Executive Summary
This consultation was carried out by Young Scot at the request of the Scottish Executive Education Department, to seek the views of young people aged 12-18 on the proposed Schools (Nutrition and Health Promotion) Bill.
For a three month period from the 4 th of May to the 31 st of July 2006, young people completed an online questionnaire through the Young Scot portal, www.youngscot.org with questions drawn from the formal Bill consultation, but adapted for the school-based audience.
A total of 335 responses were received for the questionnaire. The consultation was promoted by sending posters to secondary schools, and by the Young Scot eRoadshow team that visited local youth events over the summer.
The majority of respondents were female with 58% (196) of the total, 38% (129) being male, and 3% (10) unknown. The vast majority of respondents were aged 12-15 (78% - 263), with the 16-18 age group providing the second largest grouping (13% - 43). Only 8 respondents (2%) were under 12 years old, and 6 (1.75%) were over 18. 15 (5%) respondents did not give details of their ages.
Young people took part in the consultation from all over Scotland, with responses received from 29 out of 32 local authority areas (where it was possible to identify where the respondent lived). An unusually large number of responses came from the Dumfries & Galloway area, but this was clearly due to a local catering manager taking an active interest in the consultation and encouraging young people to take part.
In addition to the basic demographic questions, the questionnaire consisted of seven questions relating to the Bill, with each one consisting of a simple tick box or yes/no part, and five of the questions allowing for additional comments to be made. Whilst the full results and demographic breakdown of responses can be found in the body of this report and the accompanying appendices, the following is a summary of the main feedback from each question.
Question 1) - Do you think that all food and drink in schools and nursery schools should be healthy?
Of the responses received for this question, 44% (147) thought that all food should be healthy, whilst 55% of respondents (185) did not think that all food and drink should be healthy.
The comments for the question were analysed by theme, and on the whole were largely critical of the proposal, with 27% (71) of the comments along the theme that young people still need to have a choice, 9% (25) saying that they still need some unhealthy food / options, and 6% (15) saying that vending machines should be retained.
Of the positive comments, 7.5% (20) said that making it all healthy would promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, with the same number, 7.5% (20), commenting that it would help get younger children into good habits.
Question 2) - Should school meals be promoted to all pupils?
The respondents to this question were overwhelmingly in favour of school meals being promoted to all pupils, with 80% (268) saying "yes", and only 61 (18%) saying "no".
This was reflected in the comments, with support for the proposal because it would encourage more young people to eat healthy food (15% - 18), prevent them from going to the shops for lunch (11% - 14), promote a variety of healthy food (11% - 9), that it is generally a good idea, (7% - 9) and that young people may not get healthy food at home (6% - 7).
There were some negative comments to the question, focusing on the need to give young people a choice of where / what to eat (14% - 17) and commenting that not everyone likes / can eat school meals (12% - 15).
Questions 3) and 4) asked the respondents if they were entitled to free school meals, and if so, how often did they use the facility.
Only 70 respondents (21%) were entitled to free school meals, and out of them 66% (46) took them five times a week, with 10% (7) saying that they never used them. The remaining 14% that answered took free school meals between 1 and 4 times a week.
There was no option to add any comment to these questions.
Question 5) - Do you think that people getting free school meals should be able to get them without others knowing?
Again, the response to this question was overwhelmingly positive, with 75% (252) saying "yes" and only 24% saying "no".
The majority of comments supported the proposal, with 28% (47) saying that young people who receive free school meals are embarrassed about it, and 19% (32) saying that such a proposal would help prevent bullying, and that it is no one else's business if someone is entitled to free school meals or not (16% - 28).
A sizable number of comments (12% - 21) felt that it was not fair that some young people get free school meals whilst others do not.
Question 6) - Do you think that the people who run schools should be allowed to provide their pupils with free healthy drinks, fruit, vegetables, etc?
This question received the most emphatic support from respondents, with 91% (306) saying "yes" and only 6% (21) saying no.
This overwhelming support was reflected in the comments received, with 30% (47) of comments on the theme that it would promote healthy eating, and 22% (35) saying that offering it for free will encourage people to eat it.
However, the issue of personal choice was still raised, with 14% (22) of comments along the lines that this would be good, as long as there was still a choice that included less healthy food, and 9% (14) of comments similarly arguing for the retention of vending machines.
6% of the comments received (9) said that young people shouldn't have to pay for this type of food anyway.
Question 7) - Should Scottish Ministers ( MSPs) do their best to make all schools encourage healthy eating and be a healthy environment?
The response to this question was again very much in favour, with 68% (229) of respondents agreeing, and 30% (101) disagreeing.
Of the comments received, over half were positive, with 35% (43) of them saying that such a move would promote healthy eating and lifestyle for life, and 13% (16) saying that it would help stop obesity. 8% (10) of the comments received felt that MSPs need to do more to encourage healthy living.
Again, the issue of choice came through strongly in the comments, with 12% (15) saying that young people should still have a choice, and 7% (8) saying that young people should still have a free choice in what to eat.
Summary
Overall, the respondents to the consultation were in favour of increasing the provision of healthy food at schools, especially free fruit and vegetables for pupils, recognising the benefits that this would have towards adopting a healthier lifestyle. They were also in favour of school meals being promoted to everyone, and for schemes to make the uptake of free school meals more anonymous and less embarrassing for those who receive them.
However, the responses clearly showed that a large number of young people still wish to have a choice in what they eat, with many respondents arguing for the retention of some less healthy food options and vending machines alongside the healthy food to enable them to make informed choices in what they eat.