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FGSL News September 2015

29 September 2015

Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg launched at Brixton Market

The Mayor of London’s food advisor Rosie Boycott joined traders and local families at Brixton Market today to celebrate the launch of a brand new healthy eating initiative.

The Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg project was set up by Alexandra Rose Charities in partnership with Food Matters with the aim of promoting healthy eating and combating food poverty by giving families vouchers that can be redeemed for fresh fruit and vegetables at local markets.

The project will support 100 families with the provision of Rose Vouchers that can be redeemed at participating traders at Brixton Market and in West Norwood. Working in partnership with local children’s centres, the aim of the project is to work with families with young children who are living on low incomes. The children’s centres will identify families who could benefit most from the scheme as well as providing support such as cooking classes to build their skills and confidence.

Rose Vouchers supports families to adopt healthier lifestyles in the crucial years before school starts. An evaluation undertaken by independent researchers, shows the intervention is effective in increasing uptake and variety of fruit and vegetables in both children and their parents.*

Jonathan Pauling, Chief Executive of Alexandra Rose Charities, said: “All evidence suggests the first three years of a child’s life are the most important in setting their future life chances. Rose Vouchers give families the financial power in their pockets to give their children the healthiest start in life.”

The project runs in partnership with Lambeth Council’s Food Flagship scheme; part of a wider initiative to make Lambeth’s food culture healthier and more sustainable. The Food Flagship project, funded by the Mayor of London and the Department of Education, aims to roll-out the good work happening around school food to the wider community. Lambeth will launch a range of initiatives to get residents eating healthier, more nutritious food over the next two years.

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said: “The Mayor set up the London Food Board to help improve Londoners’ access to healthy, locally produced and affordable food. By supporting Lambeth as a Food Flagship borough, the Mayor hopes to foster a love of good, healthy and nutritious produce in children and families that will involve the whole community.

For more information contact: Chief Executive – Jonathan Pauling 07977068655, [email protected]

* A full copy of the evaluation can be found at: http://www.alexandrarosecharities.org.uk/system/uploads/files/000/000/001/original/Rose_Vouchers_for_Fruit_and_Veg_Evaluation_Scheme.pdf?1416405613

Download the full press release

28 September 2015

Universal Infant Free School Meals – update

see 21 Sept 2015 below for more information

Please click here to sign our petition and show your support for this policy!

Huge thanks to all of you who signed the petition to save UIFSM! We’ve now got over 32,000 signatures and lots of press interest in the campaign. Please enjoy this BBC News piece featuring our friends at Lowther Primary School.

We’ve had encouraging news this morning in the form of a Sky News piece reporting that David Cameron has pledged his support for UIFSM! We’re working hard to make this a reality but you can help by continuing to add your names to the petition and getting this news out to your network.

Contributed by School Food Matters.

25 September 2015

Local food producers and community heros crowned at inaugural Urban Food Awards

Urban Food Awards 2015. Judges and Winners. Miles Willis mileswillis.co.uk — Urban Food Awards 2015. Judges and Winners. Credit: Miles Willis.

New Shoots Food Guru leads the way to a better future for young people. The victorious group of locally based producers and food heros were crowned top of their individual categories at an awards bash at London’s world famous Borough Market last night (Thursday 24 September). Four other producers were also recognised for their outstanding contributions to London’s food scene.

Organised by City Hall and London Food Link in a bid to root out the best of the city’s local larder, the Urban Food Awards is a celebration of the very best food and drink produced by companies with 50 employees or fewer in the capital.

Following nominations from Londoners, the winners were chosen by a judging panel, chaired by London Food Board chair Rosie Boycott, which included chefs Rowley Leigh and Ollie Rowe, while The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, joined to help judge the cheese category.

The Mayor said: “I congratulate all the winners and those nominated for what has been a hugely successful competition. What it unquestionably shows is when it comes to top notch grub and high quality beer, nobody does it quite like London.”

Leading the way to a better future

The Urban Food Awards was also open to enterprises, organisations and individuals leading the way to a better food future. In particular the Food Growing Schools: London partnership would like to say a huge congratulations to Dee Laverty who won the New Shoots Food Guru: category for her dedication to working with young people doing cooking and food growing activities through the Broadwaters Inclusive Learning Community in Tottenham. Additional award categories included:

New Shoots Food Guru: A person showing passion and brilliance in passing on cooking or food growing skills to children and other young people.
Food Hero: The cook, campaigner, retailer, whatever, who is leading the way towards better food for London.
Capital Growth’s Growing Enterprise: A community food garden becoming more self-sufficient with a scheme that shows money can grow on trees.
London Markets Initiative Krys Zasada Memorial Award: This year’s best activity to ensure one or more London markets will survive and thrive.

The Urban Food Awards is funded by Seeds of Change and the Mayor of London and delivered by the Plunkett Foundation and London Food Link, with the aim of helping social enterprises and privately-owned business to become more sustainable, while encouraging Londoners to buy locally grown food.

Download a full press release here.

21 September 2015

Keep Universal Infant Free School Meals in schools in England

In September 2014 the government introduced UIFSM in schools in England. There have recently been a number of reports in the media that the government are considering scrapping UIFSM to save money.
We are calling on the government to back UIFSM and not scrap it.

Sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/107913

More information

In July 2013 the School Food Plan recommended to the coalition government that they introduce universal infant free school meals.

Evidence from pilot projects showed that while all children benefit from free school meals, the low-income children benefit the most. Nutritional intake improved dramatically and, academically, children at these schools quickly moved ahead of their peers elsewhere by almost a term. That’s why we applauded the government for having the vision to provide infants with free meals.

We need your help!

Having given schools over £175m to improve their kitchens, and encouraged the school workforce to make substantial changes to put it all in place, we believe the government is considering axing this ground-breaking policy.

We need your help to ensure the government honours its manifesto pledge and keeps universal infant free school meals. Please click here to sign our petition and show your support for the policy.

Why it matters

We need to protect this policy as it is not just children’s behaviour and attainment in school that benefits from UIFSM; health experts say it is a fundamental component of a wider child obesity strategy. It changes eating habits and improves children’s diet; packed lunches have on average three teaspoons more sugar than a school lunch and only 1% meet school food standards. It’s a fact that while 10% of children enter primary school obese, 20% leave obese, and diet-related illnesses cost the NHS £10 billion every year.

David Cameron acknowledged this distressing trend in July and said preventative health was key to improving the health of the nation. Taking away UIFSM is going to make the task of tackling obesity a great deal harder.

We also believe there is a strong economic case for keeping UIFSM. It stimulates the local economy with job creation in schools and catering companies, it saves parents £400 a year which can be spent elsewhere and brings wider benefits to the British food and farming supply chain.
Let your voice be heard

We need your help to ensure the government honours its manifesto pledge and keeps universal infant free school meals. Click here to sign our petition and add your name to the ever-growing list of voters who value this policy!

Thank you.

14 September 2015

The Food for Life programme is changing

Taken from the Soil Association Food for Life blog.

Over the summer we have been busy refreshing our offer to schools to reflect that Ofsted now expects pupils “to be able to make informed choices about healthy eating” and will look for evidence of this both within and outside of the classroom.

We have already been in touch with all our schools not funded by a local authority* to advise that from early October 2015, there will be a charge to be part of Food for Life. It may not be schools that have to meet this cost directly, there are a number of funding options available schools might like to consider, covered in our guide.

Previously, Food for Life was able to offer our School Awards programme for free through grant funding (from the Big Lottery Fund) but now that funding has run out, it’s important we build on the success of our work and continue to support schools to establish a positive food culture.

What’s new?

There are now two levels of access to the Schools Programme which are covered by our Food for Life ‘Membership’ package and our ‘Awards’ package. We have a host of new resources, training and webinars to support schools on their Food for Life journey. Every school achieving an award will also receive a site visit from one of our school food experts, giving schools valuable tips on how to demonstrate positive food culture to Ofsted and share their successes with parents and the wider community.

Find out more about each package and possible funding options in our quick guide.

Five reasons to start or continue on your journey with Food for Life:

Meet Ofsted core inspection requirements.
Meet DfE statutory School Food Standards for good nutrition.
Meet national cooking in the curriculum requirements.
Receive support to give pupils a positive lunchtime experience. Use food growing, farm links and even school farmers markets to enhance the curriculum and foster enterprise skills.

What happens next?

Due to these changes, for just a few weeks until early October, we are unable to accept new enrolments online. We are no longer awarding schools under our old programme but we will be in touch about how you can go about transferring your existing application over to the new scheme without losing any of your hard work collating criteria evidence.

If you would like to register your interest so you are first to know once our new portal has been launched, please pick up the phone and speak to us on 0117 314 5180 or email .

In the meantime, please take time to read our guide and consider which package is right for you.

* Any school in a commissioned area, will be receiving direct communication from their Local Programme Manager to advise what these changes mean for them, if any.

8 September 2015

Sow it. Grow it. Sell it!

JaneBaker_GardenOrganic_FGSL news 2015 — The Mayor of London Boris Johnson buys produce from Trafalgar Infant School students at the Schools Marketplace at City Hall. Photo: Jane Baker/Garden Organic.

From strawberry jam to tomato ketchup, and the great British apple to winter salad bags – young entrepreneurs are bringing harvest time to the city. From September to December 2015, schools across London are rolling up their sleeves to take part in Grow Your Own Business, a city-wide celebration of school food growing, enterprise and learning, creating young entrepreneurs and healthier local communities. foodgrowingschools.org/events/gyobusiness

With the expert guidance of the Food Growing Schools: London partnership, students can learn the secret to starting their own school food growing business, raising money for their school, developing employment skills and selling healthy, home-grown food to and with their local community.

The highlight of the term sees the Mayor of London’s Food team opening the doors of the prestigious City Hall, for the Schools Marketplace, on Thursday 15th October 2015. Enterprising schools who plan for a bumper crop can apply to be one of only 15 schools to have a free marketplace stall! To get a flavour of previous events visit: www.flickr.com/groups/foodgrowingschools/pool.

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food Board, said: “It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm among teachers, children and parents around growing and eating fresh, healthy food in schools. Involving schoolchildren in growing food helps to foster a love of good, nutritious produce which is why the Mayor is supporting this initiative.”

Schools that succeed in securing a stall at the Schools Marketplace will be entered into our Marketplace Competition, celebrating the most enterprising schools with prizes being given out on the day. The event is organised with project partner, Capital Growth. The deadline to apply is Monday 5 October 2015, and stalls are limited: foodgrowingschools.org/events.

Why Grow Your Own Business? Grow Your Own Business offers schools the opportunity to learn about enterprise through growing and selling food, giving children the chance to learn new business and employment skills, across a range of subjects (e.g. maths, technology, PSHE). Enterprise activities can engage students of all ages and capabilities, even those children who aren’t interested in the garden or healthy eating.

