The nutritional regulations in schools have now been agreed by Scottish Parliament, this is just a facet of the more holistic Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act  The new Act is a massive step forward that incorporates the work of Hungry for Success, Active Schools and Health Promoting Schools.  

The new nutritional regs are explained here. As always,  I’m keen to promote resources that enable school staff to teach young people about all aspects of nutrition. Chewonthis is a great resource for all to use.

I still speak to a lot of schools who are worried about the loss of revenue from tuckshops, I guess in some ways this shines a light on the fact we still have much education to do in enabling school staff to see that crisps, chocolate and fizzy blue juice / sweets = hyperative and unfocussed pupils. Really, is it that difficult to understand?? Where’s the ethics here?!

I have huge amounts of evidence to show the impacts of sugar-crashes/additives on attention span. ‘Food, Mood, Learning and Behaviour’ is one of our courses in Highland led by Dave Rex, a UK-wide respected professional in ADHD and nutrition.

My other view is that if we impose (will impose) these regulations, how soon will it be before food manufacturers cotton on and produce products that schools can sell that meet the regulations, not long I bet. Believe me the writing has been on the wall for a veerry long time. Why else did Coca-Cola buy out Tropicana?

In Highland, we’re producing guidance to support schools in purchasing tuck shop items that comply with the regulations, I’d be keen to hear what’s happening elsewhere?!

I was lucky to be invited to a meeting with LTS and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, SCDEA last week to establish a new way forward in looking at substance misuse prevention and education work in schools.

An article in The Scotsman recently highlighted it and I’d be really keen to follow this up in Highland.

Did you know that..

• Colombia is the most biodiverse country per square kilometer in the world.
• In twenty years, 2.2 million hectares of tropical forest have been cut down to grow coca.
• Contamination of the fragile eco-system due to cocaine production pollutes rivers, forests and leads to the possible extinction of wildlife, including a rare Hummingbird, discovered only 3 years ago.

Cross-curricular approaches are something we have always hoped for as health education professionals, rather than having subjects such as this ’fly-in’ helicopter fashion. A fresh way of looking at things in a cross-curricular fashion has been made a little bit easier by the outstanding partnership work between SCDEA and the Colombian Government. Take a wee minute to look at their Shared Responsibility website to understand more of the affects on their environment and population of cocaine production.

I think it could tap in to a new approach to substance misuse prevention and education. One thing to think about is the way that as a nation we think more about buying organic food, impact to fair trade, exploitation of both men and women, recycling, air miles of the food and products we consume.

So why is it that an eco-conscious person (possibly celebrity) that dabbles in cocaine cannot give any consideration to the devastation of human life and to the planet in this aspect of their lives? Surely, if we are aiming to acheive a culture shift in the way drugs are viewed then this could be a way forward?

Check out the website and let me or my colleague Louise Anusas at LTS know if you would be interested in looking at cross-curricular approach in your authority or school. It could tie in brilliantly with Curriculum for Excellence Health and Wellbeing experiences and outcomes, just a few of mine and Louise’s thoughts..It could also help to deliver:

• Expressive arts - Use drama to promote learning. Art and imagery.
• Health and Wellbeing - All aspects
• Languages - Study of words for different substances and development of street words
• Literacy and English - Debate of legalisation issues.
• Mathematics - Analyse SALSUS data
• Science - Physical health issues, compounds.
• Social Studies - Climate change, Ecological Impact of drug production and trafficking, history of wars.
• Technologies - Internet research, Google Earth, gaming technology, social networking.
• RME - Examine values related to drugs

Let me know what you think…