- What does your job entail?
I support schools, families and pupils with healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, and help them to develop knowledge around what is healthy so they can make informed choices. Families are encouraged to taste food and be experimental in preparing it. We link healthy eating with physical activity to emphasise that being healthy is about being active and eating a balanced diet. I also support schools in achieving National Healthy Schools Status, and implementing the School Food Trust's nutritional guidelines, which feed into the National Obesity Strategy.
- How did you get into this job?
I was a teacher for six years and became interested in the change in pupils' behaviour and ability to concentrate depending on what they ate at lunchtime. It is great to visit so many Hertfordshire schools that are running enjoyable practical sessions, and hopefully the pupils will take some of the messages they receive there into adulthood, and lead healthy lives.
- How do you make a difference?
We run family sessions so parents or carers work alongside their children. They learn together in a fun, relaxed and friendly atmosphere where they can ask questions and not be judged. Parents often report back that their children have tried foods that they wouldn't normally have tasted at home.
- What are the challenges?
It is not always easy to engage the families that need our help the most. This is where good links with extended schools' co-ordinators and children's centres come in. They know the families well, and have already built up relationships, so are best placed to help us to access those families.
- What is the best part of your job?
Watching a reluctant child or family find that they do like the taste of something they have never tried before. Or working with pupils who struggle with the more formal element of learning, and seeing them discover a passion and ability for cooking that had not been revealed before.
