Pupils confined to school at lunchtime in junk food ban

Published on Tuesday 18 August 2009 22:03

HUNDREDS of secondary pupils across Glasgow are being kept in school at lunchtime in a bid to promote healthy eating.

A pilot scheme has been launched by the city council this week that will see almost 1,000 first-year pupils at eight secondary schools bringing their own packed lunches, buying food from the school canteen or returning home.

If the scheme is deemed a success when it ends in 2010, it could be rolled out to more schools across the city and involve other year groups.

St Paul's High, Castlemilk High, Govan High, Whitehill Secondary, St Mungo's Academy, All Saints Secondary, Lochend Community High and St Thomas Aquinas Secondary are all involved in the trial.

The launch of the project is the culmination of more than two years' research and preparation. The scheme, first mooted in December 2008, is part of a wider attempt to instil healthy eating habits in pupils and tackle the issue of obesity.

The nutritional standard of school dinners has improved in Glasgow primary schools, where children cannot leave the premises during lunch, and the take-up of the new menus has been widespread.

Research showed at the time that almost half of secondary pupils leave school grounds at lunchtime – many to buy food from fast-food outlets and vans. The schools involved volunteered for the scheme, and parents were approached in consultation programmes during June, when they were allowed to try the healthy food on offer in school canteens.

While pupils will not be locked in during lunch, participation in the pilot is being sought through getting them to think about healthy lifestyles. The council has already banned food vans from parking close to schools.

Parents who wished their children to come home at lunchtime can send a letter to a school, though if a child who was allowed out in this way was then seen frequenting food outlets, their parents would be contacted.

But Judith Gillespie, head of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, believes that the council is taking the wrong approach: "I really get depressed at authorities thinking that they can control what is ultimately personal behaviour. People will make mistakes, it's their right to make mistakes to a certain extent. All that happens is that if you put them (children] in a straitjacket now, when you finally take it off, they will go wild. You might get short-term gains, but that's not what you're after."

But Fiona Crawford of the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, which has helped to direct the research and programme, believes it is necessary: "From a public health point of view, it's not an option just to sit and do nothing on this issue, given the obesity trends in adults in comparison with other countries. I think we have to try different things."

A council spokeswoman said that the scheme would take a month to "bed in" before they could arrive at any sensible conclusions.