Wednesday, January 05, 2022

9 nursery and 10 primary schools from across Birmingham have been presented with a Health for Life award at a celebration event held at the iconic Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

The ceremony saw Lisa Fraser, assistant director of education and early years at Birmingham City Council, present the awards, celebrating the achievements of pupils and staff, to schools which have participated in the Health for Life programme over the past two years.

Funded by Mondelēz International and delivered in partnership with Services For Education, with the support of The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), the Health for Life initiative aims to achieve a sustained difference in healthy lifestyles across Birmingham, encouraging activities, in nursery and primary schools, such as growing fruit and vegetables, learning about healthy eating, improving cooking skills and taking part in a range of physical activities.

Mondelēz International has invested over £4.5m in the initiative to date, reaching more than 225,000 children and adults in Birmingham over the past 10 years. Health for Life have also recently recruited the next cohort of schools for the programme.

Lisa Fraser, assistant director of education and early years at Birmingham City Council, commented: “Well done to all the schools that have taken part in the programme, especially over the past two years in such a difficult climate. It’s so important that children are educated on the importance of being active and eating healthily now more than ever, so it’s fantastic to see the achievements from schools, thanks to the Health for Life scheme.”

Helen Grundy, education adviser at Services For Education, said: “We’re incredibly proud of all the pupils who have taken part in the programme. It’s wonderful to see the positive difference the scheme continues to make at schools across Birmingham, and it’s brilliant to celebrate their achievements at this inspiring event.”

The programme provides support, training and funding to enable schools to make wide ranging and sustainable changes such as building raised beds and polytunnels, planting fruit trees and bushes to grow fresh vegetables and fruit, redesigning playground areas in order for more children to be active during break times and running family learning workshops to share healthy lifestyle messages with parents and carers.

Kelly Farrell, community affairs manager at Mondelēz International, added: “This celebration event recognises all the hard work, from the pupils and staff, in bringing about the brilliant changes which make such a difference and embed healthier lifestyle activities in school life. We’re extremely proud of our Health for Life programme and the latest cohort of schools for all their achievements - particularly throughout the challenges of the last two years.“

For more information on the Health for Life programme, please visit www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/health-for-life/.