Fruit in Schools programme to double in size
17 October 2006
Fruit in Schools programme to double in size
The Labour-led government's Fruit in Schools programme will be extended to 154 new primary schools as the government invests $4.4 million to more than double the programme's size, Health Minister Pete Hodgson announced today.
Fruit in Schools was launched last year. Participating schools receive free fruit for three years as an incentive for schools to commit to policies encouraging healthy eating and physical activity.
This third phase of the project will be funded out of the four year, $76 million campaign to fight obesity announced in Budget 2006.
"Improving childhood nutrition is one of the most important things we can do to improve the overall health of New Zealand families," Pete Hodgson said. "There's a growing sense of urgency around the need to improve nutrition and encourage kids to get active and the government is keen to play our part.
"The Fruit in Schools initiative has been a huge success since its inception and the latest rollout means every district health board around the country is now on board with the initiative.
"From today, school children at 268 schools – including all decile 1 schools – will be eating apples and other export-quality fruits which will be delivered to schools daily."
The evaluation of the Fruit in Schools initiative early this year showed that it is well supported by participating schools and that it has also proven to be an effective way of increasing children's awareness of healthy living.
"Participating teachers are telling us concentration levels and the behaviour of children has improved rapidly since the Fruit in Schools programme began. One school has even had less suspensions, which they say is due to improved behaviour."
The Fruit in Schools extension is being implemented alongside the government's recently announced Mission On package to promote nutrition and increased physical activity. Mission On includes initiatives to improve the quality of food served in schools, reduce children's exposure to advertising of unhealthy food and to promote physical activity.
Frequently asked questions on Fruit in Schools
Why do we need Fruit in
Schools?
The 2002 Child Nutrition Survey showed only
about two out of five children met the recommended number of
serves of fruit (at least two per day) while around three
out of five children met the recommended number of serves of
vegetables (three or more per day).
Why do schools
receive funding for free fruit for three years?
School
clusters taking part in the programme will be funded to
receive free fruit for three years and will work together to
source and distribute the fruit. This gives schools time to
adopt a whole school approach, prioritising nutrition,
activity, sun protection and smokefree. It also gives school
communities time to set up systems to carry on with the FIS
programme independently. Also removing funding after three
years means we can implement FIS in new regions.
It’s
not just about free fruit is it?
No, FIS works within the
wider Health Promoting Schools framework that focuses on
school communities working together towards encouraging
healthy eating and lifestyles. School communities are made
up of students, teachers, Boards of Trustees, principals,
teacher aids, parents, caregivers and whanau.
The free fruit is an incentive for schools to commit to policies for healthy eating, physical activity, sun protection and smokefree. Ultimately the programme will be more effective and successful if as many schools as possible are involved and committed to this multi-pronged approach to improving the health of children.
Schools which do not have high needs or do not meet the criteria will not receive free fruit but will be able to participate in the programme and can fund their own fruit provision from day one.
How are
regions chosen?
Regions are chosen based on formula that
looks at areas of high deprivation as defined by the New
Zealand Deprivation index. – the types of deprivation
measured are income (from benefits and per household)
employment, communication (access to a telephone) transport
(access to a car), qualifications, living space and home
ownership. Schools are invited to participate.
What
support are participating schools getting?
All schools
will receive four funded teacher release days per year per
school to undertake planning, professional development and
networking. Support and advice for implementing a Health
Promoting Schools/whole school approach will be available
from the Health Promoting Schools staff in local District
Health Boards or Public Health Units.
How is the
programme’s effectiveness being monitored?
There is a
three-year evaluation of the FIS programme. This includes
consumption, fruit quality, delivery, and how a school
implements a HPS/whole school approach focusing on the four
well-being priority areas.
Formative evaluation will ensure there is developmental assistance to support clusters to maximise effective implementation. Process evaluation will capture how FIS is being implemented and impact evaluation will measure how well the programme is meeting its objectives.
What are the origins of the
programme?
FIS was based on a similar programme in the
United Kingdom, where children’s vegetable and fruit
consumption is low. A national free fruit in schools for
four to six year olds was implemented to improve
children’s daily consumption of fruit.
A pilot for free fruit in schools modelled on the UK programme was held in term one, 2004, in a sample of decile 1 and 2 schools in Auckland and Northland.
An evaluation of the pilot was carried out in October 2004. The evaluation showed there was a need to improve the fruit intake of the children in these schools. Over 40 per cent of children reported consuming no fruit at the beginning of the study. The provision of free fruit to these schools was associated with significant increases in fruit consumption and reduction in high-energy snacks such as pies. The process evaluation demonstrated the programme was feasible and was well accepted by participating schools.
How was the supplier
chosen?
The national fruit supplier United Fresh is
supplying the fruit. All fruit is export quality. A tender
process was undertaken to ensure rigorous quality standards
and best value for money. This provider has the necessary
infrastructure in place to deliver high quality fruit
regularly twice a week across the country.
Who was
involved in developing the programme?
Fruit in Schools is
funded by the Ministry of Health and has been developed by a
group with representatives from Ministry of Health, Ministry
of Education, Sport and Recreation NZ (SPARC) the
Principal’s Federation, NZ School Trustees Association
(NZSTA), Health Promoting Schools, School Support Services,
National Heart Foundation, the Cancer Society and a District
Health Board.
Why is the programme run through school
clusters?
School clusters work by supporting each school
to adopt a whole school approach to the four priority areas
of FIS. A lead school will take responsibility for
interacting with the supplier and purchasing fruit. Local
HPS coordinators and regional coordinators will provide
training for school clusters in implementation of the
programme and ongoing primary prevention strategies for
cancer. This will be in collaboration with relevant NGOs
such as the Heart Foundation, the Cancer Society, school
support services and sports trusts.
ENDS