What is the impact of pastoral care training on school mealtimes? A case study

The report presents the findings from a funded research project looking at the impact of pastoral care training on school mealtimes, specifically the lunchtime service in one school.

Many children in the UK receive school meals (Children’s Food Trust, 2017) which have the potential to provide an important learning experience for children in terms of social skills, nutrition and language development (Blatchford & Sharp, 1994) however, it is an under-researched area.

There is limited research focused on the food choices children make and parental concerns regarding those food choices (Nelson et al., 2006; Children’s Food Trust, 2016); links between nutrition and academic performance (Anderson, Gallagher & Ramirez Ritchie, 2017) and the dining environment provided for children (Pike, 2010).

Dr Karen McInnes, Norland University of Early Childhood