School Snacks
Most children require a snack at morning break to keep them going through the day.
We encourage children to bring in healthy snacks full of vitamins and minerals containing no added salt, fat or sugar. Many of these will help contribute to their 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables, keep them alert and help them concentrate. It can be hard during the week to think of suitable items for them to bring in to school, but we are aiming, with the help of the children, to not only support them in making healthy choices regarding snacks, but to also reduce food packaging and waste.
Providing snacks in a small, named, recyclable container is ideal. Children in EYFS and KS1 have a daily snack of fruit or veg provided for free by the government, so additional snacks for these ages may not be required.
If you are intending to send in healthy snacks with your child please limit them to the list below.
- Vegetable sticks – such as celery, cucumber, peppers or carrot, a range of colour ensures different vitamins and minerals.
- A piece of cheddar cheese or babybel
- A piece of fresh or dried fruit, high in soluble fibre and vitamins would also be a great snack– pineapple, mango, kiwi, plain raisins, apricots, blueberries, banana slices.
- Bread sticks, plain pretzels, banana bread, malt loaf, oat/rice cakes and small pitta breads are also good snacks, providing children with carbohydrate to sustain them in-between meals.
- Homemade snack - flapjacks or other oat/whole grain based snack. These must be nut free. Items brought into school should be carefully checked by you, to ensure this. Firbeck has pupils who are severely allergic to a range of nuts.
We are aiming for a common-sense approach, with the key being to keep it healthy and no chocolate, sweets or crisps.
Packed Lunches
Children who do not wish to have a school meal may bring a packed lunch. Please include food you know your child enjoys and check that you send an appropriate quantity as children can often bring far more than they can manage. We try to send lunch boxes home with all the cartons, wrappings and peel etc to help parents monitor how much their child is eating.
We recommend that packed lunches mirror the national school food standards to provide a balanced midday meal that should include:
- a (fist sized) carbohydrate portion for energy (such as a roll, bagel or pitta bread, a wrap or a potato, pasta, rice, rice cake, couscous or noodle salad). These starchy foods are important for children. They are filling and provide energy.
- protein (a palm sized portion of, for example meat, chicken, tinned fish, beans, hummus, egg or cheese). Growing children need the protein, iron and vitamins these foods provide.
- a dairy portion (eg size of two fingers of cheese, a cup of milk, fromage frais or yoghurt). The calcium and protein in this food group are needed for building strong bones and teeth.
- vegetables and fruit (like salad, carrots, celery, tomatoes or cucumber and all kinds of fresh or dried fruit). These foods provide fibre and vitamins which help to keep your child healthy.
- You could also give your child one of the following: Extras - fruit bread/ malt loaf/ banana cake/ plain fruit/ cheese scone etc
Please find below some useful articles around healthy snacks and packed lunches:
NHS Guidance: Better Health, Healthier Families
BBC Lunch and Snack Ideas: BBC Food
Firbeck Academy