Healthy Eating · September 2026

Snack-tember.
The whole body version.

A free, ready-to-run primary classroom kit for Snack-tember 2026. Five daily themes covering Stay Healthy’s four pillars — nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene — with an assembly script, KS1 and KS2 activities, a parent letter and a wellbeing resources directory. Print, copy, adapt — or just open it on your IWB and run.

Open the 5-Day Plan → Skip to Assembly Script
Snack-tember 2026
Any week — built for a September healthy start
Spark2 angle
Stay Healthy — whole-body, whole school
EYFS – Y6Whole-school ready
5 daysOne pillar per day
~14 minsAssembly script (10 slides)
FreeNo sign-up needed
Spark2 Stay Healthy workshop in action
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The 5-Day Stay Healthy Plan

One pillar per day. A small, concrete action that fits in any classroom. Five days that change a habit.

Mon · Day 1

Nutrition

Pillar 1 of 4

Children learn what their body actually needs to thrive. Not diet rules — just balanced fuel for the busy job of being a kid.

Try this: Each child draws a “perfect plate” for lunch. 5 food groups. No wrong answers. Display every plate on the wall.
Tue · Day 2

Exercise

Pillar 2 of 4

Movement is fuel. Our bodies and brains both work better with it. The aim isn’t to be sporty — it’s to move every day.

Try this: Heart-rate test. Sit quietly — count the beats. Run on the spot for 1 minute. Count again. Notice the difference.
Wed · Day 3

Sleep

Pillar 3 of 4

Sleep is when the body and brain rebuild. 9–11 hours for primary kids — and screens off at least an hour before bed.

Try this: Sleep tracker for the week. Each child records bedtime + wake time + how rested they feel (1–5). Review on Friday.
Thu · Day 4

Hygiene

Pillar 4 of 4

Handwashing, dental care, body care — the simple routines that prevent half the illness in primary schools.

Try this: The famous glitter-germ experiment. Sprinkle glitter on hands. See where it spreads. Then practise a proper 20-second wash.
Fri · Day 5

Pledge

All four pillars

The Healthy Habits Pledge. Each child picks ONE small thing they’ll do every day for the next month. Tiny & specific.

Try this: Pledge cards children take home. “I will ____ every day.” Family signs it too. Photos for the parent newsletter.
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Assembly Script — reads from the slides

Whole-school assembly to launch the week. ~14 minutes, mapped slide-by-slide to the classroom presentation. KS1 + KS2 together.

10 slides · ~14 minutes · Reception–Year 6
Slide 1
~1 min

Welcome & introduce the week

Open with the title slide. Read the hero copy.

“Good morning. This week is something special — it’s called Snack-tember, and it happens once a year all around the country. But we’re going to do more than just talk about food. We’re going to look after our whole body — what we eat, how we move, how we sleep, and how we keep clean. Four things. One amazing body.”
Slide 2
~1.5 min

What does my body need?

Show the four pillars: Food, Move, Sleep, Wash. Body-as-machine metaphor.

“Imagine your body is the most amazing machine ever built. It needs four things every single day to work properly. Food — the fuel. Move — the engine running. Sleep — the repair shop overnight. Wash — keeping the parts clean. Miss any one of these and the machine starts to slow down.”
Slide 3
~1.5 min

Pillar 1: Nutrition

The five food groups + balanced plate. Not diet rules — just “variety wins.”

“Food gives our body the energy to learn, run, grow, and laugh. The trick is variety — lots of different colours on your plate. Carbs for energy, protein for building, fruit and veg for vitamins, dairy for bones, plus a bit of healthy fat. No food is bad. But balance is the secret.”
Slide 4
~1.5 min

Pillar 2: Active Minutes

Moving every day. An average of at least 60 minutes a day for ages 5–18. Doesn’t have to be sport.

“Our bodies were built to move. Children your age should aim for around 60 minutes of moving a day — that’s anything that gets your heart beating a bit faster. Walking to school. Dancing in your bedroom. Football. Climbing. Even just chasing a friend at break. Movement is fuel for your brain too — it makes you better at concentrating, remembering, and feeling good.”
Slide 5
~1.5 min

Pillar 3: Sleep

Why sleep is the body’s repair shop. Screens off an hour before bed.

