I would say the education department is celebrating with the injection of 380 million smackers received from the government to help fund schools with the new healthy eating diet plan.

Hallelujah and about time too, hallelujah my foot let us do our sums. If we break down this grand total between them all you will find secondary schools receive approx 6,000 pounds and infants around 4,000.

Feeding the five thousand on bread and fish should be left in the hands of a miracle worker, namely Christ. Schools a place of learning where children are taught to read and write and now on top of that being told what to eat

The introduction to a healthier diet plan is a move in the right direction for controlling obesity also giving the kids a chance to lead a longer healthier life.

But how on earth without a miracle can teachers get kiddies to choose between their favorite meals to the ones that are chosen for them? More funding is needed in this department for this changeover to take place.

More varieties of meals to choose from then more chance of the new menu being a success.

But with measly pittance handouts from the government this task is going to be a long hard struggle for all involved. We all know what kids are like if forced to do something their not happy with. They become stubborn and develop an attitude such like, no matter what you say or do, I am not eating that. Give them time; let them decide when they are ready to start eating healthy.

Listen up all schools.

When introducing the new diet, say nothing. Place a plate of greasy chips covered with a yucky Bovril tasting gravy alongside a fresh pasta salad. No contest in the eye of the young student. Take action offer the pupil some sort of reward for choosing to eat healthy like offering a 10p token with the pasta meal, indicating when so many tokens are saved they will have qualified for a special treat towards the end of the month.

If the child's choice is the chip meal,then that's fine. But believe me when I say there will be no Oliver Twist asking for more after they have tasted the gravy.

How is chocolate cake rated up against the banana? Schools why not try adopting a monkey in a zoo. Then let the kiddies know that by eating a piece of fruit before a fattening slice of cake they will be helping the adopted chimp/monkey lead a comfortable life.

Coaxing children into eating healthy couldn't be simpler by beautifying the dish up with plenty of colour; this can be done by adding creative touches to the meal making it look more appetizing than that, of the dish that is not good for them.

For example, the plain scone versus the fancy cream cake sprinkled with rainbow colored hundreds and thousands with a bright red glazed cherry on top, in the child's eye presentation and the entire extras win hands down.

Now for the minors weighing in at 13 stone and standing six feet tall, coaxing blackmail whatever you call it, is going to be hard. The only way to approach 5/6th form students is to point out the benefits of healthy eating. Should he/she choose to ignore the warning signs, then we ask ourselves did they learn nothing at school. In saying that, there could be a genuine reason behind their ignorance. Which brings us back to government funding? Not enough teachers to show them the way?

Students, pupils and kiddies eat healthy to live long enough to collect your pension