National School Nutrition Policy of Barbados.

The national school nutrition policy provides an operational framework for efforts aimed at creating an enabling school environment which promotes and supports the adoption of healthy eating and activity patterns through a multi-sectoral and integrated approach. The objectives of this policy are: (I) selling, serving and promoting only nutritious food and beverages that enhance the health, learning and well-being of school children in school environment, (II) coordinating school food service with nutrition education and other school-based nutrition- promoting initiatives in an integrated approach to promote students' adoption of healthy eating behaviours, (III) enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes of school children to facilitate their active engagement in protecting their own health, (IV) increasing opportunities for physical activity in the school environment to enable school children to be physically active throughout the day, (V) building capacities of school personnel, parents and the wider community in supporting and reinforcing healthy eating and increased physical activity in home, school and community settings, (VI) engaging and mobilizing key stakeholders in supporting and monitoring policy implementation and advocating for other appropriate measures for promoting and protecting the health and nutrition of school-aged children, (VII) motivating schools to take actions to fulfil the objectives of the school nutrition policy, and (VIII) increasing availability of timely and accurate information on child and adolescent nutrition-related indicators in order to evaluate policy implementation and to inform program development and coordination.
In order to ensure an enabling school food services environment which supports and facilitates the adoption of healthy eating practices, nutrition standards will be introduced for all foods and beverages available in schools, eating environments/food service areas will be improved in schools, and restrictions will be set on the marketing and advertisement of foods and beverages which are not consistent with the nutrition standards. School children will be empowered with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to enable them to make informed decisions and practice, including the reading of nutrition labels and the use of information in decision-making on food choices. Comprehensive nutrition education and physical education will be made mandatory subjects in the school curriculum from preschool to secondary level. School principals will be encouraged to strengthen partnerships with relevant government agencies and private institutions to renew and mobilize interest in the establishment of school gardens with particular emphasis on organic farming. Supportive health and nutrition services will be integrated into efforts to enhance the health, learning and well-being of school children. These services will enable the prevention, timely identification and treatment of overweight and obesity and other health and nutrition-related problems. The partnerships between schools and health teams will be strengthened and annual health/nutrition assessments will be carried out for all school children on a mandatory basis.