19 August 2026
In January 2025, St Winefride’s CV Academy made big steps towards transforming the food environment in their school. By beginning their Food for Life (FFL) journey and establishing an onsite Forest School, staff set out to create a nurturing environment where children could connect with nature, develop a deeper understanding of the natural world, and understand where their food comes from.
To help them along their journey, our Food for Life Local Programme Officer worked closely with the team, equipping them with the skills, confidence and knowledge to grow their own edible crops. They also explored creative ways to incorporate cooking activities into seasonal celebrations and across the wider curriculum, helping children make meaningful connections between food and the world around them. One teacher used these newfound skills help the children to understand and celebrate the connection between food and culture, making Challah bread as part of their topic on Judaism.
In addition to the one-to-one support provided by Local Programme Officers, St Winfride’s have used the FFL Award framework to support and improve their food education within their school. Food for Life Lead Catherine Monk Has said:
“The Food for Life award framework has helped the us to identify gaps where we can support healthy eating through growing and cooking.”
As part of their transformation journey, the school recognised that pupils in Year 5 and 6 had fewer opportunities to take part in hands-on growing activities than children in the younger year groups. After identifying this gap, the FFL team supported staff to deliver tailored growing workshops for Key Stage 2 pupils, helping to build their growing skills and providing teachers with the confidence to embed growing activities into curriculum working.
Katie Worth, Local Programme Officer for Food for Life reflects on the school’s journey:
“The children have absolutely loved getting involved with growing and cooking activities! It is brilliant to see the children developing their skills, trying new foods and connecting with nature. It has also been fantastic to see how far the staff have come in taking ownership of food education, building the confidence and skills needed to embed a positive food culture across the school."
Looking ahead, the Forest School Lead is committed to building on this momentum, using their growing knowledge to identify even more opportunities to weave food-related learning into the curriculum. By continuing to make connections between food, nature and learning, they hope to inspire children to develop healthy habits and a lifelong appreciation for where food comes from.