Jamie Oliver’s campaign for healthy school dinners has boosted south-east London pupils’ test results according to research carried out by ISER Research Associate Michele Bèlot.
Children from primary schools in Greenwich who took part in the Feed Me Better scheme, scored better results in their English and science national curriculum tests than youngsters in neighbouring boroughs, according to the study by Bèlot, who is based at Nuffield College, and Jonathan James from the University of Essex Economics Department. They were also much less likely to be off school due to sickness.
The celebrity chef’s campaign was launched in Greenwich in 2004 and saw schools ban junk food and cheap processed dinners which were high in fat, salt and sugar in favour of healthy school lunches. The researchers assessed the impact of the campaign by comparing pupils’ Sats scores at the end of primary school with that of their peers in neighbouring areas. The findings show that in Greenwich the proportion of children reaching level 4 – the level expected of the age group – rose by up to 4.5 percentage points in English. And in science, the proportion of children reaching level 5 – one above that expected of 11-year-olds – increased by up to six percentage points.
The researchers, who are presenting their findings at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference this week, also concluded that Oliver’s campaign led to a 15% fall in “authorised absence” – which are often linked to illness and health. Commenting on the results Jamie Oliver said:
“Even while doing the programme, we could see the benefits to children’s health and teachers. It’s just yet another piece of evidence that we need to move faster in terms of improving take-up of nutritious, tasty home-cooked school meals across the country – training and supporting more dinner ladies, getting the kitchens and dining halls up to scratch, educating kids and parents about how easy a good diet can be.”
An ISER Working Paper, Healthy School meals and educational outcomes has been produced on this research.