Make your school Sugar Smart
Children spend six hours a day, or 30 hours a week at school and have up to two meals a day in school [1].
Recent data shows that 4 to 10 year olds consume over 5,500 sugar cubes a year, or around 22kg. This is equivalent of the average weight of a 5-year-old! [1]
To see a video which visually captures the facts, check out the Change4Life Sugar Boy video on You Tube by clicking here .
On the Isle of Wight nearly a quarter of Reception year children (aged 4-5 years) and a third of Year 6 (aged 10-11 years) \are overweight or obese on the Isle of Wight.
National Campaigns
View the Change 4 Life campaign on the Public Health England Campaign Resource Centre website by clicking here. You will find the following resources:
- Teacher support (practical tips, support and advice)
- Whole-idea ideas: Get the whole school making healthy choices with exciting ideas and activities.
- Information on how to engage parents.
To learn about the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, please select the following website link: NHS Choices.
- This website is a national government programme that entitles every child in England aged 4-6 in fully state-schools to a piece of fruit or vegetable each day.
Isle of Wight Schools
We are asking schools to make at least one pledge to become a Sugar Smart School and join the hall of fame.
The pledges might include:
- Our school will undertake three Sugar Smart assemblies per school year. Sugar Smart assembly resources are already available when you sign-up on the Sugar Smart UK website, click here to join online.
- Our school will promote the Sugar Smart logo and key messages via our school website, the school newsletter and in and around school.
- Our school will be proud to be compliant to the national school food standards for lunch and for food other than school lunch.
- Our schools will have a Sugar Smart school Breakfast club.To do this the school could pledge to undertake at least 2 of the following pledges in addition to complying to school food standards:
- Dilute fruit juice 50/50
- Have at least 2 days free of sugary toast toppings try opting for such as; mashed banana, marmite, eggs, cheese, soft cheese, low sugar baked beans, spaghetti hoops, tomatoes, avocados, mushrooms, hummus, tuna, mackerel, ham or tofu.
- Offer natural yogurts with fruit to sweeten rather than sugary flavoured yogurts.
- Our school will actively promote and encourage Sugar Smart drinks throughout the school site i.e. water and milk
- Our school will participate in Fruity Fridays with everybody in school bringing and buying only fresh fruit / veg and Sugar Smart drinks for tuck
- Adopt the Sugar Smart workplace declaration
- Our school will actively promote Sugar Smart in parent newsletters.
Join-up to Sugar Smart
Sign-up to Sugar Smart Isle of Wight and make a pledge to reduce sugar!
- Sign up online today on Sugar Smart UK (website)
- Make at least 1 pledge.
- Spread the word!
Follow our local campaign Sugar Smart Isle of Wight on:
References
[1] GOV.UK website: 5-year-olds-eat-and-drink-their-body-weight-in-sugar-every-year