The Autumn term also sees the launch of the big London Growathon. Students all across the city will join 10,000 other young London growers for the biggest school food growing challenge of the year – to feed your city: grow one thing, and tell a friend today! Schools and growing organisations can share their food growing activities on the Growathon website, and watch the numbers of young people involved grow – on the Growathon Totaliser. Ready. Set. Grow! Beginning in October 2015.

5 Sept 2015

We have lift off!

Rocket seeds launched successfully to International Space Station

On Wednesday 02 September, 2kg of rocket seeds were successfully launched into space, bound for their new home aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Watch a video of the launch here.

The seeds departed from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Soyuz 44S – the flight that also delivered European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen and his crew to the ISS. The rocket and crew docked on Friday and the seeds were unloaded and placed safely on board. They will remain on the ISS for several months and return to Earth with astronaut Scott Kelly, currently planned for March 2016.

The seeds have been send to the ISS as part of Rocket Science, launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency. In case you haven’t yet signed up or heard of the project, we are giving up to 10,000 schools the chance to grow these seeds in 2016 and compare them with seeds that have remained on Earth. The project will enable young inquisitive minds to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future.

Official applications for teaching resource packs (suitable for all ages) containing the seeds will open on Monday 14 September 2015 for schools that have pre-registered their interest. Applications will then open for remaining schools on Monday 21 September 2015 if remaining packs are available.

You can still pre-register your interest on the RHS Campaign for School Gardening website up until Monday 14 September.

Two teaser resources, a literacy exercise for primary aged pupils and a science activity on genetics for secondary students will be made available soon to download.

Find out more and pre-register your interest in the project here.

We look forward to embarking on this exciting adventure with you. If you have any questions or queries please contact us at .

Follow the conversation on Twitter: @RHSSchools #RocketScience

3 September 2015

Jamie Oliver, Sustain and Leon join forces to take action on sugary sweetened drinks and fund children’s food initiatives.

Sustain and Jamie Oliver today launch a petition calling on Government to tax sugary drinks. The Children’s Health Fund is also launched by Jamie and Sustain, with funds coming from a self imposed sugary drinks levy by Jamie’s UK restaurants. Leon are the first group to join Jamie’s UK restaurants in adopting the levy contributing to the Children’s Health Fund.

Jamie Oliver and Sustain have launched a petition calling on the UK government to urgently introduce a sugary drinks tax. If over 100,000 people sign the petition then the Government must consider debating the issue in parliament.The petition can be found here – childrenshealthfund.org.uk

Doctors, dentists, dietitians and many other public health experts support a tax of just 7p per regular-sized can (20p per litre) of soft drink with added sugar. This could generate £1 billion per year which Jamie and Sustain believe should be ring-fenced to support much needed preventative work around childhood obesity and diet-related disease, and improving the environment they grow up in [1].

Jamie Oliver commented: “I’ve spoken to some of the brightest people in the medical world over the last few years and they all agree that action is urgently needed if we don’t want the NHS to crumble completely because of the costs of diet-related disease like type-2 diabetes. One doctor recently told me that diet-related disease is one of the defining crises of our time. We need the government to step up.”

Following the launch of his documentary Sugar Rush, Jamie and Sustain have also set up a Children’s Health Fund. The aim of the fund is to get restaurants and cafes to volunteer to put a 10p levy on their soft drinks with added sugar. The funds raised from the levy in participating restaurants will go to children’s health and food education initiatives. Jamie’s UK restaurants now all carry the levy, including his 41 strong group, Jamie’s Italian. Naturally fast food chain Leon, which began with a mission to bring good food to the high street, has already signed up, and other restaurants are in final discussions.

John Vincent, Leon co-founder and CEO, explained “Since we started Leon in 2004 we have been helping people eat a diet low in sugar. In that time, we’ve seen people and companies become even more addicted to the white stuff. It’s a human crisis as well as an economic one. I hope Leon is the first of many restaurants to join Jamie in adding a 10p levy to sugary drinks and create this positive change. We’re very interested to hear our customers’ views on whether this is the right way to do so.”

Sugary drinks are often high in calories but of limited nutritional value, and many health experts are increasingly concerned about their contribution to weight gain and type-2 diabetes [2]. Terrifyingly, one third of our kids now leave primary school overweight or obese. Tooth decay is the most common reason that children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital – 26,000 a year for multiple extractions under anaesthetic – and type-2 diabetes is costing the NHS around £9 billion a year [3].

Ben Reynolds, Sustain, added “We want everyone to sign this petition to get Government to take action and introduce this duty on sugary drinks. In the meantime while they are dithering, we are really excited that the restaurant sector is taking the lead, showing that it can be done, and we are pleased to be helping them to set up the Children’s Health Fund to make sure that the money raised will make a difference to children across the UK.”

The government petition can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/106651
For more information on the Children’s Health Fund see www.childrenshealthfund.org.uk

Save

FGSL News August 2015

12 August 2015

Breakers Yard Pocket Park

Mayor celebrates delivery of 100 pocket parks across London

A green scheme launched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to create 100 new pocket parks in the capital has been so successful there are plans to roll it out across the country.

The Mayor has today confirmed he has delivered his manifesto pledge to create 100 rejuvenated spaces as part of his pocket parks programme in 26 London boroughs.

From a rain garden in Vauxhall to a dinosaur playground in Hornsey and edible gardens along a south London bus route, more than 25 hectares of community land across the capital have been converted into new enhanced green areas, thanks to £2million of funding from the Mayor. This was match-funded from the Boroughs, as well as grants from businesses and trusts.

The programme to transform underused urban spaces across the city into mini oases for Londoners to enjoy has been a roaring success and proposals to develop it nationwide are being considered by the government.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “From what started as a green shoot in 2012, dozens of glorious spaces have sprouted up across almost every corner of the capital, offering an oasis of calm from the hustle and bustle of city life.

“They may have been pocket-sized pieces of previously forgotten land, but they pack a real punch in what they now offer local people, thousands of whom have given up their time to make the capital greener and more resilient. It really underlines London’s status as one of the greenest world cities.”

To celebrate the success of the programme, there is a free exhibition at City Hall, which runs to 28 August and shares the stories and experiences of 11 people who helped create pocket park projects across London.

A small area in Churchward House, Lambeth, received funding to install planters to compliment a nearby area planted with street trees, which has dramatically changed an area previously just a walkway between houses.

Jenny Jefferies, of Churchward House in Lambeth who helped on the project, said: “Gardens like these give everyone such a lift and make them feel good. I think there is a basic need to be among green things, people living in cities have fewer opportunities to be among plants, trees and flowers.

“By making more gardens and planted trees, we are increasing everyone’s day to day contact with nature. It is relaxing and important to be in the open air in a garden or park, and it is certainly good for our mental wellbeing.”

Pocket parks are part of the Mayor’s wider plans to maintain London’s status as one of the greenest and leafiest cities. He has also delivered 20,000 Street Trees along London’s most congested roads and funds tree and woodland projects via the Community Grant Scheme, which is engaging communities and volunteers across London. The Mayor leads the RE:LEAF partnership of organisations and through this partnership has delivered a range of projects including planting 10,000 trees in Ealing last December.

8 August 2015

Doing porridge: prison, school and hospital meals put to the test

Can prisoners learn to cook five-star meals? Could a top chef overhaul the canteen at an inner-city London primary? Our restaurant critic gives the food the full review

Marina O’Loughlin reports for the Guardian (Saturday 8 August 2015). Scroll down for section headed ‘Gayhurst community school, London E8’.

The first thing that strikes me as I’m buzzed through the gates of the handsome, red-brick Gayhurst school in Hackney, east London, is the aroma. Walking past a splashily painted planter of herbs, I breathe in the fragrance of garlic and spices – very different from the damp cabbage reek I associate with school dinner halls.

Inside, I’m shown to my seat at the end of a long, communal table under the baleful gaze of an enormous cardboard robot. On the table are boards laden with chopped avocado and cucumber salad, and labneh laced with orange blossom water. “It’s one of my cheffy touches,” admits Nicole Pisani, the former head chef of Yotam Ottolenghi’s Nopi, who caused waves when she left that high-profile gig to take over the school’s canteen. “I love working here and seeing the kids eat our food, but there has to be something in it for me, too.”

Pisani applied for the job following a tweet from Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of Leon and architect of the School Food Plan, saying that his son’s school was in need of a cook. School hours allow Pisani a quality of life – “I get to see my friends!” – and work on other projects in the holidays. But, watching her talking to the children as they clear their plates, it’s obvious she is utterly committed to the job. “I stand by the bins so I can hear what they’re saying,” she says. “But, just as importantly, I can see exactly what they’re eating.”

See full article in the Guardian (Saturday 8 August 2015).

7 August 2015

Filling the holiday gap

Almost a third (31%) of parents on lower incomes have skipped a meal so that their children could eat during the school holidays, according to a new report.

‘Isolation and Hunger: the impact of the school holidays on struggling families’, issued by Kellogs, revealed that more than six out of ten parents with household incomes of less than £25,000 aren’t always able to afford to buy food outside of term time.

For parents with incomes of less than £15,000, that figure rose to a remarkable 73%, while 41% of parents in those low-income families had skipped meals during the holidays.

School holidays are especially difficult for low-income families whose children usually receive free school meals or support from breakfast clubs.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for School Food has produced a framework entitled Filling the Holiday Gap to support the provision of holiday meals. This is intended to support communities with a framework for providing good food as part of holiday learning, play and activity programmes.

Lindsay Graham, Chair of the Holiday Hunger Task Group said:

“We do not yet know the full scale of holiday hunger in the UK, but there are around 1.7million children who are eligible for free school meals who could go without that valuable daily meal this summer.

School holiday periods are an incredibly difficult time for parents on low incomes as limited household budgets are squeezed. Holiday meal programmes that provide a safe environment and fun activities need to be recognised and supported by government policy. No child should be hungry at any time in this country.”

Rob Percival, Food for Life Policy Officer said:

“It’s scandalous that in one of world’s richest nations so many children are not able to eat well. Our government needs to show true leadership on food and inequalities. There can be few areas of public policy where the positive benefits to lives, health and well-being are potentially as radical as they could be in children’s food and nutrition.”

Read original news story on the FFL website.

Grow your Own Picnic: Competitions and Offers 2015

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015

Sow it. Grow it. Share it! – Summer Term

A celebration of summer, sunshine and food growing in your school playground. Plant a seed, and watch your school garden grow. Then share a delicious home-grown lunch with your friends, school and community – on your very own Picnic Day! Learn how to grow, cook and prepare home-made dips, sandwiches, salads, and desserts – packed full of nature’s goodness. A picnic feast for the whole community.