“Sleep is when the magic happens. While you’re asleep, your body is rebuilding muscles, growing taller, and your brain is filing away everything you learned that day. Children your age need around 9–11 hours every night. The biggest enemy of good sleep? Screens. So a good rule is: screens off at least an hour before bed.”
Slide 6
~1.5 min

Pillar 4: Hygiene

Handwashing. The 20-second rule. Why it actually matters.

“Now for the small thing that makes the biggest difference. Washing your hands. Properly. Twenty seconds, soap, all the way to the wrists. Done well, it’s one of the simplest, most powerful ways to stop illness spreading in school. We’ll do the glitter-germ test in class this week and see for yourselves how easily germs spread — and how much soap really matters.”
Slide 7
~1.5 min

Real Story — Marcus Rashford

Bring it home with the Marcus Rashford anchor. Free school meals + healthy eating.

“You probably know Marcus Rashford as a footballer. But here’s something else. When Marcus was a kid, his family didn’t always have enough to eat. He says it’s one of the reasons he became a campaigner — he’s spent years fighting so every child in this country gets a proper meal at school. Marcus made nutrition a national conversation. His message is simple — children learn best when they’re well fed. The body of a professional footballer needs the same four things yours does. Food. Move. Sleep. Wash.”
Slide 8
~1.5 min

Try It Together — the 20-second wash

Lead the whole school in mimed handwashing for 20 seconds. (Two rounds of “Happy Birthday” works perfectly.)

“Let’s try one of the four pillars right now. Stand up. Pretend you’ve got soap on your hands. We’re going to wash for 20 seconds — that’s two rounds of Happy Birthday. Backs of hands. Between fingers. Thumbs. Wrists. Now wash with me — sing it together. Happy birthday to you... That’s a tool you can use every day, for the rest of your life.”
Slide 9
~1 min

Your Pledge This Week

Walk through the 5-day plan. Each child commits to one small action.

“Here’s your mission this week. Five days. One small habit you’ll start. Monday — eat one extra colour at lunch. Tuesday — move for 10 extra minutes. Wednesday — in bed by your normal bedtime, no screens. Thursday — wash your hands properly, every time. Friday — pick one to keep doing for the whole month. Small actions. Every day. That’s how a healthy body is built.”
Slide 10
~1 min

Mission Complete — pick one for today

Send children back to class with a single action commitment for the day.

“Food. Move. Sleep. Wash. Four pillars. The most amazing machine ever built — and it’s the one you’re standing in. Right now, before you go back to class, pick one small healthy thing you’ll do today. Drink an extra glass of water. Walk a bit further at break. Wash your hands twice as well. That’s how looking after our body starts.”
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Classroom Activities

Two ready-to-go activities per phase. 25–45 minutes each. Materials are basic — paper, pens, glitter, food labels.

KS1 · EYFS–Y2

Glitter Germ Hands

Time: 30 minutes · Day: Best on Thu (Hygiene)

The famous one. Sprinkle glitter on hands and watch it spread — door handles, pencils, friends’ sleeves. Then practise a proper handwash and see the difference.

  1. Each child gets a pinch of glitter rubbed on their hands.
  2. 5 minutes of normal classroom activity. Watch the glitter spread.
  3. Stop. Look at hands, surfaces, partners. That’s how germs travel.
  4. Whole class washes for 20 seconds — backs, fingers, thumbs, wrists. Show the still-glittery vs sparkling-clean comparison.
Materials: Fine glitter (1 small tub), soap, paper towels, sink access.
KS1 · EYFS–Y2

My Healthy Plate

Time: 25 minutes · Day: Best on Mon (Nutrition)

Children build their “perfect plate” by drawing or sticking foods onto a paper plate divided into the 5 food groups.

  1. Show the 5 food groups: carbs, protein, fruit/veg, dairy, fats. Name an example of each.
  2. Each child gets a paper plate divided into 5 sections (drawn by teacher beforehand).
  3. Draw or stick (from magazine cut-outs) one food for each section — their favourite from each group.
  4. Display the plates on the “Healthy Plate Wall” for the rest of the week.
Materials: Paper plates, felt-tips, food magazines or printed food images, glue.
KS2 · Y3–Y6

Food Label Detective

Time: 45 minutes · Day: Best on Mon (Nutrition)

Children compare food labels on real packaging and sort them into everyday foods and sometimes foods using the traffic-light label. Reading labels = a life skill.

