Regional School Food Ambassador Network

The Regional School Food Ambassador Network is a network for people at Local Authority Level in Health, Education, Catering and related stakeholder organisations. Every local authority in the West Midlands has identified at least three school food ambassadors representing as a minimum health, education and catering.

The network is directly linked to the School Food Trust Good Practice Network to ensure a joined up approach to school food both regionally and nationally.

The role of the School Food Ambassador

The School Food Trust’s National Good Practice Network supports the implementation of the Government’s new school food standards. The network is for people at Local Authority level in Health, Education, Catering and related stakeholder organisations.

The network is primarily virtual with web-based activity but and also supports regional events for School Food Ambassadors in partnership with a range of agencies working to improve school food.

School Food Ambassadors can now access their own pages which contain information on SFT activities, local events and a forum for ambassadors to communicate with each other, ambassadors.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk

To request access to the web site please complete a request.

As a School Food Ambassador, you are encouraged to:

Drive Change Locally

  • Be a driving force for local change.
  • Utilise the National Good Practice Network to identify issues/challenges within your area and seek avenues of support. Including accessing the virtual National Good Practice Network to share good practice via the online discussion forum, case studies or reports on school food activity. Support the Million Meals Campaign by finding out which schools have signed up in your area to aid sign up to the campaign. Access the latest research findings to inform future work and avoid duplication.
  • Work in partnership with other School Food Ambassadors to establish and coordinate a Local Authority School Food Group and feedback key issues to Regional School Food Leads and the School Food Trust. This will help to inform the School Food Trust’s targeted support work and will help us to drive change nationally.

Communicate

  • Register online to share your contact details with other School Food Ambassadors.
  • Contribute experiences, ideas and solutions via the online discussion forum.
  • Contribute good practice stories by using or signposting schools to the self-submit case study function www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/casestudy-submit.asp.
  • Share useful resources, links and local information, e.g. forthcoming events with the Trust which will be uploaded to the interactive events map and relevant local authority page to help market local activities. This will provide a national picture of what is happening locally to improve school food.
  • School Food Ambassadors are also expected to disseminate information from the School Food Trust and other partners (including Department of Health, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Children, Schools and Families, Department for Environment, Faming and Rural Affairs, Healthy Schools, Food for Life Partnership and Food Standards Agency) to relevant services and existing networks. This includes colleagues within your service, the Local Authority, Primary Care Trust, Schools Forum, schools, Councillors and your Local Authority School Food Group.

Share Good Practice

  • Share good practice within your area, region and nationally is central to the development of the National Good Practice Network. You can do this through attending events, conferences, workshops, through existing networks, positive media coverage and case studies and cascade information to the School Food Trust to share on the National Good Practice Network.
  • School Food Ambassadors are expected to actively promote a culture of mutual support and cohesion by fostering positive relationships with other Ambassadors in your area, region and nationally through the National Good Practice Network.

Engage in Consultation and Information Gathering

  • As a School Food Ambassador your views and knowledge on relevant issues will be sought by the School Food Trust, your Local Authority, Regional Government Office or other linked partners.
  • This may include consultation on emerging practice and policy and, working with colleagues to gather information in the form of surveys. You may also be requested to attend conferences, conference calls, training events and seminars (local, regional or national) on behalf of your Local Authority and cascade feedback to your colleagues in relevant services (listed previously).

Who are your School Food Ambassadors

To find out who are your local ambassadors visit ambassadors.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/ambassador-search/search

To request access to the web site please complete a request.

Also see the following related resources: