Fruit in Schools

Case studies

A strong hauora focus at Manaia View School

• Introducing Manaia View Primary School
• The fit between existing school practices and FIS
• Specific initiatives in the four health areas
• Student perspectives
• Connecting with parents and whānau
• Challenges
• Sustainability and where to next

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Introducing Manaia View Primary School

Manaia View School is a decile 1 full primary school located in an urban area in Whangarei. It is a relatively new school, having opened in 2002 as the merger of Raumanga Primary and Middle Schools. Manaia View School serves a transient but supportive community. The school has a roll of approximately 330 children. The roll has grown significantly from the approximately 150 children at its inception, and this trend is expected to continue. New classrooms are being built as a result. About 80 percent of children are Māori, 15 percent are NZ European, and the rest are from a range of cultures including Pasifika and others. The school has mainstream and Māori immersion classes.

The school’s two strategic goals are:

• to raise the achievement of all students by focusing on literacy and numeracy and by ensuring quality teaching and learning
• to develop respect for all cultures and in doing so acknowledge the unique position of Māori as Tangata te Whenua.

Manaia View School is a Phase 2 FIS school which has had a major focus on hauora/health and wellbeing since opening in 2002. The National Heart Foundation’s School Food Programme was the catalyst for this focus. The school follows a “scaffolded” approach, which incorporates a broad range of hauora initiatives and continues to add new elements each year. FIS is one of the more recent initiatives the school has embraced, and as such it complements the school’s many other activities in related areas.

The fit between existing school practices and FIS

Staff at Manaia View School are very enthusiastic about FIS and the positive impacts it has already had for children and staff and (to a lesser extent) the community. Different aspects of the school culture and learning environment are supporting FIS goals to be incorporated into the daily life of the school. These are described below.

Leadership and modelling of healthy behaviours

The principal, board of trustees (BoT), and management team provide strong leadership across all aspects of the school’s operations and in its relationships with the community. This is recognised as a key success factor for the effective integration of Health Promoting Schools (HPS) and FIS into the culture and practices of the school.
FIS, and the broader hauora culture of the school in which it sits, are strongly supported by all staff and trustees of the school. Operationally, the hauora focus and FIS are championed and co-ordinated by a senior teacher, referred to affectionately by the staff as “the health police”, together with the principal. However, the overall hauora culture and the many specific initiatives within this area are well integrated into the fabric of the school, and all teaching staff “walk the talk” in terms of modelling healthy behaviour. For example, there has been a strong trend towards staff bringing healthy food for their own lunches and for staffroom morning teas/celebrations. The BoT provided pedometers for all staff, and the focus on healthy eating and exercise at school has prompted seven staff to join weight watchers. Food offered at school events is increasingly moving away from the traditional sausage sizzle/cake stall to healthier options such as baked potatoes and soup.

Student wellbeing

The school has a strong focus on student wellbeing and is involved in the Student Well-Being professional development programme provided by Team Solutions (Auckland University School Support Services). FIS is seen as a good fit with this programme, not only because of the healthy lifestyle focus but also because it provides opportunities for children to develop leadership and social skills. They do this through the preparation and distribution of fruit, for example, and/or by participating in a communal activity such as at fruit eating time.

FIS is well integrated within the many other facets of school life. For example, older students at the school are encouraged to develop leadership skills through a variety of programmes, as well as acting as FIS monitors, librarians, road crossing monitors, etc. Manaia View School has an active student council, which meets regularly with senior management to identify students’ needs and develop strategies to address them. A role-modelling programme is also in place.
Other holistic programmes aimed at student wellbeing include peer mediation, empowering the individual, health expos, daily teeth brushing, and regular visits by the public health nurse (PHN) and by resource teachers of learning and behaviour (RTLB).

Environmental education

As a result of being part of FIS, the school is becoming more conscious of the environment. Students are actively involved in collecting and composting of fruit scraps. A vegetable garden is planned. This will provide opportunities for students to assist in preparing the garden bed, planting seeds, and tending the garden—contributing to the sustainability of FIS (and the use of a wider variety of healthy foods including vegetables) as well as broader learning opportunities.

Using ICT to share healthy messages

Manaia View School is starting to develop ways to use ICT to empower students and staff and share healthy messages. In 2007, the school will be home to a new regional children’s TV channel, Northland Television. A broadcasting licence has been obtained, a board has been established (chaired by the principal) and a studio is established on the school grounds, making use of facilities and equipment developed by the previous principal. Among other areas, the TV channel will provide opportunities to promote healthy messages, and all schools in the region will be able to contribute material.

Specific initiatives in the four health areas

HPS has become the umbrella for a broad range of hauora-centred activities and values that have been integrated into the school’s kaupapa. FIS strengthens and supports the school’s existing activities in the four health priority areas.

Upon commencing FIS, the school reviewed its existing activities in each of the four areas, using a process introduced by the local FISC which, among other things, is designed to identify priority areas for additional focus and interlinkages with the curriculum and core school business. While many activities were already underway in the areas of healthy eating, physical activity, and smokefree, the sunsmart area has been identified as an area of additional focus for 2007.

Moreover, through the relationship with the FISC, links have been forged with work in other health areas and with the relevant support networks. For example, in the area of sexuality education, a district health board (DHB) health promoter has run workshops with teachers.

Despite the many initiatives and activities already in place (particularly in the areas of healthy eating and exercise), FIS has brought additional benefits, both through the direct benefits of fruit provision and the reinforcing of key health messages. Anecdotal evidence from teachers, parents, and children highlights increased awareness and knowledge of healthy eating options, less packaged food and less litter at school, improved concentration/behaviour in class, and children taking healthy eating messages home to parents. For example, one teacher commented:

staff are confident that kids are getting what they need and that any lack of concentration is not nutrition-related.

Specific initiatives in the four health areas are highlighted below.

Healthy eating

Manaia View School has been participating in the National Heart Foundation’s (NHF) School Food Programme for the last three to four years. This programme has been the catalyst for the school’s ongoing and ever-broadening hauora focus. The school was the first school north of Auckland, and the second primary school in New Zealand, to achieve a Gold Heartbeat Award through the School Food Programme.

In addition, Manaia View School has a water-only drinks policy which is actively reinforced through communications with parents (e.g., newsletter, direct communication with parents of new enrollees, or where the policy is not being followed). At school galas, bottled water is offered in place of juices or soft drinks.

The school strongly discourages parents from bringing takeaway food into school for children’s lunches. It also emphasises healthy food choices at fundraisers and galas. If less healthy options such as cake are offered, the point is made that this is a treat: “the community knows what the stance is”. The community has been supportive on the whole.

Students are actively involved in the delivery of FIS including the distribution of fruit. Students are involved in devising recipes and different ways to use the fruit. The school has a dehydrator and plans to invest in a juicer, providing further opportunities for action learning.

For bought lunches ordered through the school, only healthy options are available. The school runs a breakfast club which provides a healthy breakfast for children who did not have breakfast at home. In addition, surplus fruit goes into fruit bowls in each classroom and children are encouraged to help themselves during the day.

As a result of FIS, the school has designed curriculum activities around the “5+ A Day” message. Additionally, the lead FIS teacher conducts daily inspections of lunchboxes, and children with healthy lunchboxes go into a draw which is held at each Friday assembly, with the winner taking home a bucket of fruit for their family. This has proven to be a strong motivator for children.

Physical activity

Manaia View School participates in Active Schools with Sport Northland and Team Solutions. FIS is seen as supporting and strengthening the school’s work in this area. In addition, a range of options is provided for physical activity. These include kapa haka, involvement in all Whangarei Primary School Sports Association (WPSSA) sports events, a range of sports teams, and the provision of an adventure playground for juniors and a challenging obstacle course for seniors.

Sunsmart

Sunsmart has been identified as a key area of focus for 2007. The school is currently working toward Sunsmart Accreditation and is applying for funding for additional sunshades. In addition, Mainfreight has sponsored the provision of sunhats for children for several years.

Smokefree

In accordance with smokefree legislation, Manaia View School is smokefree 24/7. Guest speakers have been brought in from the Life Education Trust and from the DARE programme run by New Zealand Police to speak with groups of children about being smokefree and drug free. The school is also working with the DHB’s Smokefree Schools Co-ordinator to develop further strategies for the prevention of uptake.

Student perspectives

During our visit to Manaia View School we talked to four students from Years 7 and 8, one of whom was a member of the student council. These children demonstrated a sound understanding of what constitutes healthy behaviour in each of the four health priority areas, the rationale for focusing on these areas, and the consequences of not adopting healthy habits in each of them. Although they said that they sometimes received conflicting messages at school and at home, or that healthy behaviour was not modelled at home (for example, “mum and dad tell me not to smoke, but they smoke”), this did not seem to compromise their understanding of what constitutes healthy and unhealthy behaviour.

The students were quick to identify key factors that had motivated them to make behaviour changes. These included the free fruit, the lunchbox prize draw, various learning opportunities (for example, a classroom book with worksheets about healthy eating and physical activity opportunities offered through the school), and school policies (such as the water-only policy). In contrast, they were more dismissive of learning about the key health messages:

I already knew about smoking and lung cancer, about skin cancer from the sun, and about how fruit keeps your body healthy.

