to start the day

HEALTHY eating is on the agenda every day at Birchwood C E Primary School, Warrington, where teachers, nursery nurses and sometimes parents all pitch in during the morning break to prepare nutritious snacks for pupils.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, healthy biscuits and fruit juice are among the goodies put out for the children by 10am, getting them off to a good diet for the day. Often, ingredients have been brought in by teachers.

In addition, the school kitchen prepares healthy options at lunch time, with a typical meal being chicken, mash, choice of vegetables and fruit. And that's not all. One day a week, older children have lessons in cooking healthy meals.

"I hope we are one of the healthiest schools in Warrington", said head teacher Sean Duffy, who involves himself with the mid-morning snacks. "We are very committed. Some of the children don't eat breakfast but they will eat something at 10 o'clock. We also encourage them to drink water." Sean hopes the school's next move on the health front will be to set up a breakfast club and he is exploring this at the moment.

Birchwood's healthy eating project, underway since last September, is part of the Oakwood Community Food Project, which is developing a multi-agency approach to healthy eating in the area.