Why it matters
Health & Well-Being
The Adopt a School Programme aims to improve opportunities for children and to go some way to changing a generation’s attitude to food and combatting health inequalities. Early intervention and preventative work is a critical element of addressing the nation’s health crisis. By the time children finish primary school one in three are overweight or obese, with one in five children obese. Obesity in childhood can contribute to behavioural and emotional difficulties like depression, and reduce educational attainment. Obese children are more likely to need medical care and days off school as a result of illness. At the same time, children’s oral health is fast declining and extractions are the most common reason for 5-9 year-olds in England being admitted to hospital.Typically, it is the poorest children who are most likely to be overweight and obese and have a poor diet. Adopt a School works with many thousands of children across the UK every year and primarily supports schools in areas of high deprivation.
Our Impact
Latest Evaluation Throughout the school year, we send out both baseline school surveys and AAS programme feedback evaluation forms to the schools we work with and always receive excellent feedback, as well as requests for us to continue working with their schools. In a recent survey, 100% of schools said that they would participate in AAS again and that they would recommend it to other schools in the area. After surveying schools that completed the survey, feedback from schools found:
93%
rated the Adopt a School programme as ‘excellent’, 7% rated it as ‘good’
100%
schools agreed that the Adopt a School programme has supported the delivery of the cooking and nutrition element of the design and nutrition element of the design and technology curriculum, 77% of whom ‘strongly agreed’ this was the case
72%
of schools who responded agreed that ‘The Adopt a School programme has supported cross curricular learning’
98%
of schools found children had an increased ‘willingness to experience new tastes and foods
97%
of schools found children had gained ‘an enthusiasm and interest in cooking’
93%
of schools believed children had an ‘increased confidence in the children’s food preparation abilities’
91%
of schools saw children benefited from an a better understanding of healthy food choices
81%
of children had enhanced social skills
85%
of children had a greater understanding of the hospitality industry and the career opportunities that exist
90%
of teachers feel more confident to teach basic food preparation techniques to their class
90%
of teachers assert they will use food and cooking to deliver different elements of the primary curriculum, such as literacy, numeracy, science
