By Diane Clarke

The Learning Network:Creating content people want to buy

The Learning Network

• An online hub for healthy food for children

• A place to share best practice and practical solutions

• Creating a national ‘voice’ for children’s food

Who is it for?

Everyone who works in children’s food!• Schools – head teachers, school business

managers, catering managers, lunchtime supervisors, school cooks, school staff

• Local authorities – staff responsible for school food contracts; staff working in procurement, children’s services, early years, education, Health and Wellbeing Boards

• Early years – nurseries, pre-schools, childminders, children’s centres

• Public health professionals – health visitors, midwives, school nurses, obesity leads

• Caterers

The usual suspects

Meeting a need

• Feedback from schools and other stakeholders

• Surveyed more than 600 people• Huge response

What they told us

Budget cutsTime poor Travel

restrictionsSupply cover

Charitable objectives

We will utilise technology to create a step change in the way adult education is delivered in the UK.

Learning Pool gives you smarter e-learning at better value. How do we do it? By providing inspiring content, clever technology and a fantastic support team. That’s how we became the UK’s biggest e-learning community.

It wasn’t a piece of cake

How do we fund it?Who’s going to build it?Which content do we include?How do we build a shop front?

Evidence-based expert content

Dr Patricia Mucavele, PhD, RNutr (Public Health), Head of Nutrition

Claire Wall, RNutr (Public Health), Senior Nutritionist

Laura Whiting, ANutr, Nutritionist

Phase one - June 2013

• Increasing free school meal take up• Involving parents, carers and

children in primary school food• Involving young people, parents

and carers in secondary school food

• Low cost and no cost solutions to improving school dining

Phase two - September 2013

• Running practical cooking clubs

• Cooking activities for people with different abilities

• Meeting the guidelines for food and drink in early years settings

• Encouraging young children to eat well

• Nutrition for early years

Phase three - January 2014• Lunchtime supervisor

training• Customer service• School food

procurement• Reducing kitchen and

dining waste

Phase four September 2014

• Meeting the school food standards

Exclusive membership • Membership fee (£32 to £108) to recoup costs• Marketed through all channels• Offered free memberships to key stakeholders• Excellent feedback• Limited sales

Excellent feedback

• 98.5% said that the website is user friendly• 93.9% found the training courses useful• 95.9% found the training courses interesting• 72.2% will use what they have learned in their place of work• 6% would pay the published prices themselves for the Learning

Network • 68% would ask their employer to pay for the Learning Network, at

the published prices • 88.5% would recommend the Learning Network to their employer

Can lead a horse to water…

• Sales were slower than we had envisaged

• Individuals wanted to learn, but couldn’t commit

• Dozens of trials but poor conversion

Adjusting the recipe

• Good product• Good build• Great variety• Excellent standard

• Wasn’t compulsory

Enhancing the product portfolio• Sales within contracts and bids• Whole school food approach• Early years settings• Complimented face-to-face training• Accessible alternative

School Food Plan

• Universal infant free school meals• Increasing school food take up• Cooking in the curriculum• School Food Standards

Building a community

• Real engagement• Two-way exchange• Collaborative creation

Ideas for the future• Continuing professional development• Accredited training – food hygiene• More dynamic forums • Regular webinars

Any questions?

diane.clarke@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk

Tel: 0114 299 6911