Getting an award
Getting an award has helped schools across England take a stepped approach to transforming their food culture.
Applying for an award
You can apply for a Food for Life Partnership award online. Just login to your school's webpage and follow the instructions. Alternatively download the application for and guidance and post it to us.
If you need help filling out the form you can give our awards coordinator a call on 0117 3145180 for advice or email awards@foodforlife.org.uk
Why should I go for an award?
Getting your Bronze award is the first step to food culture transformation, and it has many more benefits than you may first think. Our schools have told us how working towards their Bronze award has improved school meal take up, attendance, increased confidence of staff and ofsted outcomes just to name a few.
Progressing to Silver and Gold further embeds the benefits of the Bronze award with the addition of an invite to an award ceremony.
What are the benefits of getting your Bronze award?
Schools have told us that the Food for Life Partnership Bronze award has helped them:
- Gain an award and recognition for their work
- Use an action framework to achieve Healthy Schools enhancement model
- Improve skills of staff and pupils
- Address the Every Child Matters agenda and Community Cohesion
- Encourage a creative curriculum (outdoor classroom)
- Develop a whole school approach to health and sustainability
- Improve the school meal dining experience
- Increase school meal take up on average 20%
- Integrate catering staff with the school
- Improve attendance of pupils and staff
- Create a better relationship with caterer or suppliers to the school
- Improve attainment
- Improve behaviour and concentration
- Support the delivery of the self improvement plan
- Improve their Ofsted grade
- Integrate with the local community and improve relationships with local businesses
What the schools say
Coleridge Primary School, Yorkshire and Humber, Bronze application form
"The Food for Life Partnership has improved our school meal quality and we have seen an increase in meal take up. Due to the meal being nutritionally balanced, school meals are helping to reduce the LA obesity levels along with achieving our healthy school obesity objective.
Our after school 'little chefs' club has raised the cooking skills of staff, parents and children. This has raised children’s engagement and enjoyment of the curriculum which is helping raise attendance, providing opportunities for our very diverse community to work together and raise family engagement in the curriculum and ultimately this then impacts on the attainment standards along with raising aspirations of children and families."
St Oswald’s Infant and Nursery School, North East, Bronze application form
"[The Food for Life Parternship has] Definitely, [helped support delivery of SIP, ECM, extended services and health and wellbeing].
Ofsted have praised the outstanding knowledge that children have about healthy lifestyles and the excellent outdoor curriculum. The Food for Life Partnership work has strengthened these links through further focused curricular links."
Ashgate Croft School, East Midlands, Bronze application form
January 2010 ofsted: 'Pupils behave outstandingly well, and have an excellent understanding of what a healthy lifestyle involved. Almost all try hard to eat sensibly and have plenty of exercise.'
A major impact of the Bronze award has been the confidence and creativity of our staff to plan and deliver aspects of the Food for Life Partnership. The project echoes our school motto of ‘Building skills for life’ to which we are very committed.
It is clear that the work we are undertaking as part of the Food for Life Partnership Bronze award has impacted on the Every Child Matters outcomes and sustained our belief and effectiveness in delivering education regarding ‘Healthy Lifestyles’. It has encouraged us to look at further developing extended school activities in relation to gardening and cooking, which ultimately will have an impact on the health and well being of our pupils."
St Just Primary School, Southwest, Bronze application form
Ofsted – "Pupils say they enjoy school a lot, especially all the extra activities provided for them… They have a strong sense of how to stay healthy and keep fit’. Work towards our Food for Life Partnership Bronze application has certainly been a key factor in this."
Sounds great, how do I start?
First of all enrol with the Food for Life Partnership.
If you are already enrolled, go to your own school page. If you have forgotten your password, please contact us.
Under the 'progress against the mark' tab in your schools page, you can tick against the Bronze, Silver and Gold criteria. Once you have met all the criteria you can apply online or download an application form.
If you need help filling out the form, you can give our awards coordinator a call on 0117 3145180 for advice or email awards@foodforlife.org.uk
What happens next?
Our awards coordinator will be in touch within a week
Good Luck!