Why Grow Your Own Picnic?

Grow Your Own Picnic gives your school the opportunity to engage all pupils, teachers and the local community through your school garden, by growing, cooking and sharing your produce, and using it to deliver elements of your school curriculum.

Competitions and Offers 2015

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, with competition sponsor Michael Hedges, Managing Director of Chase Organics and The Organic Gardening Catalogue, awarding first prize for the Grow Your Own School Garden Competition to Richard Challoner School, Kingston. Photo Jane Baker/Garden Organic

Grow Your Own School Garden Competition 2015

For schools who are not yet growing

The Food Growing Schools: London partnership launched a fantastic new London schools gardening competition for London schools to enter who aren’t yet growing food. Schools had to create a garden team, plan a school garden from scratch and create and equipment wishlist.

Congratulations – to the following three winning London schools:

1st Prize – Richard Challoner School (Kingston)
2nd Prize – Our Lady of Grace Catholic Infant School (Brent)
3rd Prize – Richmond Park Academy (Richmond)

Award Ceremony – took place at the Schools Marketplace, City Hall on Thursday 9th July 2015.

Expert Judge – the competition was judged by Chris Collins, BBC TV Gardener.

Competition Sponsors – The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Haxnicks, VegTrug.

Competition details here: News and Competitions

The Organic Gardening Catalogue

Veg Trug Logo Haxnicks logo

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015
Photography Competition

Capital Growth also ran a photography competition to celebrate what London schools are growing, as part of Grow Your Own Picnic 2015.

Congratulations – to the following three winning London schools:

Trafalgar Infant School. Category: Picture of your garden/produce taken by a child under 18 (below, portrait)
Brunswick Park School. Category: Pupils planting, harvesting, cooking or eating your picnic (below, left)
Christchurch Primary School. Category: School volunteers helping pupils in the garden (below, right)

Brunswick Park School_GYOP2015 competition winners Christ Church Primary_GYOP2015 competition winners

Trafalgar Infants_GYOP2015 competition winners

Events 2015

Schools Marketplace, City Hall

Schools receive surprise Mayor of London visit at the School’s Marketplace, City Hall

Christ Church Church of England School (Wandsworth) eagerly selling their school produce at the Schools Marketplace at City Hall. Photo: Jane Baker/Garden Organic.

The Schools’s Marketplace at City Hall, on Thursday 9th July, was a huge success, with 10 London schools battling their way through the London tube strike to arrive laden with produce to sell to the public. During the School’s Marketplace the school’s had a surprise visit from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson who visited every one of their stalls and went home with armfuls of school-grown produce. As you can imagine, the students (and teachers!), were very excited to welcome this special guest.

Grow Your Own School Garden Competition – Announcing the Winners!

At the School’s Marketplace The Mayor of London also took part in giving out the prizes at our ‘Grow your Own School Garden Competition’ Award Ceremony, with our generous competition sponsors. A huge thank you to The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Haxnicks and VegTrug for donating the competition prizes. Congratulations to the following three schools who received their awards to huge applause, and look forward to setting up their own school gardens. Read more.

Schools Marketplace, Thurs 9 July 2015 – participating school stallholders:

Congratulations to all these enterprising schools. You were amazing!

Bensham Manor, Croydon
Bethnal Green Academy, Tower Hamlets
Charlton Park Academy, Greenwich
Christ Church CE Primary, Wandsworth
Glebe School, Bromley
Park View Secondary, Haringey
Rhyl Primary, Camden
Selwyn Primary, Newham
The UCL Academy, Camden
Trafalgar Infant School, Richmond

To find out more about the day visit our News page and Flickr photo gallery.

Rosie Boycott (Mayor of London Food Advisor) and Thomasina Miers (former Masterchef winner) at Phoenix High School Farm for Grow Your Own Picnic 2014. Photo: Eleonore De Bonneval/Garden Organic

Past Picnic Events – 2014

Grow Your Own Picnic last took place in Summer 2014, to coincide with the launch of Food Growing Schools: London. Read the summary below or download the full story (PDF).

Grow Your Own Picnic 2014 and the launch of Food Growing Schools: London
Sun, salad and school growing success! Food Growing Schools: London launched with a flurry of tasty picnic events at schools across London, on Friday 20th June 2014, taking place on the first Grow Your Own Picnic day.The official Food Growing Schools: London launch event, at the inspiring Phoenix High School Farm and Learning Zone, was buzzing with enthusiasm from local authorities, educational institutions, and public health leaders from across London boroughs. Tucking into a tasty picnic lunch cooked by Ben Tish, Founder and Head Chef of Saltyard Restaurant Group, they listened to an impressive line-up of talks from the Mayor of London’s Food Advisor, Rosie Boycott, Master Chef winner Thomasina Miers, Bill Scott, Professor of Education at the University of Bath and lead partner Garden Organic. Rosie Boycott said; ‘The Mayor and I want to see every school in London growing food. We’ve made huge progress with many pupils in the capital now reaping the rewards of outdoor learning. This new initiative will help us go further, reaching more schools and helping existing growers expand.’

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FGSL News July 2015

21 July 2015

Three Edible Playgrounds get the grow ahead

2000 more children learn about growing and eating healthy food

2000 children from four schools will have the opportunity to get growing thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The charity Trees for Cities will create an Edible Playground at The Palmer Primary Academy in Reading and Baguley Hall Primary School in Manchester whilst Meridian High School and Fairchildes Primary School in Croydon will share an Edible Playground.

The programme is a partnership between Trees for Cities, School Food Matters and Chefs Adopt a School to create 10 flagship Edible Playgrounds in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Reading.

Edible Playgrounds transform areas in school grounds into vibrant outdoor spaces that excite and teach children about growing and eating healthy food. By instilling healthy eating habits at an early age, Edible Playgrounds help tackle obesity, food poverty and lack of access to nature head on, and provide a platform for fun and engaging lessons that support the school curriculum.

The edible playgrounds will be designed specifically for each school, but elements include raised beds for growing salads, root vegetables, brassicas soft fruits and herbs, fruit trees, a green house and a composting area. Pupils will enjoy planting and harvesting workshops throughout the year, and teachers will receive support to teach outdoors through gardening.

The pupils will enjoy hands-on cooking lessons from Chefs Adopt a School and have access to food education programmes outside the school gate via charity School Food Matter’s Membership for Schools. School Food Matters will also support the schools to achieve their first Food for Life Award.

Sharon Johnson, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: “Edible Playgrounds show children how rewarding it is to spend time outdoors and get them excited about where their food comes from. Currently we have developed over 25 edible playgrounds supporting over 10,000 pupils across the UK. With 37 per cent of children between ages of 5 – 12 not eating enough every day and 20 per cent obese on leaving primary school, more and more schools are now educating their children on how food is grown and on making healthy eating choices.”

Martin Giles, Head teacher of Meridian High School said “Our School is a family. That means, above all else, we help each other to learn, grow and improve now and always. Just like our planned Edible Playground!”

Ros Sandell, Executive Head of Fairchildes Primary School said: “The Edible Playground Project provides a great opportunity for a new initiative covering healthy eating, community engagement and partnership working with Meridian High School. We have worked together previously in various capacities, but this would be a new direction for us and the benefits would be enormous for us both.”

Meridian High School and Fairchildes Primary School are two of Croydon’s Food Flagship Schools, supported by the Mayor of London. The schools are leading the way in inspiring and encouraging the communities of Croydon to grow and eat healthier food.

Meridian High School and Fairchildes Primary School
Fairchildes is an outstanding primary school keen to give its pupils more opportunities to learn how to grow food. They are joining forces with Meridian High School, their next door neighbour, to create a shared Edible Playground. Both schools are Croydon Food Flagship Schools, as part of the Croydon Food Flagship Borough Programme, and are keen to use their Edible Playground to give their pupils the opportunity to learn how to grow food, understand more about healthy eating and to provide the local community with a resource to share and be proud of. www.croydon.gov.uk/food-flagship-borough

9 July 2015

Schools receive surprise Mayor of London visit at the School’s Marketplace, City Hall

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, with competition sponsor Michael Hedges, Managing Director, Chase Organics and The Organic Gardening Catalogue, awarding first prize for the Grow Your Own School Garden Competition to Richard Challoner School, Kingston. Photo Jane Baker/Garden Organic — The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, with competition sponsor Michael Hedges, Managing Director of Chase Organics and The Organic Gardening Catalogue, awarding first prize for the Grow Your Own School Garden Competition to Richard Challoner School, Kingston. Photo Jane Baker/Garden Organic

The School’s Marketplace at City Hall, on Thursday 9th July, was a huge success, with 10 London schools battling their way through the London tube strike to arrive laden with produce to sell to the public. The standard of fresh produce and home-made products (such as preserves, cordials, edible plants etc) was extremely high. The students, from infants right through to secondary school, took the lead as professional sales people, confidently answering customer’s questions about the goodies they had on offer.

During the School’s Marketplace the school’s had a surprise visit from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson who visited every one of their stalls and went home with armfuls of school-grown produce. As you can imagine, the students (and teachers!), were very excited to welcome this special guest.

To see more photographs of the day visit our: Flickr photo gallery.

Continued below…

Grow Your Own School Garden Competition – Announcing the Winners!

At the School’s Marketplace The Mayor of London also took part in giving out the prizes at our ‘Grow your Own School Garden Competition’ Award Ceremony, with our generous competition sponsors. A huge thank you to The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Haxnicks and VegTrug for donating the competition prizes, and to BBC TV Gardener, Chris Collins, for being our competition judge.

Congratulations to the following three schools who received their awards to huge applause, and look forward to setting up their own school gardens:

To see more photographs of the day visit our: Flickr photo gallery.

1st Prize – Richard Challoner School (Kingston)
2nd Prize – Our Lady of Grace Catholic Infant School (Brent)
3rd Prize – Richmond Park Academy (Richmond)

For more information about the School’s Marketplace and ‘Grow Your Own School Garden Competition Award Ceremony See related press release below:

6 July 2015

City Hall hosts School’s Marketplace for a second year

The Mayor of London’s Food Programme team are opening the doors of the prestigious City Hall to welcome 10 London schools to hold their very own Schools Marketplace. Taking place on Thursday 9th July 2015 from 12noon to 3pm, the event will be a mouth-watering showcase for delicious food grown in London’s schools. Sample tasty produce and fill your shopping bags with edible school-grown treats – from jams and chutneys, to salads, herbs, cordials, dips and more. The Schools Marketplace, is the grand finale of Grow Your Own Picnic 2015, a term-long celebration of food growing in London schools: foodgrowingschools.org/events/picnic

The Schools Marketplace is organised by the Food Growing Schools: London partnership, led by Garden Organic, and Capital Growth. In 2014 schools sold produce to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny!