  1. Display 6–8 empty food packs on each table (cereals, biscuits, crisps, breakfast bars, juice).
  2. Show the “traffic light” label format. Red = high. Amber = medium. Green = low.
  3. Each table sorts their packs into everyday and sometimes foods, with reasoning.
  4. Tables share their findings. Surprises noted on the board.
  5. Optional: children who want to can spot one traffic-light label at home this week.
Materials: Empty food packaging (ask parents to send in), traffic-light label printout, paper, pens.
KS2 · Y3–Y6

Heart Rate Lab

Time: 30 minutes · Day: Best on Tue (Exercise)

Children measure their own resting and active heart rates and discover the body’s response to movement. Real science, real bodies.

  1. Show how to find a pulse — wrist or neck. Count beats for 15 seconds. Multiply by 4.
  2. Resting reading. Record on a class sheet.
  3. 1 minute of star-jumps / running on the spot.
  4. Active reading. Compare. Discuss what just happened inside their bodies.
  5. Bonus: 60 seconds of slow breathing. Take a third reading. Notice it falling.
Materials: Class data sheet, stopwatches or timer on board, space to move.
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Parent Communication Template

A short letter you can send home Monday morning, or paste into the school newsletter. Tells parents what we’re doing and how to extend it.

Letter / Newsletter Insert

Snack-tember at [School Name]

Dear Parents and Carers,

September is the perfect moment for a whole-school healthy reset — we’re using it as a chance to look after our whole body, not just food. Five days, four pillars: nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene.

Each day children will explore one pillar through hands-on activities — the famous glitter-germ handwashing experiment, a food-label challenge, a heart-rate test, a sleep tracker, and a healthy plate. By Friday, every child writes their own Healthy Habits Pledge for the month ahead.

Continue the week at home:

We’ve put together a free at-home companion at spark2.org/home/stay-healthy/. Four daily practices to do with your child — the +1 colour rule, the 10-minute family movement break, the screens-off-an-hour-before-bed rule, and the 20-second handwash. Plus six conversation starters for the dinner table and a guide for parents worried about fussy eating. It’s aligned to the Stay Healthy skill in Spark2’s Future Skills Passport, so you can keep building habits long after this week ends.

Useful resources for parents also include the NHS Healthier Families site, the British Nutrition Foundation, and The Sleep Charity.

With best wishes,
[Headteacher / PE Lead]

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Health & Wellbeing Resources

Trusted UK resources for primary schools and parents. Use alongside this kit.

NHS · Healthier Families

Free recipes, activities, food facts

The official NHS hub for primary-age healthy eating. Sugar swap calculator, 10-minute Shake Up activities, Easy Recipes section.

nhs.uk/healthier-families →

British Nutrition Foundation

Snack-tember resources

Free schools resource pack, classroom activity sheets, nutrition science. The campaign hub itself.

nutrition.org.uk/snack-tember-2026 →

NHS Better Health

10 Minute Shake Up activity ideas

The NHS family campaign that replaced Change4Life. Family-friendly, kid-friendly, screen-friendly. Brilliant for the active-minutes pillar.

nhs.uk/change4life →

Youth Sport Trust

Active schools framework

The 60-active-minutes-a-day standard, plus daily-mile resources, sports-day inspiration, and PE planning support.

youthsporttrust.org →

The Sleep Charity

Sleep advice for children + parents

Age-by-age sleep guidance. Bedtime routine planners. Free sleep packs for schools.

thesleepcharity.org.uk →

e-Bug

Hygiene + microbiology for schools

The UK Health Security Agency’s free schools resource on germs, handwashing, antibiotics. Lesson-ready for KS1+KS2.

e-bug.eu →

Want more than a one-week kit?

Make Stay Healthy your Snack-tember

Our “Stay Healthy” workshop is a whole-school day. A specialist facilitator spends the day with you. Every class — EYFS through Year 6 — gets their own age-appropriate session covering all four pillars: nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene.

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