Primary schools gather at national wellbeing event

Teachers from primary schools across the UK joined science, nutrition and health experts at a national pupil wellbeing summit in London this month.
Hosted by Discovery Education and Alimentarium Foundation, Food For Thought saw educators and specialists meet for a day of dynamic workshops, experiments and seminars exploring healthy eating and body image in primary school age pupils. Over 50 teachers attended the conference at London’s Coin Street Conference Centre on Tuesday 17 th October. With sessions led by nutrition experts and body image specialists, the event offered ideas, support and resources to boost pupil wellbeing.

Drawing upon the latest research into child mental health, body image specialists Nicky Hutchinson and Chris Calland showed teachers how they can help pupils feel happy in their own skin, with positive strategies to build self-esteem and confidence. Speaker Jenny Tschiesche, also known as The Lunchbox Doctor, shared tips and tricks for teaching children about healthy eating, and highlighted the importance of building interest in nutrition at an early age. Best-selling author of the ‘What on Earth’ history books,  Chris Lloyd, explored how nutrition can be taught across the primary curriculum, with an energetic and interactive tour of food through the ages.

Sandra Bartley, a teacher at Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst said: “I found the day really interesting and it really made me think about how we teach children about healthy eating and body image. The practical sessions which included science experiments and a healthy lunchbox session were very useful.”

Mihaela Chowdhury, a teacher at William Morris School in Walthamstow, East London said: “The day was absolutely amazing. The presentations and activities were really impressive and I know that my students will enjoy seeing all of this in the classroom.”

Myriam Al-Abbas from Al Sadiq and Al Zahra Schools in Brent, North London said: “Food for Thought exceeded my expectations and inspired me to love teaching even more. I wanted to rush back to school and start planning my next lesson!”

Laura Turner Laing, Director of Educational Partnerships at Discovery Education said: “We were delighted to welcome so many primary teachers to Food for Thought. It’s never been more important for schools to focus upon pupil wellbeing and this event was a great opportunity for teachers to share knowledge and classroom inspiration, helping them to approach these issues with confidence.”

The Food for Thought event launched a 3-year partnership between Discovery Education and Switzerland’s Alimentarium Foundation. The collaboration includes the creation of exciting new Key Stage 2 digital classroom resources – Eating, Moving and Growing – available to schools now through Discovery Education Espresso’s award-winning digital learning service.

The author

Mike Reardon

Having been a governor and volunteer of a small rurally isolated primary school in Shropshire since he left it in 2002, Mike has made it his mission to enable collaboration and sharing of best practice within schools, without costing them anything

https://www.nexus-education.com/