Rugby’s MP Mark Pawsey has put forward local primary school Brownsover Community School for the prestigious All Party Parliamentary Group on School Food’s Excellence in School Food Award 2018 in recognition of the school’s work on healthy eating.
Since 2012 Brownsover Community School has been a part of Food for Life, which helps to foster a healthier environment throughout the school community. To date, Brownsover Community School remains the only school in Warwickshire to have been recognised with a Gold Award in Food for Life and has used this as a platform to run a number of extra-curricular activities including an after school cooking class for both pupils and parents to encourage healthy eating.
Central to the school’s programme for good food is their Food Revolution Day. Each May, the school sets aside a Friday to invite parents and other family members to explore a variety of food and cooking based activities in the school. This year, the children made bread, smoothies, pasta and pasta sauces, houmous and rainbow salads and have invited Mark Pawsey along to see how much the children enjoy this day of activity.
Mark said:
“When I heard that the All Party Parliamentary Group for School Food were looking for examples of excellence in school food, I immediately thought of the great work which Brownsover Community School are doing. I’ve had the pleasure of joining staff and pupils for their Food Revolution Day and trying out some of the wonderful things which they have cooked in the past, and it is always clear how excited the kids are to be getting stuck in.”
Mark continued:
“There is also a really serious topic which Brownsover Community School is addressing – tackling childhood obesity. One of the best ways to do this is through promoting eating more healthily both at school and at home, and I’ve been really impressed by the way in which staff at Brownsover have worked hard to involve the whole of the community. It was a pleasure to nominate them for this award and I hope that they are successful.”
Brownsover Community School’s head teacher, Elisa Basnett, added:
“We’re delighted that Mark has put us forward for the Excellence in School Food Award 2018. Each year the event has grown and evolved and we are constantly looking at ways to improve the day, as it’s a fantastic way to encourage our pupils to learn valuable skills related to living a healthy lifestyle. Over the years, we’ve also expanded the day to look at gardening, composting and recycling and it’s been great to see many of these issues go beyond the classroom and become part of the school community’s daily lives.”