Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

Better food education must move higher up the political agenda enabling people to make informed choices about healthy eating

More than 14 million people, young and old, will be dangerously overweight by 2010, according to the latest report by the Department of Health. The dramatic rise in obesity will lead to many more people suffering from diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Obesity costs the NHS a £1 billion a year and the nation a staggering £7 billion each year.

Experts believe that the main causes of this epidemic are the consumption of junk food and sedentary lifestyles. Nationally in the UK, there is already a Public Service Agreement target to ‘halt the year on year rise in obesity among children under 11 years by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole’. However, the report suggests that female childhood obesity is expected to rise by 35 per cent in the next four years, which suggests that there is much to be done.

Following high-profile campaigns such as Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners, the Government has moved swiftly to improve standards in schools. With around 130 other organisations, the Countryside Alliance supports the Children’s Food Bill which calls for a broader approach to healthy eating that ranges from serving freshly cooked school dinners, using mandatory, high nutritional standards for every meal, to the return of cooking lessons in schools. In short, food should be more integral to a child’s education.

The Alliance supports the Department of Health’s recommendations that people worried about their weight should study food labels and purchase fresh produce. However, the Government could start by setting an example. According to the National Farmers Union, public sector procurement of food and catering services runs to some £1.8 billion, yet only 2% of this food is sourced locally.  This includes the purchase of food for hospitals, schools, prisons, Ministry of Defence (MOD), services, local authorities and staff catering in government offices. By sourcing locally, buyers are helping the environment whilst gaining fresh food-mile-free produce which will raise standards for healthy eating across the public sector. Regional variation in procurement methods will need to be addressed, but the Government must lead on the healthy-eating message.

In fairness, Government intervention alone will not solve the problem without the adult population taking personal responsibility on a grand scale. Both the junk food and sedentary lifestyle issues can be resolved by individuals taking action, such as eating locally-produced, fresh produce and taking exercise in the countryside or in urban green spaces. Another area to explore is whether allowing young children to become dangerously obese is tantamount to cruelty and neglect, and should be treated as such by law.

It is the responsibility of outdoor organisations like the Countryside Alliance to promote activities which engage more children and adults in healthy exercise in the fresh air. We will also promote the nutrition benefits of healthy, free-range food, such as partridge, pheasant and venison. Recent research from the independent food research organisation Leatherhead Food International shows that food types like these have extremely healthy connotations. It is also essential to promote fresh food more widely as the link between country and town, uniting everyone to work towards a healthier population. British Food Fortnight, originally conceived by the Countryside Alliance, is an excellent example of how this can work.

The wider public should have the option to enjoy greater access to accurate information about the conservation, management, and enjoyment of the countryside

If you asked a dozen people in the street whether or not they thought the shooting of birds or animals was acceptable, the majority would reply in the negative. However, if you elaborated, pointing out that those same birds and animals were culled in a wildlife-friendly environment and enjoyed as free-range produce in pubs and restaurants across the land, the response might be somewhat different.
Not all the issues covered by the Countryside Alliance’s remit are controversial ones but country pursuits, for example, bring out all the emotions in some people at the expense of the facts. A controversial issue is one about which there is no one fixed or universally held point of view. These commonly divide society, resulting in significant groups offering conflicting explanations and solutions. Sometimes it is hard for accurate information to be conveyed when emotions run high.

Many of the people represented by the Countryside Alliance still find themselves on the receiving end of a torrent of misinformation, not helped by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott reinforcing the stereotypes by referring to the "contorted faces of the Countryside Alliance".

Over the last few years, public opinion has swung in favour of activities such as hunting as people see the truth behind the lies, but the lazy stereotyping of rural people over decades has left its mark. In addition, there is a general ignorance of how rural Britain works, from Government down. Often this ignorance is not malicious but if left unchallenged, the consequences can be dramatic, particularly if the lack of knowledge extends to Government agencies making important decisions that will impact on rural communities.

The Countryside Alliance has always been encouraged by the wider public’s readiness to listen to the arguments, something that cannot always be attributed to all politicians. Working with like-minded organisations, we will produce balanced research and information on the conservation, management and enjoyment of the countryside. By engaging with more people from diverse backgrounds, we hope to break down barriers and spark lifelong passions for the countryside, which belongs to all of us.

More rural-based facilities should be made available to disadvantaged young people who stand to benefit through outdoor learning

While new proposals to extend outdoor learning for schools are to be welcomed, many forward-thinking schools have already acknowledged the benefits of extended periods away from the classroom, particularly for less academic children. Outdoor activities are socially inclusive, and offer particular benefits to children with learning difficulties and behavioural issues. These children often feel excluded in the classroom but do well when allowed to flourish in a different environment.
There are a number of reasons why some young people find schoolwork difficult, including problems at home or school, learning difficulties and straightforward boredom. Initial low-level disruption can quickly lead to truancy, aggressive behaviour or possibly exclusion. However, when schools have shown a more innovative approach, they have been richly rewarded.

