Knockavoe School uses fruit and veg to bring learning to life

FOR pupils at Knockavoe School in Strabane the weekly delivery of fruit and vegetables supported by Tesco is offering much more than a healthy snack.

The school takes part in Tesco’s Free Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, which provides funding to help schools give pupils regular access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

Now into its third year, in 2025 the scheme provided more than 355,000 portions to Northern Ireland schools alone.

Knockavoe School, which has 170 pupils from Early Years through to Key Stage 4/5, supports children and young people with a range of additional educational needs.

Senior Leader, Ciara McLaughlin said: “We are constantly amazed by the creative ways our staff use the fruit and vegetables we receive from Tesco each week.

“From sensory play and storytelling to cooking, art, and life skills, the opportunities are endless.

“The enthusiasm and imagination of our staff ensure every pupil can enjoy meaningful, fun, and engaging learning experiences.”

In numeracy, fruit and vegetables are used for counting and sorting, while pupils learning Makaton practise signs for different foods. Stories, songs and literacy lessons have been built around the produce, alongside art, cookery, speech and language activities and sensory play. Pupils also use the fruit and vegetables to learn more about healthy eating habits.

Colour can also help pupils communicate how they are feeling.

“Our students may use different coloured fruits to express their emotions: red for cross or frustrated, green for happy, blue for sad, yellow for excitement,” Ciara added.

“They might grab a yellow banana and use it to make a smile, so the smile is either up or down, for example.”

Fruit and vegetables are also included in breakfasts, where pupils can sit together, socialise and settle into the school day.

For those with sensory needs or highly restricted diets, simply becoming comfortable with an unfamiliar food can be an important achievement.

Staff create regular, low-pressure opportunities for pupils to explore foods through sight, touch and smell, even if they are not yet able to eat them.

Over time, some children progress from being reluctant to engage with a new food to touching, smelling, licking and eventually tasting it.

Ciara continued: “For some of our students, it may take up to four months to try a different food; that’s why it is so important to receive the fruit and veg every week from Tesco, so that we have the resources to keep trying to help them discover new flavours and develop healthier eating habits.

“Their parents also say they feel more confident introducing new foods at home.”

For Knockavoe’s older pupils, the programme is also helping prepare them for life beyond school.

They take responsibility for visiting the nearest Tesco store, choosing and buying the produce and bringing it back to school, where they also distribute the fruit and vegetables to other classrooms.

Ciara added: “They enjoy distributing the fruit among the other classrooms, and it’s a great way to meet and keep in touch with other pupils they wouldn’t normally see or interact with.

“For the younger kids, it’s a lovely opportunity to see the older pupils who have grown so much at the school and now are getting ready to discover more of the world.

"The scheme not only supports learning and healthy lifestyles but also helps foster connection, which is one of our key developmental areas, by bringing pupils, staff, and the wider community together through shared experiences".

Almost 20 million portions of fruit and vegetables were eaten by up to 186,000 pupils during the first two years of the Tesco Free Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, which is delivered in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation.

The impact report found an average 4.2 per cent increase in Vitamin C intake among participating pupils, alongside increases in Vitamin A, fibre and folate.

It also found that 94 per cent of teachers surveyed reported improved behaviour among children taking part.

Now the programme has expanded to support 1,000 schools, with a particular focus on areas with a high proportion of pupils receiving free school meals.

Claire de Silva, Head of Communities at Tesco, said: “Schools have told us what a positive impact the Tesco Fruit and Veg for Schools programme has made on their children including sharper focus, more energy and better behaviour.

“ Every teacher we surveyed for the report agreed that the scheme has made a positive difference to the lives of each young person it has reached.

“By expanding the scheme in year two we can ensure that even more young people in some of the most challenged communities in the UK get access to the fruit and veg they need to thrive.”

Elaine Hindal, chief executive of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: "It's incredibly encouraging to see the difference this programme is making for children and schools.

“We know that eating well can support children's health, wellbeing and ability to learn, but that access to healthy food can be a challenge.

“That's why we're so pleased to see the programme continuing to grow, having already provided almost 20 million portions of fruit and vegetables and now reaching 1,000 schools.

“We're proud to work with Tesco on an initiative that is helping more children enjoy healthy foods and build positive eating habits that can last a lifetime."