The Mayor has formed a range of partnerships that are helping to transform London’s food environment. These include the Healthy Schools London awards programme, which incentivises the capital’s schools to adopt a whole-school approach to improving health by creating an environment which encourages growing and eating fresh, nutritious food. In addition the London Food programme has established two Food Flagship boroughs: Croydon and Lambeth, to demonstrate the impact on health and attainment achievable through improving food across the whole environment, using schools as a catalyst to drive this change.

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said: “It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm among teachers, children and parents around growing and eating fresh, healthy food in schools.

“Involving school children in growing food helps to foster a love of good, healthy and nutritious produce, which is why the Mayor is supporting this initiative.”

As well as produce stalls, an award ceremony for the exciting new Grow Your Own School Garden Competition will take place at 1.30pm. Judged by BBC TV Gardener Chris Collins, the competition is aimed at London schools that aren’t yet growing food. Eligible schools were tasked with setting up a school gardening group, planning a new school growing space, identifying community support and making a gardening equipment wishlist. The three London schools that have been shortlisted to win are: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Infant School (Brent); Richard Challoner School (Kingston) and Richmond Park Academy (Richmond).

The winners will receive fantastic prizes to start their own school garden, including £500 worth of garden vouchers from The Organic Gardening Catalogue and half a day with a garden expert. Second and Third prize have been kindly donated by Haxnicks and VegTrug. “Inspiring young people to grow their own healthy food, and to develop their knowledge of growing and the skills involved, is at the core of what we believe in at The Organic Gardening Catalogue. We’re delighted to be able to support the Grow Your Own School Garden competition and hope that it will encourage more youngsters to get growing, they are after all, the next generation of farmers and growers!”- Michael Hedges, Managing Director, Chase Organics and The Organic Gardening Catalogue. foodgrowingschools.org/resources/competitions

The next Food Growing Schools: London schools project is Grow Your Own Business 2015, which will launch for a second year in September 2015. To download a free 30-page schools activity pack and join in, visit: foodgrowingschools.org/events

Schools Marketplace – Thursday 9 July 2015, 12 – 3pm. City Hall, The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA

Participating school stallholders: foodgrowingschools.org/events

Bensham Manor Secondary, Croydon
Bethnal Green Academy (Secondary), Tower Hamlets
Charlton Park Academy (Secondary), Greenwich
Christ Church C of E Primary, Wandsworth
Glebe School (Secondary), Bromley
Park View Secondary, Haringey
Rhyl Primary, Camden
Selwyn Primary, Newham
The UCL Academy (Secondary), Camden
Trafalgar Infant School, Richmond

What our sponsors say:

See main body of press release for: Chris Collins (BBC TV Gardener) and Michael Hedges, Managing Director, Chase Organics and The Organic Gardening Catalogue.

‘Haxnicks are passionate about gardening and have a history of designing great new products to help everyone else who loves to grow. We are very excited to be supporting a project that is sowing the seeds for a new generation of grow-your-own enthusiasts, particularly in spaces and places where it might not otherwise be happening. We wish the schools good luck with their growing and happy harvesting too!’ Damian Cardozo, Haxnicks Founder

‘We are delighted to support the Food Growing Schools Project. It is essential for our future that our children get a hands on chance to grow food and plants in general. We work tirelessly around the world promoting grow your own and healthy eating and the London Schools Project is something we want to encourage as much as we can. Well done to everyone involved.’ Joe Denham, CEO for VegTrug Limited.

Food Growing Schools: London – Growing Ideas. Sowing Inspiration. Cultivating Futures.

Led by Garden Organic, the Food Growing Schools: London (FGSL) partnership brings together the very best of London’s food growing expertise, information and support, with the ambition to inspire and equip every school in London to grow their own food. Garden Organic is working in partnership with Capital Growth, Food For Life Partnership, Morrisons Let’s Grow, Royal Horticultural Society, School Food Matters and Trees for Cities. Funded by The Mayor of London and the Big Lottery Fund, the project aims to cultivate young people’s love for learning, and hunger for knowledge, and develop supportive local communities through food. foodgrowingschools.org

Food Flagship Boroughs – Croydon and Lambeth

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is happy to be supporting Food Growing Schools: London (FGSL) to deliver a series of food growing training workshops in Croydon and Lambeth schools, and one to one support to 15 schools in Croydon that are not already food growing.

www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/working-in-partnership/london-food-board/london-boroughs/food-flagships . To ensure your school is eligible for FGSL initiatives, please fill in our survey: foodgrowingschools.org/challenge

Garden Organic

Garden Organic is the UK’s leading organic growing charity, dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food. We have been bringing the benefits of gardening to schools, big and small, for over 20 years, helping students and communities access the benefits of growing food and engage in hands on, practical activity. We do this through our training, project work, volunteer programmes and inspiring demonstration gardens at Ryton, near Coventry. As a partner in the Food for Life Partnership our education programmes, training and resources help teachers and school professionals to embed food growing as part of a whole school approach. www.gardenorganic.org.uk

Capital Growth

Capital Growth, supported by the Mayor of London, runs a network for community food growing projects in London, providing advice, events, training and other support. They currently have over 700 schools in the network, many of whom have received funding, competition awards and other types of support and advice. As part of the charity Sustain, Capital Growth also runs annual events such as Edible Open Gardens Day, urban Food Fortnight and the Big Dig which all members are encouraged to get involved in to raise the profile of their project. www.capitalgrowth.org/themes/schools

6 Jul 2015

School Food Plan Publishes New Guidance to Support Ofsted Changes

The School Food Plan has produced practical guidance to help school leaders and governing bodies adopt a whole school approach to food and create a culture and ethos of healthy eating. It is designed to be used alongside other School Food Plan resources including the Headteacher Checklist and What Works Well website.

Ofsted, which we consulted in developing the guidance, will be making this document available to inspectors in their training. Download on our Resources page.

01 July 2015

Houston we have a problem…
…but we are fixing it!

In case you didn’t watch the launch or haven’t seen the news, we are sad to announce that on Sunday afternoon the SpaceX-7 rocket exploded, along with our seeds and other precious cargo, shortly after take-off. The rocket was unmanned and broke up in the air so no one was harmed.

We always knew that there was a chance that whatever vehicle the seeds flew on it might experience a problem, as this is the nature of space flight. This is one of the reasons why we decided to send the seeds up many months before Tim Peake himself arrives at the International Space Station later this year. It also means that these seeds will be highly prized when they finally make their epic journey!

We have already procured more rocket seeds from the same British seed company Tozer Seeds, and are working with the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency to get these seeds on one of the next available cargo launches.

The rest of the project will continue on the same timeline so we will still open up official registrations in September and seeds and resource packs will be sent in spring 2016. Schools should continue to register their interest in the project and be the first to apply for seeds here.

We will keep you updated with progress as we continue. Please keep an eye on our website and follow @RHSSchools on Twitter for more information.

In the meantime, you can watch the rocket’s failed launch on YouTube here and for more detailed information on SpaceX-7 and the failed launch, please read the UK Space Agency blog here.

Best wishes,

The Campaign for School Gardening Team

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FGSL News June 2015

25 June 2015

Cyrus Todiwala launches Edible Playground in Tower Hamlets

St Paul’s Whitechapel Primary – Inspiring children to grow and eat good food

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a project led by Trees for Cities (TfC), to provide schools in urban areas the opportunity to grow food in their playgrounds, yesterday launched an edible playground in St Paul’s Whitechapel, CE Primary School, Tower Hamlets.

Chef, restaurateur, author and media personality Cyrus Todiwala OBE, whose flagship restaurant, Café Spice Namaste, is located on Prescot Street, within the borough of Tower hamlets, officially opens the edible playground today. The local chef will be buying produce harvested in the EP to use in his restaurant.

The children at St Paul’s Whitechapel, CE Primary School have been growing lettuce, spinach, lalshak, chard, peas, beans, tomatoes and potatoes in their edible playground. The EP has a lovely herb garden with lots of sensory plants and a pollinator garden to attract bees, butterflies and other insects to help the plants grow. There is also a rhubarb patch, edible flowers, willow teepees and a wormery to create compost for healthy soil.

Noelle age 9, Year 4 pupil said: “Our edible playground creates a healthy environment, which makes the world a better place”.

EP benefits children’s health and education by offering those living in urban areas the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat good food, and integrate outdoor learning into the school curriculum. By transforming school grounds into fully functional food growing spaces, EP provides children the opportunity to be active outside – getting them excited about food growing and understanding where food comes from.

Cyrus Todiwala said: ‘I was delighted to open the Edible Garden at St Paul’s Primary School. I personally believe that children will appreciate food most if they know where it comes from. Being in the middle of the city we do not always have the opportunity to understand what farmers and producers can, so edible playgrounds, like this are an excellent way to expose children to the nature and its provenance.’

Sharon Johnson, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: “Edible Playgrounds engage children with nature and show them how rewarding it is to spend time outdoors. Absence of natural green spaces in inner cities creates a lack of knowledge about food, its origins and how to make healthy choices about what to eat, which is an especially important issue for today’s youngest generations, many of whom are not able to see food growing. We are delighted that the school community at St Paul’s Whitechapel, CE Primary School has come together to support the launch of an edible playground.”

Trees for Cities has been working in schools to plant fruit and nut trees since 2000. With this track record and experience, TfC’ technical expertise in the delivery of Edible Playgrounds and operations is well established and highly regarded. The first Edible Playground was created in 2003. There are currently over 25 Edible Playgrounds in the UK with a further 50 to be rolled out over the next three years.

The project has also been supported by Marsh and Bloomberg.

20 June 2015

Food Growing Schools: London to deliver support to Food Flagship Schools

UPDATE: The Food Flagship boroughs (Lambeth and Croydon) are making fantastic progress with many projects now off the ground (see original story: News 12 March 2015). The Greater London Authority (GLA) is happy to be supporting Food Growing Schools: London to begin a programme which will deliver one to one support to 15 schools in Croydon that are not already food growing. In addition, FGSL are delivering a series of food growing training workshops in schools in both Flagship boroughs in order to encourage all schools in the flagships to grow food. Announcements of further food projects being funded through the Food Flagship programme coming soon!

Lambeth Food Flagship aims to nurture the love of good food in the borough.
The principal aims of Croydon becoming a Food Flagship Borough are: growing food, learning to cook healthier food, and understanding the importance of a balanced, nutritious diet in preventing obesity.
Read more about the Food Flagship boroughs here.

To ensure your school is eligible for initiatives FGSL is running, please fill in our survey.

16 June 2015

Pupils to make “informed choices about healthy eating”, says Ofsted in new inspection framework

Ashton Vale School. Food For Life Partnership — Photo: Food For Life Partnership

In a watershed moment for school food, Ofsted has formally included healthy eating and knowledge of how to eat healthily in its Common Inspection Framework published yesterday. The Food for Life Partnership welcomes the commitment to children’s health it will bring about and reiterates its ongoing support for schools which can help with Ofsted inspections.

