Wellbeing at Work, Corporate and School Nutiriton
CORPORATE AND SCHOOL NUTRITION
I have over 15 years of hands-on experience in the area of wellbeing in the workplace and schools, both in the maintained and independent sectors. I develop and deliver nutrition led wellbeing programmes, corporate nutrition policies and in the case of schools, assemblies on subjects tailored to every school year group. These include topics such as 'Good for You, Good for the Planet', in which I focus on how eating sustainably is good for our own as well as planetary health, 'Brain Foods' and 'Foods that Help Us Feel Good'. I also work closely with school caterers, to help them to create healthier, more sustainable menus, which comply with The School Food Standards.
WHAT I OFFER
BREAKFAST AND LUNCHTIME SEMINARS / ASSEMBLIES
ONE-TO-ONE NUTRITION CONSULTATIONS
COMPANY INTRANET SUPPORTED POD-CASTS
WEB-BASED AND INTRANET BASED COPY
All of these activities are tailored to specific employee and employee group or school and pupil needs such:
Workplace:
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Shifts and split shift patterns
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In call-centre environments
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Desk-based clerical and management positions
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In field and 'on the road'
Schools:
Year group of children from reception to 18 years
Schools specific topic requests
"The health and happiness of employees has been profoundly affected over the last three decades primarily by changes in technology and therefore changes to the business and working environment.
Longer working hours, more stress, less time for breaks and the general increased expectations that employers have of their employees brings with it a very real ability for an individual's work to profoundly affect their health, and in turn, for their health to profoundly affect their work.
It is now well understood that that a fit, healthy, happy workforce can help to improve the health and well being of a business, ultimately impacting on its and its employees future development and success."
'School children face more and more challenges in their daily lives. Providing meals that meet the School Food Standards is crucial in ensuring that the food they are offered and eat at school is as nutritious and appealing as it can be. What we eat can affect our ability to concentrate and focus, our mood and mental wellbeing, as well as our short and long term physical health. It is vital we do all we can to support schools and children in making choices that enhance their day-to-day learning and future attitudes to food by helping to create a 'whole school approach' to food. An age-appropriate whole school approach to food takes into account not only nutrition, but children's understanding about how food is grown, prepared and gets to their plates., equipping them to make choices that are good not only for them, but also the planet.'
Amanda works closely with a wide variety of people within the corporate environment to help set up and deliver programmes including:
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Occupational health leaders and teams
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Human resources managers
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Dedicated corporate Wellbeing teams and Wellbeing champions
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Executive, development and head chefs, procurement departments and front of house in-house restaurant employees
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Facilities management and operators
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School heads, teachers and governors, parents and pupils.
My Approach
My approach, which runs throughout all my communications with employees and school children, resists using the 'righting reflex' to nag them to eat this, stop eating that and give up something else, since understandably, this more often leads to resistance and alienation.
Instead my seminars, work-shops, one-to-one sessions and assemblies are designed to stimulate behavioural change around food choices through evoking employees own intrinsic motivation to change and increasing their beliefs that they can carry changes through.
My clients and experience is diverse including for example working with organisations such as Halfords and London Zoo, Avon, Investec, British Gas and Gatwick Airport.
I work in both the independent and stated-funded sectors of education. Schools in which I have delivered assemblies include: Parkgate Primary School. Newton Hill Community Primary School. Brunswick House Primary School. Portsmouth Grammar School. Sir William Perkins School. Godstowe School. Lambrook School. Sylvia Young Theatre School. Sarem House School. Sevenoaks School. Cottesmore School. Glendower School. Parents presentation plus pupils presentation. Byron Primary School. St Antony's School for Boys. Copthill School. .
WELLBEING AWARDS
In 2019, Amanda was awarded the Health and Vitality Special Achievement Honours.
By helping to set up and execute research projects in nutrition and wellbeing in the workplace, Amanda has been instrumental in steering her client, catering company CH&Co win the following awards or workplace wellbeing:
The Catey’s Education Caterer of the Year Award, 2021
CH&Co team member for outstanding ‘From the Kitchen’ campaign.
Health and Vitality 'Healthy Hospitality' Award 2016
for their collaboration with Birmingham University Department of Psychology research into social norm messaging in restaurant settings.
The Royal Society of Public Health and Wellbeing Awards 2015
for their Passport to Health project at Gatwick Airport.
The Catey's Award 2013
for Charlton House's 'Wellbeing' programme.
The Footprint Health and Vitality 2014
award for the CH&Co's Chef's Nutrition Training Course.
Well-targeted nutrition education in the workplace has been proven to improve productivity by 1 – 2 per cent.
This can achieved in a number of ways including for example:
Reduced absenteeism
Improved presenteeism
Lower company health insurance premiums
Improved morale
Better motivation
Improved company loyalty
We have become used to and now almost expect large corporates to undertake programmes of external social responsibility, supporting for example local, worthwhile causes and engaging with crucial projects to help improve sustainability and the health of our planets oceans, seas, river and land masses.
It takes a forward looking organisation to extend their corporate concerns to taking active, meaningful and measurable steps to promote the health and happiness of their own workforce - and this is especially so when it comes to encouraging improvement their nutritional wellbeing.
While everyone's health is ultimately 'their own business', there are many opportunities to help educate and influence behavior to promote a more nutritious way of eating for the individual within the day-to-day working environment.
This can be achieved both through direct education of employees as well as the very practical and hands-on approach of working closely with and supporting initiatives of a company's catering team.
Working in this area of corporate wellbeing has been fulfilling and immensely rewarding as well as fun and engaging.
When I develop bespoke nutritional programmes tailored to an individual companies needs it gives me a tremendous boost to see people at work feeling as a result, more energised, engaged, happy and able to focus on the task in hand.
Just hearing feedback like 'I'm in a much better mood' or 'I'm way less stressed' or 'my self-esteem has soared' are worth their weight in gold."
