WIREDGOV

Scotland and the US strengthen ties in education, health and wellbeing.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday met with John B. King, Jr, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Education to hear directly how they are addressing attainment issues and share with him experiences and best practices from Scotland's education system.

Education has been one of the First Minister's priorities during her trip to the US, this follows a successful visit to a Brooklyn school which has faced similar issues to schools in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.

Following the meeting with the Deputy Education Secretary in Washington, the First Minister was joined by Dr Katie Wilson, Deputy Undersecretary for food nutrition and consumer services, on a visit to Takoma Park Middle school in Maryland, which complies with Federal Government meal regulations and provides a summer feeding service.

Dr Katie Wilson was appointed by President Obama and given the responsibility for improving the health and wellbeing of Americans by developing and promoting science based dietary guidance and administering nutrition assistance programs.

Following the education engagements, the First Minister said:

"I was delighted to meet with both John B King Jr and Dr Katie Wilson who are leading the work in the US in improving education and the health of American school children. During my visit to the fantastic Takoma Park Middle School I was able to see first hand some of this work in practice.

"Governments have a role in ensuring that every young person has the best start in life and we know that while a good education system is important we must also provide the right support for their health and wellbeing at an early age. In Scotland, we are proud of our commitment to provide free nutritious school meals for all primary 1-3. We know that school lunches are hugely important in supporting a pupil’s ability to learn and we also know from recent studies that free school meals help improve nutrition and health among pupils, which can only help improve attainment in schools.

"The US and Scotland have already forged a strong working relationship and are committed to doing all we can to support the development of our young people and tackle inequalities in our society."

Dr Katie Wilson added:

“We were pleased to welcome the First Minister of Scotland to share our knowledge and common interest in providing healthy, nutritious meals to schoolchildren.”

Notes To Editors

Scotland and the USA have been working together for several years on ways to improve the health and wellbeing of young people, school food and nutrition and have co-founded 'International School Meals Day' celebrated every first Thursday of March, which was initially funded by the Scottish Government.

Scotland's Hungry for Success and their Schools Act of 2007 has provided learning for the US Department of Agriculture on the implantation of healthier school foods and embedding health and wellbeing in its curriculum. In the same year, the USA Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act came into being. Since then there has been a number of policy collaborations and a developing partnership between government officials and stakeholders.

Free school meals for children in P1-3 came into effect on January 5, 2015. The policy entitles an additional 135,000 children to free school meals on top of 33,000 already eligible. The policy has been supported by campaigners against child poverty, including Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, Children in Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, the Church of Scotland and trade unions.