Webinars provide an excellent way to share ideas, skills and experience between schools which can be a huge distance from each other. Partner countries have shared their experiences below:
The Czech SZS programme organises 10 online webinars a year for schools on various topics related to the whole school approach to food and food education. The webinars take place in the afternoon of every last Thursday of the month from January to November. SZS sends out invitations, agenda and link to the registration form of the webinar about three to four weeks in advance. Every registered participant will receive a confirmation and instruction on how to use the ZOOM web application.
SZS produces specific webinars for teachers and for cooking ladies. They usually split topics for teachers by the children age, which means one month for kindergarten teachers and next month for primary school teachers. Topics for teachers range from cooking, growing, farm visits to educating children on farming, food waste, healthy snacks or drinking. Topics for school canteen workers range from working with local farmers, using fresh produce in the kitchen to how to set up a salad bar or how to use less/no sugar. The webinars are well attended, SZS usually has from 50 to 90 participants, depending on the topic. After every educational webinar each participant will receive a proof of attendance.
CIOP organizes whole year programs based on webinars (from November to May and from February to June) about how to improve nutrition in schools or kindergartens with mutual cooperation of cooks and pedagogues and about setting up a Waterschools. We work with smaller groups of 5-6 schools and kindergartens per one program, but each school or kindergarten sends team of people, cooks and pedagogues who will cooperate whole year and improve nutrition in their institution.
Webinars take place once per month and in the meantime groups have to work on different tasks in their institutions. At webinars we take a look at work done, exchange the experience, discuss the next module of platforms Sustainable nutrition or Waterschool. We discuss also tasks with working sheets for the future. Changes which are implemented in the kitchen are on the Table of improvements at their notice board, visible to all. Slowly they are bringing changes into their environment and among employees – they are a pioneers who build a different culture. At the end of the year they invite food suppliers, farmers and prepare degustation. They present their work to parents, local public and journalists.
GEC holds around 10 to 15 live-online-seminars for pedagogues per year. Most of these webinars last one day or at least six hours. It is quite tiring for the participants to sit concentrated in front of the screen for so many hours. Therefore, we have started to prepare small snacks during the breaks (snack in line with the seminar theme), e.g. a quick spread, a smoothie, a homemade crispbread - where the dough is made in the first break and the bread is shaped and put in the oven in the second break. In the 3rd break, the bread is ready to be tasted.
The preparation combines theory with practice, the participants experience consistencies, smell and taste - instead of just talking about food. Time and material requirements are very low. Before the webinar, participants will also receive the list of ingredients and materials needed with the invitation. Before the breaks begin, the preparation steps are explained and displayed on the screen. The participants are always very enthusiastic about the preparation and taste break and like to show "their" finished snacks to the group.
Here is a typical information sheet sent to teachers prior to the webinar on what to prepare
Food for Life teacher training and skills hub, UK provide training support for teachers on school food culture
SZS Really Healthy Schools website has information on how to get involved in their exciting project in Czechia
Gutessen website, showcases a range of projects to engage and train teachers in Austria