Head teachers and caterers are already working hard to make sure their students eat well and learn about food – new school food standards were introduced in January of this year, and practical cookery has been made compulsory in the national curriculum. Now Ofsted has gone further in its announcement yesterday that from September, the ability of pupils to “make informed choices about healthy eating” will form part of a judgment under personal development, behaviour and welfare.

This announcement follows a letter sent to the All Party Parliamentary Group on School Food in February, in which Ofsted highlighted that they would be placing a renewed emphasis on school food, adding that “inspectors will look for evidence of a culture or ethos of exercise and healthy eating throughout the entire inspection visit, in classrooms as well as in the school canteen.”

“A culture” of “healthy eating” goes beyond the food on the plate. Head teachers may be expected to explain how they monitor and evaluate food education, and asked whether students and parents are consulted in the development of menus. Inspectors may assess the atmosphere and culture of the dining space, and may ask whether the school governor responsible for healthy eating can provide evidence of compliance with the school food standards.

Schools looking to build and evidence this positive food culture can get free support through the Food for Life Partnership. The Department for Education has provided time-limited funding to boost school meal take-up through a number of packages that can also support school leaders to prepare for Ofsted inspection. Increase Your School Meal Take Up (IYSMTU) is being delivered by the Food for Life Partnership, whose tailored support package is worth up to £2,000. Junior and secondary schools have until the end of the summer term to register and can sign up.

For school leaders looking to excel, there is additional support available through the Food for Life Schools Award. This provides a framework in which head teachers can use food as a way to improve the whole school experience: making lunchtime a more positive feature of the day and enriching classroom learning with farm visits, practical cooking and growing. Over a thousand schools have already achieved the Award, which provides strong evidence of a culture of healthy eating in action.

Joanna Lewis, Strategy & Policy Director of Food for Life said:

“Healthy eating has been put firmly on the plate of head teachers, caterers and governors and the Food for Life Partnership can provide expert support. A whole school approach is the most effective way of establishing a culture of healthy eating. Funded support runs out at the end of the school year and our advice to schools is to sign up urgently so they don’t miss this golden opportunity.”

To find out more visit the Food For Life Partnership website.

12 June 2015

MBE honour for school food plan restaurateurs

By Judith Burns – BBC Education reporter. See full report: www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33111555

Restaurateurs Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent have been made MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for their work in improving school lunches.

The pair, co-founders of the Leon restaurant chain, led a government commissioned independent review of school food, published two years ago. Their report formed the basis of revised rules on school dinners in England, brought in earlier this year. John Vincent said the aim was to bring about a cultural change in schools.

‘Children as customers’

It was vital to boost the uptake of school dinners to promote “a virtuous cycle of quality” and simply changing the rules on what could be served was not enough, said Mr Vincent. Introducing free school meals for all infant pupils and more cookery lessons in schools would help, he argued, but “treating individual children as customers, sorting out the queues and making the food great”, were key. Ultimately the pair believe better nutrition in schools will help both boost attainment and improve the nation’s health. Mr Vincent called the work “a massive privilege and a character building task”. “This recognition is a tribute to all of the people who work hard every day to provide health, pleasure and improved attainment to our children,” he said.

In 2012 the pair were asked to examine nutrition in England’s schools and suggest improvements. Their School Food Plan, was published a year later. Mr Dimbleby said they had become involved at a time when improvements in school catering were already under way.

A campaign fronted by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver had already brought about changes to the quality of food served in English schools – but less than half of children actually ate them, with many preferring packed lunches of variable nutritional quality. Their current aim is to showcase best practice in school catering and bring about “a golden age for school food”. “I think it’s reflective of the fact that the sector, which used to work quite disparately, doing lots of good things, has really come together and there’s an amazing, positive, constructive atmosphere of improvement across the country,” said Mr Dimbleby. “I think the MBE is recognition of that, rather than anything John and I have done.”

Mr Dimbleby said he was always impressed by what he saw when he went into schools. “There’s real change happening, in five years time the whole sector will be completely transformed.” Under the new rules, which came into force in January, meals must include at least one portion of vegetables or salad every day and no more than two portions of fried foods or pastry-based foods a week. The regulations are mandatory for local authority schools as well academies set up before 2010 or after June 2014.

However academies set up between 2010 and June 2014 are exempt, a source of frustration to campaigners. The government maintains it has encouraged these academies to sign up voluntarily to the new standards and that hundreds have already done so.

In total, about 11% of recipients on the honours list have been recognised for their work in the education sector. Others include Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, who becomes a CBE.

Among the 30 head teachers on the list are Nicholas Weller, executive principal of Dixons Academies in Bradford, who has been knighted. The announcement comes the day after the stabbing of a teacher during a science class at one of his schools, Dixons Kings Academy.

See full BBC report: www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33111555

2 June 2015

Trees for Cities launches new Edible Playgrounds website

Opening of Edible Playground at Carlton Primary School in Camden, London. Trees for Cities.

Trees for Cities (TfC) is inviting schools, businesses and funders to explore its new Edible Playground website www.edibleplaygrounds.org.

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a project led by Trees for Cities, transform outdoor areas in school grounds into fully functional food growing spaces, giving children the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat good food. EP get children living in urban areas excited about growing good and understanding where food comes from.

The charity has already created over 25 Edible Playgrounds in London and is expanding the programme out across the UK this year. As the demand for Edible Playgrounds is increasing rapidly, they now have a website dedicated to the projects involved within it.

The website has been designed to provide information to schools thinking of having their own Edible Playground and to businesses interested in supporting the project. On the homepage you can watch an Edible Playground in action at Rotherfield Primary School in Islington, read case studies from schools and access lots of information, including how much space it will take, how much it will cost, what resources are needed and the benefits of creating an Edible Playground.

TfC also want to encourage businesses to help create more food growing spaces in schools by sponsoring EP and the website provides plenty of information on how they can support the project.

Sharon Johnson, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: “With 37 per cent of children between the ages of 5 – 12 not eating enough every day and 20 per cent obese on leaving primary school, more and more schools are now educating their children on how food is grown and on making healthy eating choices. Edible Playgrounds show children how rewarding it is to spend time outdoors and get them excited about where their food comes from. We’re delighted to be able to launch the Edible Playground website and I would urge all schools, businesses and funders to visit it”.

Schools signed up to the Edible Playground project will get access to the Hub area on the site, where they will be able to get all the growing and educational resources they need to look after their Edible Playground and use it as an effective and engaging outdoor classroom to teach through gardening.
Visit www.edibleplaygrounds.org. Why not give us your feedback on the new website, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions please email [email protected]

Ends

For more information please contact:

Samantha Lagan – 020 7820 4426/07825541130
[email protected]
Images available upon request

Notes to Editors

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a project led by Trees for Cities, transform outdoor areas in school grounds into fully functional food growing spaces, giving children the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat good food. Edible Playgrounds tackle the problems of obesity, food poverty and lack of access to nature head on – getting kids excited about growing food and understanding where food comes from. We design and construct the food growing spaces and support the school to utilize the outdoor space as a learning resource. EP provides children the opportunity to be active outside, which benefits children’s health and education. An EP typically includes raised beds, a greenhouse, wormery, fruit trees and an irrigation system. www.edibleplaygrounds.org

Trees for Cities (TfC) is an independent charity, which inspires people to plant and love trees worldwide. Set up in 1993, Trees for Cities’ aim is to create social cohesion and beautify our cities through tree planting, community-led design, education and training initiatives in urban areas that need it most.
We manage projects across the UK as well as internationally in cities such as Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Ica. Our work supports urban tree planting initiatives particularly in deprived areas of cities.
Community-led design is an integral part of our landscaping projects. Involving local residents, schools and community groups helps ensure the sustainability of green spaces. www.treesforcities.org

Disclaimer: The Food Growing Schools: London partnership does not take responsibility for the content of news articles written by individual organisations, which are published on our ‘News’ pages.

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FGSL News May 2015

30 May 2015

Michael Palin Launches first Edible Playground in Camden

Carlton Primary Tackles Food Poverty and Childhood Obesity at School

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a project led by Trees for Cities (TfC), to provide schools in urban areas the opportunity to grow food in their playgrounds, today launches an edible playground in Carlton Primary School in Camden, London.

Over the last six months, working in partnership with Carlton Primary, Trees for Cities designed and constructed an edible playground in the Camden school. The edible playground contains a greenhouse, vertical herb garden, wormery and vegetable beds, supporting the school to utilise its outdoor space as a learning resource.

Michael Palin, Patron of Carlton Primary School, helped raise funds for the multi-sensory garden and officially opens the edible playground today. Governors, parents and children will attend the opening and explore the garden for the first time.

Jacqueline Phelan, Head Teacher of Carlton Primary School said: “Edible Playgrounds have transformed the outdoor grounds of our school into an incredible food growing space. Children in inner city areas often have limited opportunities to learn and play in natural environments so we are excited that our edible playground will provide our children and local Camden community the opportunity to grow, cook and eat healthy, good food. We are continually striving to encourage our children to be healthier and we view the edible playground as an opportunity to develop this further as well as bring learning outside the classroom.”

Sharon Johnson, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: “With increasing concerns around food poverty and malnutrition, the next generation is in danger of losing touch with nature and not knowing why a healthy diet is important. Edible Playgrounds show children how rewarding it is to spend time outdoors and get them excited about where their food comes from. With 37 per cent of children between ages of 5 – 12 not eating enough every day and 20 per cent obese on leaving primary school, more and more schools are now educating their children on how food is grown and on making healthy eating choices. We are delighted that the school community at Carlton Primary has come together to support the launch of an edible playground.”

Michael Palin said: I’m so pleased that Carlton School has been chosen to take part in the Edible Playgrounds project. It will give the children here, in the middle of a busy city, the chance to learn how food is grown and to help grow it for themselves”.

Ends

Media Contacts:
Samantha Lagan: / 020 7820 4426

18 May 2015

Rocket Science

Turning half a million pupils into space biologists

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening has partnered with the UK Space Agency to embark on an ‘out of this world’ educational project. The project, Rocket Science, will give around half a million UK children the chance to learn how science in space contributes to our knowledge of life on earth, using the invaluable expertise of the European Space Agency (ESA) and RHS Science team.

Two kilograms of rocket seeds will shortly take off from Florida bound for the International Space Station as part of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s six-month Principia mission. After several months on board, the seeds will return to land in the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2016. After return to the UK, they will be packaged up with identical seeds that have stayed on earth. Participating schools will each receive two packets of 100 seeds to grow and compare, and a collection of fun and inspiring curriculum linked teaching resources and posters, tailored according to the age of your pupils (Key Stages 1 and 2 or Key Stages 3,4 and 5).

