“Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with…” (Surah Baqarah 2:172)
“Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with…” (Surah Baqarah 2:172)
Our body is an amanah (a trust), due to this, at Unique Academy, we are dedicated to establishing a school environment that promotes healthy eating and enables pupils to make informed food choices. Healthy eating promotes excellent physical health and mental wellbeing, and we hope to achieve this by a whole school approach to food provision and food education with the support of our parent community.
Breakfast
Breakfast is an important meal that should provide 25% of a child’s energy requirement and supports pupils to be ready to learn at the start of each day. We encourage parents to ensure that their child has been provided with a healthy breakfast each day before they come to school.
Packed Lunches
At Unique Academy, pupils must bring a healthy packed lunch to school each day. We use the guidance from the Children’s Food Trust which aims to support pupils to have a balanced lunch and best prepare them for learning in the afternoon. The guidance advises that packed lunches should aim to include:
Packed lunches should not include:
Snacks
At Unique Academy, we understand that healthy snacks can be an important part of the diet of child, therefore, pupils are able to bring fruits to school to eat at break-times.
Drinks
At Unique Academy, we will take part in the free milk entitlement for pupil’s programme, as we believe that milk is an important part of a balanced diet (See the ‘Cool Milk’ section of the Parents page). Milk is crucial for supporting healthy bone development which is particularly important for young children. Milk is also encouraged in the Sunnah. Pupils must also bring bottled water every day to drink during the day (as necessary) and at lunchtime.
Water
Maintaining hydration is an important part of healthy lifestyles, and parents will asked to pack a bottled water in their child’s bags each day. Although children should bring in their own water bottles each day, the school has a water dispenser so that bottles can be refilled.
Children can keep water bottles at school, however, they must be returned home at least by the end of the week, in order to be washed and cleaned before the following week.
School trips
Children must bring their own packed lunches on trips, however, these lunches must adhere to the same food and drink guidance described above.
Celebrations
For celebratory events, such as Eid Ul Fitr and Eid Ul Adha, we welcome a variety of foods, from different cultures, for children to try. The school will provide parents/guardians with suggestion lists of celebration food to ensure that we have a wide variety of food choices available.
Fundraising events may include the sale of treat food such as cakes, but the inclusion of other foods will also be encouraged.