Evaluation of the Cooking Bus in Wales

Evaluation of the Cooking Bus in Wales

Introduction

In recent years there has been increasing concern about the diets of British school children. Research shows that many children consume large amounts of sugar, salt and saturated fats, whilst very few achieve the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables. This is particularly true of children from lower socio-economic groups. Poor diet, including low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption are an important issue in Wales, as demonstrated by the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey.

The Welsh Assembly Government has developed a number of policies and schemes designed to improve nutrition and physical activity in children and young people, and these are incorporated into Food and Fitness – Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Children and Young People in Wales - a 5 year implementation plan. Food and Fitness addresses the need to improve children’s diet, ensuring high quality school meals, and developing young people’s cooking skills. Appetite for Life, the report of the Food in Schools Working Group, and the subsequent action plan, argue that attention needs to be paid to all aspects of food in schools, and not only the standard of school meals.

Food and Fitness outlines a number of key Assembly initiatives designed to improve the quality of food provided for children at school or address broader issues of diet, nutrition and cooking skills in schools. These include the Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes, the Primary School Free Breakfast Initiative, guidance on packed lunches, and the launch of the Cooking Bus in Wales. The Cooking Bus in Wales was launched in 2006. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, the Cooking Bus is operated by Design Dimension Educational Trust as part of the Focus on Food campaign. Through visits to approximately 40 schools per year the Cooking Bus in Wales aims to teach children new cooking skills, increase their understanding of food safety and hygiene, and enhance their knowledge of key issues relating to diet and nutrition. The rigorous evaluation of this major policy initiative represents an exciting opportunity to add to a developing evidence base in public health improvement and to contribute to the development of Health Challenge Wales

Aims of Project

The evaluation will consider: the aims and objectives of the Cooking Bus; the key achievements of the Bus from the perspective of stakeholders; and the relationship between the Cooking Bus initiative and related school activities in the schools it visits. The research will consider the extent to which Cooking Bus sessions have acted as a stimulus for curricular/non-curricular reinforcement of key messages, including the use of Cookit© resources provided to schools.

These questions will be answered through the use of the following methods:
• an analysis of key documents produced by the Cooking Bus;
• interviews with Cooking Bus staff;
• detailed case studies of the Cooking Bus’ work in five schools;
• a postal survey to be sent to all schools which have been visited by the Cooking Bus in Wales; and
• an identification of the costs involved in implementing the Cooking Bus and the potential benefits emerging from its implementation across Wales.