Guidelines for producing education resources for schools about food

The Guidelines for producers and users of school education resources about food build on recent work that has embedded cooking and nutrition into the curriculum, set out food competences for children and young people aged 5 to 16 years, and established the skills and knowledge required by teachers to teach food in primary and secondary schools. It sets out a series of voluntary guidelines which can be adopted as part of a good practice approach by those that produce education resources for schools about food. It is hoped that they will be used to further support the work of food education in schools, ensuring that children and young people use up-to-date, evidence-based and high-quality resources to support their learning about their food choices.

The scope and purpose

The guidelines aim to:

• set and promote high standards, expectations and requirements for the production of resources in relation to food education for schools;
• recognise that food education in schools covers food origins (production and processing), selecting and choosing foods and diets, purchasing and storing food, cooking a range of recipes/dishes safely and hygienically; and learning about healthy eating and drinking;
• ensure consistency of approach;
• ensure integration to the curriculum (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and/or Wales), as well as the Core competences for children and young people;
• promote best practice, supporting teachers and enabling children and young people to learn.

They cover all types of resources, such as (but not limited to) posters, leaflets, teaching packs, teacher guides, videos, presentations, webinars, recipes, board games and cards, interactive games and activities, online learning and activities, and whiteboard activities. The guidelines are not intended to be applied to academic materials, such as (university) text books.

Who are they for?

The guidelines have been developed for a variety of audiences, including:

• commercial education resource publishers;
• non-profit organisations, charities and other groups that develop materials;
• manufactures and retailers;
• governmental bodies;
• teachers;
• teacher trainers;
• health professionals;
• parents/carers.

How can they be used?

It is anticipated that the guidelines can be used in a variety of ways, such as:

• helping publishers, and other resource providers, develop high quality resources through meeting the guidelines;
• allowing teachers to create resources which meet the guidelines, especially if shared with other teachers locally, on resource platforms and/or via social media sites;
• promoting consistency in approach by working towards the guidelines;
• planning and writing new food education resources, through the use of the guidelines and checklist;
• updating existing resources, ensuring that they are in line with the guidelines;
• auditing resources for use in teaching;
• ensuring all information provided is reliable, not misleading and evidence- based.

This document includes a checklist that could be used for planning and production purposes, as well as auditing.