In spite of such comments it was evident from the students’ responses that the overall health promotion programme, progressively woven into the school’s fabric over the past four years, has had a real impact on the amount of thought the students give to living a healthy lifestyle. For example, in the healthy eating area, the students reported that they were eating more fruit and less junk food at school and at home, “not craving for lollies”, and were more open to trying new types of fruit. One student noted a positive health and wellbeing outcome from this behaviour change: “I am not as dismal—I can be bothered working, I have more energy.”

In the physical activity area, the children said they were now leading more active lifestyles. They had learnt about different physical activities including dance, sports, and games (e.g., one student had tried out an eight-hour fitness class and another had learnt hockey and volleyball skills) and this had led to new ideas including inventing new games.

With regard to sun protection, the students said that they were now more careful to wear hats and sunscreen and to seek shade during the “hottest” period of the day. They were also conscious of the welfare of others, e.g: “I put a hat and sunscreen on my little cousin”.

In relation to the smokefree health area, these children said that they would not take up smoking (although some had experimented with it) because they knew the health consequences. They also knew that there would be consequences if they were caught smoking at school and did not want to let the school down because “they trust us”.
The children reflected on the ways parents and family helped the school to support healthy activities and messages. They mentioned a range of opportunities for making connections such as support at sports events, assisting with sorting the fruit, and assisting with the breakfast club. They also mentioned ways their parents supported the healthy living messages the school was promoting. These included the provision of healthy food at home, ensuring children wore a hat and sunscreen outside, and training children to keep fit.

Connecting with parents and whānau

Manaia View School has several mechanisms for connecting with the parent community to work on FIS goals. A key mechanism is consultation, including a regular (several times a year) survey. The BoT and principal are sensitive to the needs of the community and the need to ensure proposed policies and initiatives are acceptable and financially manageable to families/whānau. They have also been highly successful in convincing the community of the merits of policies such as water-only drinks which met with some initial resistance.

The school newsletter is another key mechanism for connecting with parents/whānau and reinforcing FIS messages. For example, the newsletter might provide healthy recipes, remind parents of the school’s water-only policy, or provide nutritional information about different lunch and snack options.
Opportunities are provided for parents to participate directly in school activities such as fundraisers/galas (for example, parents making/serving healthy food), sports days, and assisting with the breakfast club. One parent commented that the community is very supportive of the school’s hauora focus and policies but that only a few parents are actively involved, and these tend to be parents with other roles at the school, such as BoT members and support staff.

Challenges

Often, the new initiatives the school wants to put in place meet with some resistance to change. There is often a need to sell new ideas or to stand firm and push through the initial resistance, which the school has successfully done on many occasions. This has been the case with the school’s smokefree policy, water-only policy, and healthy food culture.

For example, prior to bringing in the water-only policy, the school surveyed its children, parents, and teachers. There was a lot of support from staff, but some hesitation from a few parents (e.g., some who argued their children would not drink water or that fruit juice was healthy). Some of the older children were “outraged”. However, once the policy was implemented it rapidly became a habit and is now well supported by the community. Occasionally, “new” parents complain about the policy but it is made clear that “that’s what we do here.”

Strong leadership (from the BoT, principal, and lead teacher) was seen as the most important success factor for instilling the desired culture change: “You need somebody with enough clout to push the boundaries”. This was seen as sufficiently important that it would “become part of the job description and interview process” for future appointments to the relevant leadership positions. “It is not always easy. We have to put up with a lot of resistance… [you need to] be sure in your mind that you’re doing the right thing”.

Sustainability and where to next

School stakeholders had a strong desire to ensure that the hauora focus and culture are sustained, both within the school and with the children as they move on to high school and into adulthood. The school leaders were very confident that school initiatives in the four health priority areas are sustainable, but that the fruit provision “probably is not”—especially in decile 1 schools. School staff hoped that the FIS fruit would create a sustainable desire for fruit among those children who had access to the free fruit for the three-year period, and a greater openness to trying new healthy foods.

With regard to embedding healthy habits, one stakeholder commented that it would take at least three years for the desired behaviours to become habits:
but a lot of the values and habits are already here—we just need someone to keep carrying the banner—it’s part of us…

With regard to sustainability of fruit provision, the school is planning a vegetable garden and the planting of fruit trees has been mooted. Sponsorship options will be considered in the future, but it is felt that few businesses in the region could afford the cost of providing free fruit to all students on a daily basis:

Mainfreight has been great—provided hats and used to provide fruit a few times each term—but I don’t know how we can possibly sustain daily fruit provision [without extra funding].