffe, the headteacher at Kidbrooke School, said: "Sugary
and processed foods have a high impact on children's
concentration and we found their behavior would deteriorate in
the afternoon."
Greenwich was featured in the Channel 4 series Jamie's School
Dinners, in which the chef expressed horror at the food fed to
children in schools. He said: "I would feed it to my dog, but I
wouldn't feed it to my mate, or my children."
Ministers have since pledged an extra £220m to improve school
meals.
Greenwich Council intends to offer the new menus in all its
secondary and primary schools. A spokesman said: "Schools are
reporting better behavior and sickness in kitchen staff has gone
down. Staff feel more motivated."
Jamie Oliver's drive to rid schools of junk food has produced a
big improvement in children's behavior, teachers say.
Schools which took part in the TV chef's experiment to provide
nutritious meals report a massive improvement in children's
concentration in lessons and a drop in the number of fights
between pupils.
Children were now returning to afternoon lessons ready to learn
having eaten a healthy lunch, whereas a diet of junk food and
sugary snacks had previously left them aggressive and unable to
concentrate, schools in Greenwich, south London, where Oliver
pioneered his healthy eating program, said yesterday.
The biggest improvements have been seen in the children who had
displayed the worst behavior.
Trisha Jaffe, the headteacher at Kidbrooke School, said: "Sugary
and processed foods have a high impact on children's
concentration and we found their behavior would deteriorate in
the afternoon."
Greenwich was featured in the Channel 4 series Jamie's School
Dinners, in which the chef expressed horror at the food fed to
children in schools. He said: "I would feed it to my dog, but I
wouldn't feed it to my mate, or my children."
Ministers have since pledged an extra £220m to improve school
meals.
Greenwich Council intends to offer the new menus in all its
secondary and primary schools. A spokesman said: "Schools are
reporting better behavior and sickness in kitchen staff has gone
down. Staff feel more motivated."
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