Using these resources, we want pupils of all ages across the UK to embark on a voyage of discovery to see what growing plants in space can teach us about life on Earth and whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food. Schools will be invited to input their results into a national online database so that results can be compared across all schools in the UK. The project is aimed at inspiring pupils to think scientifically and helping them to see the potential of future careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and Horticulture.

Schools, community groups and educational groups of all ages and abilities will have the chance to apply for a Rocket Science resource pack and take part in our nationwide science experiment from September 2015.Be the first to hear more about the project, including when applications open for resource packs, by registering your interest here:

Schools that register their interest will be the first to know when official applications for the seeds open.

13 May 2015

MEDIA ALERT: PHOTO-CALL ALERT:

Michael Palin to Launch Camden’s first Edible Playground

Carlton Primary Tackles Food Poverty and Childhood Obesity at School

When: Tuesday 19th May 2015
Where: Carlton Primary School, Grafton Road, London, NW5 4AX
Photocall: 2.00pm

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a project led by Trees for Cities (TfC), to provide schools in urban areas the opportunity to grow food in their playgrounds, is launching an edible playground in Carlton Primary School in Camden, London. Michael Palin, Patron of Carlton Primary School, helped raise funds for the multi-sensory garden and officially opens the edible playground on 19th May. Governors, parents and children will attend the opening and explore the garden for the first time.

Contact

Email [email protected] if you would like to attend the opening and if you are interested in an interview with Sharon Johnson, CEO of Trees for Cities. A photo-call with Michael Palin at the Edible Playground is at 2.00pm, please confirm attendance.

www.edibleplaygrounds.org

7 May 2015

Schools head to market with School Food Matters

With the help of our fantastic partner School Food Matters, London schools have some enterprising projects up their sleeves this summer term. Follow their progress and buy school-grown produce near you on market day. Schools Food Matters reports:

Young Marketeers – at Borough Market
This project allows children from 16 schools to sell food they have grown at school at Borough Market, the proceeds of any sale going to the charity Fareshare. May sees the project get started, with Fareshare running assemblies at the schools to introduce the programme, followed by training at Borough Market itself on 14th May 2015. This training will include a hands on gardening tutorial run by TV gardener Chris Collins and a talk about Market trading by some of the stall holders at Borough Market. Over the course of the project, schools will also visit Fareshare to see where the money they will raise is put to use, as well as a visit to the schools by a gardener to see how their growing is going. The project culminates in two sales days, with half the schools selling their produce on the summer sale on the 2nd July and the other half at the harvest sale in September. Young Marketeers.

Schools to Market – at Whole Foods stores
We are starting our great Schools to Market with Whole Foods programme in May, with 36 schools involved across the country. We are now in the third year of this great project and over the this term schools involved will have an assembly run by Whole Foods at their school, a jam and chutney making masterclass by a chef, a visit to a farm and a marketing workshop with Whole Foods. This will culminate in Schools to Market Day in September, where the children sell jams and chutneys they have grown, made and marketed! The purpose of the programme is to teach children all about the value of food and where it comes from. Schools to Market.

To find out more visit the School Food Matters website here

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FGSL News April 2015

30 Apr 2015

What the political parties say about school food in the run up to the General Election 2015

On 7 May, the British public will vote in the UK’s biggest election, determining the next Government. Food for Life Partnership have put together a handy overview of the political parties’ positions on school food in the run up to the General Election 2015

Conservative:

Take action to reduce childhood obesity and continue to promote clear food information.
Continuing with the existing UIFSM policy

Labour:

Set maximum permitted levels of sugar, salt and fat in foods marketed substantially to children.
Introduce a legal guarantee for parents of primary school children to access wraparound childcare from 8am to 6pm through their local primary school.

Lib Dem:

Extend free school meals to all primary school children.
Introduce stricter marketing and advertising rules for junk foods.
Further invest in Defra’s Food Plan for Public sector procurement.

Green Party:

Extend VAT at standard rate to unhealthy food, and use proceeds to subsidise fresh fruit and veg by 1/3.
Extend free ’nutritious’ meals, (with GM free and local ingredients) to all school children.
Introduce a Hospital Food Plan.

UKIP:

Place a statutory duty on all primary schools to offer before and after-school care from 8am to 6pm during term time, with the option to extend this to all-day provision throughout the school holidays. These sessions will include breakfast and healthy snacks.

SNP

Expand current free school meal provision and look to work with local authorities to identify future steps to improve support for low income families to help meet the costs associated with school.
Offer 30 hours a week free nursery education for all 3 and 4 year olds and eligible 2 year olds.
Make a long term commitment to tackling overweight and obesity, which concentrates on four key areas: food consumption; integrating physical activity into people’s everyday lives; recognising the importance of encouraging health behaviours in the early years; and encouraging employers to take a role in promoting health and wellbeing in and through the workplace.

Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru supports a tax on sugary drinks and will work with manufacturers to reduce sugar in food and drink.

Information gathered by the Food For Life Partnership. To read each party’s policy in full, please visit their respective websites.

27 April 2015

A good school food culture can help your Ofsted inspection

A message to Food For Life Partnership registered schools

We know how important school food is to behaviour, wellbeing and attainment, and Ofsted has now recognised this as well. From September 2015, school food will contribute to how schools are rated by Ofsted in a new Common Inspection Framework.

“Inspectors will look for evidence of a culture or ethos of exercise and healthy eating throughout their entire inspection visit, in classrooms as well as the school canteen. They will look at the food on offer and visit the canteen to see the atmosphere and culture in the dining space and the effect it has on pupils’ behaviour.”

Schools working towards a Food for Life Partnership award will have already collected evidence to demonstrate positive food culture in action. In addition, we are further improving our awards service to help FFLP schools prepare for the healthy eating and school food elements of the new Ofsted Framework.
This is why we need your help. As our BIG Lottery funding comes to an end this summer we need your suggestions to make sure Food for Life continues to transform school food culture in line with the new Ofsted requirements.

Take part in our short survey
Help us to tailor our awards service to meet your needs. The first 100 schools to do so will be entered into a draw to win one of 10 FFLP goodie bags, and one lucky school will be randomly selected to win £200 to spend on cooking or growing equipment. Click here for survey.

Not working towards a Food For Life Partnership award?
The Food For Life Partnership awards are a fantastic way to demonstrate to the wider world that your school is doing fantastic work to provide healthy school meals, great lunchtimes and food education that has a positive impact on both pupils and the wider community. Our programme provides a framework to support you through any changes you may need to make to achieve this. It’s designed to be flexible so every school can approach it in the way that works best for them. Once you enrol – which is free to do if you’re a school in England – you’ll find a wealth of resources, support and guidance to help you along the way as well as access to our central advice line. If your school is in an area with a commissioned programme, you may also be able to access further training and support from a member of our local teams. Find out more.

27 April 2015

Win a visit from an organic gardening expert

Achieve a Food for Life Partnership award before Friday 22nd May 2015 and your school could be the lucky winner of a visit from one of Garden Organic’s expert gardeners, helping you to bring your garden to life! We will also throw in some equipment to keep your garden in tip top condition. Find out here.

Free support to improve school meals
School meal seminars are being held around England to support schools to improve school meals, including support for schools serving universal infant free school meals. The one-day regional seminars bring together keynote speakers and a number of suppliers under one roof to offer advice and information about the free support services available. All of the seminars are free to attend and various dates are available throughout the country. Find out more here.

Grow your way to your next FFLP award!
Spurred on by the better weather and with lots of advice from our partners Garden Organic and the Soil Association, we have been busy getting our gardens ready for the growing season and supporting all of our FFLP schools to do the same. So whether you are growing in small spaces or confused by composting, we can help you to get your gardens blooming this summer. Visit our website to get started.

Open Farm School Days – June 2015
Open Farm School Days is a nationwide initiative to get children out onto farms, discovering where their food comes from. Throughout June, farms will be opening their gates and hosting educational visits for children to learn about how their food is grown and meet the farmers who grow it.Open Farm School Days run alongside the annual Open Farm Sunday on 7th June 2015, and a number of farmers do both! It is free of charge to participate in Open Farm School Days and Open Farm Sunday. Farms in the South East.

27 April 2015

Dream set to come true for Berrymede Junior School in Ealing

Berrymede Junior School in Ealing, west London has been announced as the first of 10 Edible Playground flagship schools to receive support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund, which has awarded £249,180 in funding.Edible Playgrounds, a programme led by Trees for Cities, will completely transform an area of their school grounds into a functional food-growing space. Thanks to this support from players, the Edible Playground at Berrymede will have raised beds with herbs, salads, vegetables, fruit trees, an outdoor classroom, interpretation boards, composting facilities, irrigation and a greenhouse. The construction of the Edible Playground is due to take place in the summer followed by lots of planting! Trees for Cities will provide a year of support to help Berrymede use their Edible Playground for year-round growing and teaching.

The pupils will enjoy hands-on cooking lessons from Chefs Adopt a School and have access to food education programmes outside the school gate via charity School Food Matter’s Membership for Schools. School Food Matters will also support Berrymede to achieve their first Food for Life Award.

Many pupils don’t have access to good quality outside areas in which to learn and play. Creating a safe, fun and exciting Edible Playground where they can take lessons in subjects such as food growing, science and maths will make a massive impact. The project will encourage children to be active outside, to learn outside the classroom, to think about where food comes from, and to make healthier eating choices.

Pupils at Berrymede are enthused by the project. A Year 5 pupil from the school said: “I’m really excited about all the new growing places in the school and all the vegetables and fruits we will have. But mostly I’m excited about eating them! We have already started planning and planting seeds”.

Sharon Johnson, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: “With increasing concerns around food poverty and malnutrition, the next generation is in danger of losing touch with nature and not knowing why a healthy diet is important. Edible Playgrounds show children how rewarding it is to spend time outdoors and get them excited about where their food comes from. With 37 per cent of children between ages of 5 – 12 not eating enough every day and 20 per cent obese on leaving primary school, more and more schools are now educating their children on how food is grown and on making healthy eating choices”.
Pupils’ health and well-being is a key focus of the school. The Edible Playground complements recent improvements to the dining hall experience for pupils, and will become an integral part of this initiative- helping to drive healthy eating and healthy living. Trees for Cities and Berrymede hope to inspire similar Edible Playgrounds projects in other schools in the area.

Lubna Khan, Head Teacher at Berrymede Junior School said: “We strive to provide a rich and stimulating learning environment, where our children thrive and subsequently leave, as well equipped young citizens ready for the next phase of their lives. We include in our provision, knowledge and understanding about how well-being, good health and fitness underpin success. A significant element of this is healthy eating and knowledge about food and agriculture, even if it is on a small scale! This project has already initiated an excitement about planting, growing and a real appreciation of nature and its beauty”.

