Almost half a million (459,609) parents and teachers downloaded nearly 1.4 million free resources and recipes from Food - a fact of life, the British Nutrition Foundation’s (BNF) education programme for schools*, during 2020.
Last March, Food - a fact of life reacted swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic and launched a new remote learning hub to support families and teachers with a range of free resources and activities designed for primary and secondary school pupils studying at home. The remote learning hub released new waves of content throughout the year, and there are now over 550 resources, activities and ideas available for parents and teachers to use during the current school closure.
The remote learning resources 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 the vehicle to provide engaging learning through numeracy, literacy, humanities, science, D&T, religious education, art, and health and wellbeing. Many activities are suitable for independent learning and do not require the use of a computer or the Internet.
Roy Ballam, Managing Director and Head of Education, BNF, comments: “We are overwhelmed by the response to our Food – a fact of life resources throughout 2020. It demonstrates that, despite everything going on in the world, parents, teachers and young people are still finding time for education on food and healthy eating.
“The Food – a fact of life website provides a huge range of teaching materials to help teachers across the country embed food education into their classes, as well as over 300 recipes to encourage children and young people to get cooking. When the world turned upside down last year, and pupils found themselves learning from home, we expanded our catalogue with a host of easy-to-access resources to ensure education about food and healthy eating could continue. As we enter another extended period of pupils across the UK learning from home, we hope even more families can benefit from the resources.”
As well as providing a range of activities and educational resources for remote learning, the BNF has shared guidance for how parents and carers can direct learning at home, and support for teachers around setting work and planning lessons and their own professional development.
Mrs Goodwin, Burnside College, Wallsend, North Tyneside, a teacher who used the remote learning resources during the first lockdown, comments: “I would just like to pass on my thanks to the team who has created the resources for home learning during this difficult time. I am a secondary school teacher and I used many of the 'WAVE' tasks and activities to encourage participation in learning about food and beyond. The resources have not only supported planning but work life balance and 'wellbeing'. Once again - many thanks and I will continue to use your resources and have already spread the word to my colleagues.”
To access the BNF’s remote learning resources, please visit: https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/remote-learning/
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*BNF is currently working in partnership with the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) ensuring that teachers, students and parents/carers have access to resources and training.
For further information or to request interviews please contact pressoffice@nutrition.org.uk, 07818040144
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About the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF)
Translating evidence-based nutrition science in engaging and actionable ways
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), a registered charity, delivers impartial, authoritative and evidence-based information on food and nutrition. Its core purpose is translating evidence-based nutrition science in engaging and actionable ways, working with an extensive network of contacts across academia, health care, education, communication and the food chain. A core strength of the Foundation is its governance structure (described in the Articles of Association), which comprises a Board of Trustees, Advisory Committee, Scientific Committee, Editorial Advisory Board, Education Working Groups and a Nominations Committee, on which serve senior/experienced individuals from many walks of life. The composition is deliberately weighted towards the scientific ‘academic’ community, based in universities and research institutes, and those from education, finance, media, communications and HR backgrounds.
BNF’s funding comes from: membership subscriptions; donations and project grants from food producers and manufacturers, retailers and food service companies; contracts with government departments; conferences, publications and training; overseas projects; funding from grant providing bodies, trusts and other charities. BNF is not a lobbying organisation nor does it endorse any products or engage in food advertising campaigns. More details about BNF’s work, funding and governance can be found at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/our-work/who-we-are/
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