BNF launches new wave of food-focussed remote learning activities

BNF launches new wave of food-focussed remote learning activities to reinforce the importance of food and health education 

To kick-start the summer term, the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has released the third wave of resources in its Food – a fact of life (FFL) Classroom, and has highlighted the importance of teaching about food and healthy eating within the school day, especially while the country remains in lockdown.

Launched to support pupils, parents, carers and educators now learning and teaching at home, the FFL Classroom hosts a wide range of free and easy-to-access resources which focus on key food themes within curriculum areas, such as where food comes from, cooking, and healthy eating. The resources also offer a range of opportunities for cross-curricular learning, and use food as a vehicle to provide engaging learning via subjects such as: numeracy, literacy, humanities, science, PHSE/health and wellbeing, D&T, religious education, and art. 

Roy Ballam, Managing Director and Head of Education, BNF, comments: “Over the past few weeks it has been fantastic to see the emergence of a range of educational resources and support for teachers, students and parents, which has now culminated in the wider government initiative, the Oak National Academy.”

The latest wave of BNF resources, which brings the total number of activities in the FFL Classroom up to 160, includes 45 different activities, which are categorised by complexity and time to complete. Most of these are supported by FFL resources including worksheets, videos, food cards or interactive tools. Some examples of the activities include:

• Counting different foods in the kitchen to practice numeracy
• Learning about the science of natural food colourings
• Doing a matching activity, matching foods with the vitamins and minerals they provide
• Setting up activity stations where you skip, hula and jump
• Cooking skills to practice including stir frying, mixing and rolling-out.

The bank of resources covers seven learning approaches: everyday learning; finding out and exploring; being active; worksheets; interactive activities and quizzes; being creative (through writing, arts and crafts); and cooking. The FFL Classroom also provides tips and best practice advice for parents and carers.  

Ballam continues: “While everyone is teaching and learning at home, the importance of teaching about food and healthy eating as part of the school day is even more pressing. All year round the Food – a fact of life website provides limitless resources to help teachers across the country embed food education into their classes and, while the nation is under lockdown, we’ve adapted some of these resources so they’re easy to apply to home learning. While food and healthy eating should be a key part of a child’s education, it’s also important to remember that food should be fun! As such, we’ve developed a number of easy-to-follow activities that can be enjoyed as part of the school day as well as in the holidays.”

Each resource has been designed so that pupils can use them on their own and without parental/carer or teacher supervision (where appropriate) while also being accompanied by guidance for parents and carers. 

New resources and activities will continue to be released every two-three weeks until 1 September, saving teachers time preparing for their remote lessons and giving parents/carers a range of different ideas to keep their children and young people motivated and engaged with their learning. 

More information about the FFL Classroom can be found here: https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/whole-school/remote-learning/  

ENDS

For further information or interviews please contact pressoffice@nutrition.org.uk, 07818040144. 

About the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF)

Translating evidence-based nutrition science in engaging and actionable ways

BNF was established 50 years ago and exists to deliver authoritative evidence-based information on food and nutrition in the context of health and lifestyle. The Foundation’s work is conducted and communicated through a unique blend of nutrition science, education, and media activities. BNF’s strong governance is broad-based but weighted towards the academic community. BNF is a registered charity that attracts funding from a variety of sources, including contracts with the European Commission, natural government departments and agencies; food producers and manufacturers, retailers and food service companies; grant providing bodies, trusts and other charities. Further details about our work, governance and funding can be found on our website (www.nutrition.org.uk) and in our Annual Reports.’’