Ends

For more information
please contact: Samantha Lagan – 020 7820 4426 / 07825541130
[email protected]
Images available upon request

Notes to Editors
Edible Playground project, funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is a partnership between Trees for Cities, School Food Matters and Chefs Adopt a School to create 10 flagship Edible Playgrounds in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Reading.

Edible Playgrounds (EP), a programme led by Trees for Cities, transform under-used school grounds into interactive and engaging food growing spaces. EP provide children living in urban areas the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat fruit and vegetables, and to integrate the outdoor learning into the school curriculum. EP design and construct the food growing spaces and support the school to utilize the outdoor space as a learning resource. The gardens provide children key skills and knowledge of how to grow food and eat healthily, helping to address food poverty and prevent childhood obesity. It also provides children the opportunity to be active outside, which benefits children’s health and education. An Edible Playground typically includes raised beds, a greenhouse, wormery, fruit trees and an irrigation system. www.edibleplaygrounds.org

Trees for Cities (TfC) is an independent charity, which inspires people to plant and love trees worldwide. Set up in 1993, Trees for Cities’ aim is to create social cohesion and beautify our cities through tree planting, community-led design, education and training initiatives in urban areas that need it most.
We manage projects across the UK as well as internationally in cities such as Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Ica. Our work supports urban tree planting initiatives particularly in deprived areas of cities.
Community-led design is an integral part of our landscaping projects. Involving local residents, schools and community groups helps ensure the sustainability of green spaces. www.treesforcities.org

School Food Matters is a registered charity based in London that campaigns for fresh sustainable food in schools and for children to understand where their food comes from. To achieve this SFM listens to schools, parents and children. Together they urge local authorities to improve school meals and to support food education through cooking, growing and links with local farms. http://www.schoolfoodmatters.com/

Chefs Adopt a School founded in 1990 by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Adopt a School, which includes Chefs Adopt a School and Hospitality in Schools, is a national charity which teaches children – in a holistic way – about food, cookery food provenance, food growing, healthy eating, nutrition, hygiene, table etiquette and the importance of eating together. Professional Chefs deliver sessions in the classroom which range in content from the four tastes and the five senses, to advanced practical cookery. The charity reaches over 20,000 children every year and we work with primary schools, secondary schools, SEN schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units, sports centres and food festivals. We believe that every child should be taught about the importance of food and the significance it has in our lives. http://www.chefsadoptaschool.org.uk/

About People’s Postcode Lottery

People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery. Players play with their postcodes to win cash prizes while raising money for charities and good causes across Great Britain and globally
People’s Postcode Lottery is an External Lottery Manager and manages multiple society lotteries promoted by different causes supporting a range of good causes. For details on which society lottery is running each week, visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk/society
Postcode Lottery Limited is regulated by the Gambling Commission under certificate nr 829-N-102511-009 and 829-R-102513-008. Registered office: Titchfield House, 69/85 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4RR
People’s Postcode Lottery players support the following Trusts – Postcode African Trust, Postcode Animal Trust, Postcode Care Trust, Postcode Children Trust, Postcode Community Trust, Postcode Culture Trust, Postcode Dream Trust, Postcode Global Trust, Postcode Green Trust, Postcode Heroes Trust, Postcode Planet Trust, People’s Postcode Trust and Postcode Sport Trust. These Trusts are funded entirely by players and support a variety of good causes. For further information on each charity, visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/charities
50p from every £2 ticket goes to good causes and players have raised over £66.4 Million for good causes across the Great Britain and globally
There are five draws a month with prizes every day and each ticket costs £2 – paid monthly in advance by direct debit. For further prize information, visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/prizes
Maximum amount a single ticket can win is 10% of the draw revenue to a maximum of £400,000
Players can sign up by Direct Debit, credit card or PayPal online at www.postcodelottery.co.uk, or by calling 0808 10-9-8-7-6-5.

14 April 2015

New London School’s Garden Competition launches for Grow Your Own Picnic 2015

The Food Growing Schools: London partnership, led

by Garden Organic, has launched Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 for the second year with a fantastic, new Grow Your Own School Garden Competition – and this time schools don’t need to be garden experts to win!

Judged by BBC TV Gardener, Chris Collins, the competition is aimed at London schools that aren’t yet growing food. First prize includes £500 worth of gardening equipment, half a day with a garden expert, a corporate garden volunteer day at the school, and a professional case study about the school’s new garden journey. “London is such an inspiring place to be right now. More and more schools are picking up trowels, planting seeds and proving that you don’t need to be an expert gardener to grow your own food. Enthusiasm, ideas, community and a willingness to learn is all you need. And the summer is the perfect time to get started”, Chris Collins, BBC TV Gardener. Eligible schools can enter by setting up a school gardening task group, planning a new school growing space, identifying local school community support and making a gardening equipment wishlist. There will also be prizes awarded for second and third place.

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 takes place during the Summer 2015 Term, and is a celebration of summer, sunshine and food growing in London schools. Schools can download a free 30-page schools activity pack, jammed full of Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 growing and cooking activities, learning opportunities, competitions, events and freebies. As the grand finale, schools can then share a delicious home-grown lunch with students, staff and the local community – on their very own Grow Your Own Picnic Day to end the Summer Term!

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 celebrations also include the Schools Marketplace at City Hall on Thursday 9th July 2015, organised by Capital Growth for the Food Growing Schools: London partnership. Taking place for the second year running, enterprising London schools can plan for a bumper crop and sell their school-grown picnic produce to 600 staff based at City Hall, and to members of the public. In 2014 nine lucky London schools even sold produce to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny too! Capital Growth have also launched a Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 Photography Competition on behalf of the Food Growing Schools: London partnership. The winning photographs will be displayed at City Hall during the Schools Marketplace.

To help London schools get started, The Food Growing Schools: London partnership schools can register for the Get ready to Grow Your Own Picnic workshoptaking place on 22nd April 2015, at The Regent’s Park Allotment, NW1 4NR. School food growing workshops also take place throughout the school year, run by members of the Food Growing Schools: London partnership.
For more information about all Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 activities visit: foodgrowingschools.org/events/picnic
Press Coverage: Kitchen Garden Magazine

8 April 2015

RHS to invest over 7 million in home grown horticultural talent to support British Horticulture

Survey in 2013 found more than 70% of horticultural businesses cannot fill skilled vacancies, nearly 20% are forced to recruit overseas and almost 70% say career entrants are inadequately prepared for work.*
As part of the on-going industry-wide campaign, Horticulture Matters, to close the green skills gap, the RHS will invest £3.2 million to increase its horticultural apprentice and training positions from 46 to 76 by 2025.
The RHS also commits to invest a further £4.1 million in horticultural salaries by 2025. The pay increases will be permanent, continuing beyond 2025, to better reflect the skills and knowledge of horticulturally trained employees.

The dwindling number of people in the UK with horticultural skills represents a major challenge to the horticultural industry in trying to meet the growing demands placed on it. As part of the industry-wide ‘Horticulture Matters’ campaign to raise the profile of careers in horticulture, the RHS has committed to invest £7.3 million by 2025 into horticultural talent to help support the future of British Horticulture.
RHS Director General, Sue Biggs, says: “We’re in the fourth year of the industry’s Horticulture Matters campaign, to raise the profile of careers in horticulture and close the critical green skills gap, which threatens the future of British Horticulture.

“We have just completed a horticultural salary review to ensure we recognise the specialist skills and knowledge that professional horticulturists and horticultural scientists need to do their jobs, at the same time as making sure we’re building horticultural salaries in a sustainable way, both for ourselves and for the wider industry.

“The key issue that we, as an industry, need to resolve is that people still aren’t aware of the breadth of exciting and fulfilling career opportunities that the wonderful world of horticulture has to offer. We also need to continue getting better at going out into secondary schools and reaching wider audiences to raise the profile of careers in horticulture and to highlight career progression opportunities.”
The gardening charity has committed to increase the number of its horticultural apprentice and training positions from 46 to 76 over the next ten years to encourage and support more people to enter the horticultural industry and to provide more opportunities for them within it. This will see the charity investing a further £3.2 million into these new horticultural roles to help kick-start people’s employment in horticulture, a career to be proud of.

The RHS conducted its review** into horticultural salaries across the industry to help the charity determine how it might advance its horticultural salaries at a sustainable rate. The RHS has now committed to ensuring that all professionally qualified RHS horticulturists and horticultural scientists are paid at the upper end of the horticultural industry pay scale, and has committed to invest an additional £4.1 million by 2025 to achieve this.

In conducting this review, the RHS focused on areas where there is a skills gap and where the industry struggles to recruit trained horticulturists. Curatorial and horticultural employees, including apprentices and trainees, and horticultural scientists will be the main beneficiaries of the increase with the pay progression ranges for each role increasing by between 5% and 10%, which is in addition to the Society’s standard 2% pay increase for 2015. All pay increases will be permanent.
Sue Biggs, continues: “This pay review reflects the value we place on our professional horticulturists and will take our pay levels from the average industry rate to the upper end of the horticultural pay scale. A Level 1 horticulturist’s starting salary will now be about £19,000 and a Garden Manager will be able to earn up to £40,000.

“As part of this initiative, we have also been able to increase our starting salaries for apprentices and trainees to £14,000 and £15,456 respectively, and will be creating 30 more of these positions too. We have introduced new pay progression scales into our Science division so that our horticultural scientists can follow a career path from entry level at £18,360 up to £45,900 and beyond for senior management positions.

“We’ll now be increasing our work to promote and raise the profile of the breadth of fantastic career opportunities in this industry to teachers, business, industry, career changers and the wider public to continue our efforts to help close the skills gap.”

Alan Titchmarsh, who has supported and helped drive Horticulture Matters from the start, says: “While it’s not just the salary that attracts a person to a job, nor makes them stay, this acknowledgement of the importance of adequately rewarding horticultural skills demonstrates that the RHS is committed to playing its part in recognising the often underestimated value of horticulturists. I look forward to more initiatives coming from the RHS and the wider industry to continue the work of Horticulture Matters and raise the profile of careers that are currently undervalued for the skills they require and for the immense positive difference they make.”

For full press release with notes to editors visit: RHS

2 April 2015

Capital Growth is recruiting

Capital Growth logo

Capital Growth is recruiting a part-time Project Officer to join the team at Sustain, based in London.

We are looking for an organised and creative person to join our successful project team, developing and running an exciting programme of activities that support new and existing food growing projects in London to provide skills, jobs, health and education – and of course great food – for Londoners.

You will work alongside others in the team and with our partners including Food Growing Schools London. You need to have ideas, be able to development and implement them, know about food growing in London and be fantastic at working with other people (as well as the usual stuff which you can find in the job description).

