A tuna and lentil bake is not your traditional school dinner, but at Seething and Mundham Primary School, near Loddon, that was exactly what they were enjoying yesterday.

They also had one of Britain's most famous dinner ladies on hand to ensure their healthy lunchtime was going to plan. Jeanette Orrey, made famous by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's successful television programme Jamie's School Dinners, was on hand to help celebrate the school's new flagship status for the Food For Life Partnership.

Ian Nutt, East of England coordinator for the national healthy food network, explained: 'The children know what they are eating and the health benefits of it. They get to try some new foods that not all kids get to try at home because not all parents are able to cook fresh food every night.'

Mrs Orrey was attending Seething and Mundham Primary for the first time in her role as school meals policy adviser for the multi-million-pound National Lottery-funded Food For Life Partnership and was impressed by what she saw on her visit.

She said: 'It is a beautiful new building the school have got and the children all look very happy so I've been really impressed. Sarah (Howat) is a fantastic cook and what has really impressed me is that her and her staff are very much part of the school. More and more evidence is coming to light that if children have the right food at lunchtime, in a nice environment, then they are more receptive to learning.'