One example of a successful initiative is the Countryside Alliance’s new Fishing For Schools project. It specifically offers a short-course GCSE alternative for children with special educational needs between the ages of 14 and 16. These children find academic work particularly difficult but respond well to alternative learning. The aim is to teach young people the skills of fly-fishing and in doing so explore and enjoy other areas within the natural world.

The course is ran in accordance with the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network which is recognised by the Department for Education and Skills. The ASDAN Award Scheme is listed as one of the few major routes for developing and accrediting wider key skills.

Over the four three-hour sessions, pupils are supplied with fishing equipment and will learn how to assemble it, cast and catch fish. However, topics such as safety, insect life, knot-tying, fish biology and respect for local wildlife are all covered. The course teaches personal and social skills, including job-sharing and an appreciation of the countryside. Children with learning difficulties from a large comprehensive school in Gloucestershire have taken the course, with a first-ever 100% attendance rate.

If the Government’s plans to implement the Education Outside the Classroom Manifesto come to fruition, there will be a shortage of rural-based facilities geared up for courses and trips required by the nation’s schools. The Alliance has access to a wide range of rural-based facilities, and will develop their promotion for schools.

The Education Outside the Classroom Manifesto should be encouraged, provided teachers are protected from the current compensation culture

During the past 10 years, a small number of high-profile accidents and the increasing threat of litigation have resulted in a steep decline in the number of school trips. The news comes at a time when a child is statistically safer on a school trip than at home in bed. The new Education Outside the Classroom Manifesto (EotC) from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) intends to address the issue. Its main aim is: ‘To provide all children and young people aged 3-19 with a variety of high quality learning experiences outside a classroom environment, whether during school, after school or during holidays.’

The Alliance strongly supports this aim, particularly when focused on rural-based activities for children from all backgrounds. According to the DfES, the EotC is intended ‘to be a “movement”, or joint undertaking which many stakeholders create and which anyone can sign up to’. We will play our part, working closely with other organisations, acting as a growing provider of out-of-classroom learning across a wide range of subjects. The Alliance realises that schools need support from stakeholders to ensure children receive access to the best possible outdoor opportunities. The Government is currently rather sketchy on whether or not there will be available funding. However, there are a number of things it can do to make a good idea actually happen.

A national framework should be put in place to ensure clarity and purpose. By integrating the EotC programme into the curriculum and teacher training courses, it will be treated as an essential part of pupil progress, rather than simply an add-on. Training should therefore be given through Initial Teacher Training and the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education.

To avoid the ever-present fear of litigation from parents, a system should be created so that schools and teachers are not held accountable in the unlikely event of a serious incident. Clear guidelines should be available to lift the barriers to the outdoors by simplifying the current bureaucratic procedure for school trips. In particular, the risk assessment process should be addressed by way of a straightforward template. While care needs to be taken, children must learn to deal with risk rather than being cooped up indoors and wrapped in cotton wool.

Subjects such as the environment, food and rural affairs should have a more mainstream role within the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum provides a framework used by schools to ensure that teaching and learning is balanced and consistent. The curriculum sets out the subjects taught, and the knowledge, skills and understanding required in those subjects. To enable teachers to measure the progress of pupils, standards or attainment targets are given for each subject. However, within the framework of the curriculum, schools are free to plan and organise teaching and learning in the way that best meets the needs of their pupils.

According to the authors of the National Curriculum: ‘Education only flourishes if it successfully adapts to the demands and needs of the time. The curriculum cannot remain static. It must be responsive to changes in society and the economy, and changes in the nature of schooling itself.’

 The Countryside Alliance agrees with this statement, particularly as the subject of the environment has risen in prominence and demands curriculum concentration. Many rural topics, however, need attention as they form part of Britain’s cultural heritage and are as relevant today as one hundred years ago. An obvious example is a subject that is very important to urban and rural children alike, but much ignorance surrounds food and how it gets to the table.

The latest suggestions from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) need careful consideration. This body has been given a remit by the Department for Education and Skills to review the Key Stage 3 curriculum, which applies to children aged between 11 and 14. The QCA proposes, for example, that it would no longer be a statutory requirement to teach children about Britain’s ‘cultural heritage’. This is patently unacceptable and should be changed during a lengthy consultation process on the proposed reforms taking place in 2007.

Part of the QCA thinking is towards greater flexibility in the curriculum, which is to be encouraged providing it does not impinge greatly on core subjects. The Key Stage 3 review is generally welcome, and it should be seen as an opportunity to incorporate a more structured classroom-based approach to countryside issues, helping urban and rural children connect with the outdoors. The alternative is the proper implementation of the Education Outside the Classroom programme (see next point)