The role is 3 days per week, with potential for more and the starting salary is £35, 160 (pro rata – which means you will earn £21,096). You also get to be part of a fantastic organisation, working towards our goal of a better food and farming system.

Interested? Find out more on the Sustain website.

Find out about Capital Growth here.

2 April 2015

Trees for Cities joins London Schools Partnership

Hitherfield Primary Edible Playground. Trees for Cities & www.perfecteventservices_web.jpg — Hitherfield Primary school planting an apple cordon in their Edible Playground with Trees for Cities. Photo: Perfect Event Services.

We are pleased to announce that Trees for Cities have joined the Food Growing Schools: London partnership, bringing with them over 10 years’ experience and technical expertise in the delivery of Edible Playgrounds.

Set up as Trees for London in 1993, Trees for Cities’ aim is to create social cohesion and beautify our cities through tree planting, community-led design, education and training initiatives in urban areas that need it most, in the UK and overseas. Trees for Cities has been working in schools to plant fruit and nut trees since 2000. In response to increasing need and demand for food-growing from schools, Trees for Cities developed Edible Playgrounds, and launched with a flagship project at Rotherfield Primary School in Islington.

“We are delighted to have been invited to join the Food Growing Schools: London project. Trees for Cities is a hands-on, delivery organisation and we hope to contribute some practical expertise through our Edible Playgrounds programme.” Kate Sheldon, Development Director. Trees for Cities

What are Edible Playgrounds?
Through the project, outdoor spaces in the grounds of inner city schools are transformed into an effective learning resource – teaching children to grow, harvest and cook healthy food. It is a multi-functional project, which addresses many core issues facing children today – obesity, food poverty, access to nature. Edible Playgrounds has immediate outcomes in changing children’s attitude towards healthy eating, gets children excited about eating fresh fruit and vegetables and encourages active outdoor learning. Over time, patterns of behaviour learned at a young age become embedded with long-term impact on health and attainment.

Edible Playgrounds has recently been awarded the Dream Fund 2015 to create 10 Flagship Edible Playgrounds over 2 years in London, Reading, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham in collaboration with School Food Matters and Chefs Adopt a School.

Edible Playgrounds in London schools
Trees for Cities plans to create 8-10 Edible Playgrounds in primary schools across London this year. They are seeking schools where the Edible Playground will have significant impact, for example with free school meal uptake of at least 30%, and those who are ambitious to be a hub for their borough by sharing their Edible Playground as a resource for training with other schools. An Edible Playground project at your school comprises of initial design and consultation, construction and planting, and capacity building support for a year after creation including teacher training and access to resources. This support will ensure that the Edible Playground is embedded into your school curriculum and that teachers have the confidence to teach through gardening all year round. Interested London schools should to be willing to raise approximately half the cost of the build, which is match funded by Trees for Cities.
Edible Playgrounds in London Schools

Find out about Edible Playgrounds in London schools near you:

Hitherfield Primary School                      Rotherfield Primary School
Featherstone High School                      Havelock Primary School
Manorfield Primary School                     St Paul’s Primary School

www.treesforcities.org/about-us/projects/edible-playgrounds

Find out about all the Food Growing Schools: London partners.

Save

FGSL News March 2015

23 March 2015

We are recruiting!

Food Growing Schools: London – Engagement Officer. London
£25,000 pro rata. Part time (tbc – 2.5 -3 days a week)
Location: Old Street, London and Home based
Holiday Entitlement: 25 days + plus bank holidays

Overall purpose: Food Growing Schools London is an exciting project which proposes to engage with all schools in the Greater London area in food growing. We will be working with local networks, educational providers, schools, volunteers and other stakeholders to provide a Pan London network of support for schools. We are looking for individuals who have a proven track record of engaging and inspiring schools, volunteers and communities to embrace food growing or similar activity.

Application Closing Date: Monday, 13 April 2015

Download job description and apply via the Garden Organic website.

16th March 2015

Richmond school wins competition special prize awarded by celebrity gardener

London businesses give an extra hand to growing schools

Businesses in London are joining forces with London schools for the Schools Big Dig 2015, a new two-week event matching corporate volunteering groups with schools who need help to set up or improve their school food growing space. This event is organised by Capital Growth as part of their wider Big Dig initiative, in partnership with Food Growing Schools London.

Taking place between 16th and 29th March 2015, businesses including Civil Service Fast Stream, Edelman, Elba, Jamie Oliver Foundation, Nasdaq and Vodafone, will be rolling up their sleeves and picking up garden forks to help schools from Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark and Waltham Forest who have signed up. It will be a day to remember with activities including everything from preparing raised beds to digging over soil, making food growing structures and more – with plenty of fun and fresh air for all.

Among the schools taking part is Archbishop Sumner Church of England Primary School in Lambeth, who will be welcoming Jamie Oliver Foundation staff to help develop their science eco garden. “We are very excited to be participating in the Schools Big Dig. The children are looking forward to planting their new fruit & vegetable crops.” said Babs Wright, School Cluster Manager, Archbishop Sumner Primary in Lambeth.

The 10-string team of Jamie Oliver Foundation staff will be ploughing their time and energy into volunteering on the day, as well as giving a donation of £100 to the school for their future gardening activities. “Getting our team out into a local school is a brilliant way for us to practice what we preach. We believe that it is essential that every child learns about food, what it is and where it comes from, and there is no better way to do that than to get kids growing food for themselves. Thank you to Archbishop Sumner for having us, and to the Schools Big Dig team for bringing communities together to make a difference to our children’s health.” said Juliane Caillouette Noble, School Programmes Manager, Jamie Oliver Food Foundation

Other London schools taking part include Grange Primary School (Southwark), Kenmont Primary School (Hammersmith and Fulham), Mulberry School for Girls (Tower Hamlets), Netley Primary School (Camden), St. Gabriel’s College (Lambeth), St. Scholastica’s Primary School (Hackney) and Willow Brook Primary School (Waltham Forest). Businesses and schools will be using the Twitter hashtag #schoolsbigdig to share their stories and photos of the day.

The Schools Big Dig aims to become an annual event, welcoming corporate volunteers every year to get to know their local community, give something back, and support local schools. This green initiative also aims to inspire healthier communities by sharing local growing skills, educate young people about where their food comes from, and develop more green spaces in our city. www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig

The Schools Big Dig will enable London schools who are not yet growing, or are in need of a helping hand in their school gardens, to join Grow Your Own Picnic activities taking place in London during the summer term, organised by Food Growing Schools: London: foodgrowingschools.org/events

Notes

About us: Food Growing Schools: London and Capital Growth

The Big Dig: Saturday 21st March 2015 – community garden national volunteer day.

The Schools Big Dig: 16th to 29th March 2015 – corporate voluntereing with schools
www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig

Schools Big Dig 2015 – 16th to 29th march 2015
The Schools Big Dig is a collaboration between Food Growing Schools: London and Capital Growth, London’s food growing network of over 2000 growing spaces, including over 700 in schools, based at charity Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming. Inspired by the national Big Dig event, a day of public volunteering on community food growing sites, initiated in London by Capital Growth in 2012. www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig

Social Media
Businesses and schools will be using the Twitter hashtag #schoolsbigdig to share their stories and photos of the day.

12 March 2015

Flagship Boroughs – Food Programme, GLA

Work has now started in the Food Flagship boroughs to implement and expand a range of projects aiming to improve the quality of food available to schools and communities; increase understanding of how diet impacts on health; develop practical cookery skills, increase food growing and foster a love of good food. Lambeth and Croydon were selected last Summer as the two Flagship boroughs after a competitive bidding process.

The Flagship boroughs came out of the national School Food Plan published in July 2013. The plan included a commitment for the Department for Education (DfE) to support the Greater London Authority to launch two Flagship Food Boroughs in London. Using the School Food Plan as a critical foundation, the Flagships will demonstrate the transformational impact on health and attainment achievable through improving food across the whole environment, using schools as a catalyst to drive this change.

Update – May 2015

The Food Flagships programme is now well underway in Lambeth and Croydon with flagship teams being set up in both boroughs to deliver projects with the vision to change the whole food environment. We will also be doing all we can to direct additional resource, expertise and enthusiasm towards the flagships to really start turning the dial. A good example of this is the connections we have made between the flagship boroughs and Food Growing School London who have recently started delivering training in Lambeth and looking to do the same in Croydon. The aim is to ensure as many schools as possible in the flagship boroughs will be food growing.

Lisa Bennett
Principal Policy Officer – Food Programme
Greater London Authority
Tel: +44 (0)20 7983 4920

Save

Enterprise Food Garden Award winners

Nightingale Primary, Hackney - case study

Save

Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg launched at Brixton Market

Universal Infant Free School Meals – update

Local food producers and community heros crowned at inaugural Urban Food Awards

Keep Universal Infant Free School Meals in schools in England

The Food for Life programme is changing

Sow it. Grow it. Sell it!

We have lift off!

Jamie Oliver, Sustain and Leon join forces to take action on sugary sweetened drinks and fund children’s food initiatives.

Mayor celebrates delivery of 100 pocket parks across London

Doing porridge: prison, school and hospital meals put to the test

Filling the holiday gap

Competitions and Offers 2015

Grow Your Own School Garden Competition 2015

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015 Photography Competition

Events 2015

Schools Marketplace, City Hall

Share your school picnic news

Three Edible Playgrounds get the grow ahead

Schools receive surprise Mayor of London visit at the School’s Marketplace, City Hall

Grow Your Own School Garden Competition – Announcing the Winners!

City Hall hosts School’s Marketplace for a second year

School Food Plan Publishes New Guidance to Support Ofsted Changes

Houston we have a problem… …but we are fixing it!

Cyrus Todiwala launches Edible Playground in Tower Hamlets

Pupils to make “informed choices about healthy eating”, says Ofsted in new inspection framework

MBE honour for school food plan restaurateurs

Trees for Cities launches new Edible Playgrounds website

Michael Palin Launches first Edible Playground in Camden

Rocket Science

Michael Palin to Launch Camden’s first Edible Playground

Schools head to market with School Food Matters

What the political parties say about school food in the run up to the General Election 2015

A good school food culture can help your Ofsted inspection

Win a visit from an organic gardening expert

Dream set to come true for Berrymede Junior School in Ealing

New London School’s Garden Competition launches for Grow Your Own Picnic 2015

RHS to invest over 7 million in home grown horticultural talent to support British Horticulture

Capital Growth is recruiting

Trees for Cities joins London Schools Partnership

We are recruiting!

Richmond school wins competition special prize awarded by celebrity gardener

London businesses give an extra hand to growing schools

Grow Your Own Picnic 2015
Photography Competition

Houston we have a problem…
…but we are fixing it!