Pupils should be kept in school grounds during lunch breaks to stop them eating unhealthy take-away food, the Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said.

Mr Balls says there is little point in banning junk food inside school, if pupils then eat it outside school.

This will not be a compulsory requirement, but Mr Balls says he will back heads trying to impose a policy of not allowing pupils out during the day.

He also wants councils to limit the number of take-aways near schools.

Mr Balls is set to address the Healthy Eating in Schools Conference in London - where he will claim that "the corner has been turned" on improving the quality of school meals.

Unhealthy eating

Since the Jamie Oliver-inspired campaign to improve school food, there has been a series of initiatives, costing £650m, designed to raise the nutritional content and appeal of school meals.

But Mr Balls will tell the conference that attention needs to be paid to what children are eating outside school.

"There is no point in banning junk food and raising the quality of lunches in schools, if teenagers can simply go to eat unhealthy food from neighbouring take-aways," says Mr Balls.

As such, he says he supports "stay-on site" policies, in which pupils are not allowed to leave school premises during the day - stopping them from eating in local fast-food shops.

This will help to tackle an "ingrained culture of unhealthy eating", he says.

Mr Balls also backs local authority efforts to limit access to fast food - such as imposing a ban on take-aways within 400 metres of secondary school gates.

A survey of secondary school pupil eating habits published this summer found that 80% of pupils bought food from local shops.

The research by the Nutrition Policy Unit of London Metropolitan University found that two in five pupils never used the school canteen.

An important factor in eating habits was the speed and convenience of getting food from local take-aways, rather than queuing and overcrowding in school canteens, found researchers.

Rather than the quality or cost of school food being the determining factors, it was often the lack of comfort in the school canteen that influenced pupils.

The study found that local shops were more entrepreneurial about meeting this demand - offering cut-price child-size portions and getting in extra staff so that children could be served quickly.

However, this meant that children were ignoring healthy food in school and buying food and drink with high levels of fat and sugar.

A survey from the NHS Information Centre earlier this year found that one in three 11-year-olds is overweight or obese.

Lessons about personal, social and health matters including sex and relationships will be compulsory in all England’s schools from ages five to 16.

But the government is setting up a review of how best to achieve this, saying there are "complicated issues".

Schools Minister Jim Knight said this would factor in the ethos of schools, pupils’ needs and parents’ values.

A BBC poll of more than 1,000 people found two thirds would support sex lessons from the age of 11.

Reviews of education about sex and relationships and about drugs and alcohol were ordered after ministers said teaching was "patchy".

What they have not yet given is the detail of what compulsory personal, social and health education (PSHE) will involve, to allow local flexibility.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said the review of sex lessons had identified "a need to challenge the perception that sex and relationships education happened in a ‘moral vacuum’ in schools and says that parents and schools can and should work together to decide how best topics should be taught."

It said updated guidance would also be produced covering the content of the PSHE curriculum, based on the existing non-statutory programme.

Lessons should be "age appropriate". In primary schools, Sir Jim Rose would look at how PSHE should best be delivered as part of his ongoing review of the curriculum.

Pupils must not be denied school trips because teachers fear being sued if things go wrong, says the government.

The government’s new £4.5m Out and About scheme gives schools in England clearer advice on safe outings.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said children should not be wrapped up in cotton wool.

The initiative comes as the schools watchdog, Ofsted, reports that outings boost achievement but that many schools do not see trips as a priority.

England’s Ofsted inspectors said trips enhanced learning and motivated pupils.

The watchdog visited 27 schools and found activities such as trips to museums, visits to historical landmarks in foreign countries, after-hours sports and music clubs all increased pupils’ involvement, enjoyment and achievement.

Even conducting a science class in the school field had a positive impact, they found.

"Where young people experience memorable events in their education, they don’t just remember the emotion and excitement of the event itself but the learning that went with it," the report said.

Chief inspector Christine Gilbert said: "The positive impact of learning outside the classroom is widely recognised, but unfortunately it is sometimes seen as an extra or a treat, rather than as an integral part of the curriculum.

"Many schools will find the examples highlighted in the report extremely useful."

Vivid memories

The government’s Out and About scheme aims to give schools in England much clearer information to help organise effective learning outside the classroom.

The package, which has received £4.5m funding, will indentify organisations that provide high quality and safe outings for schools.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said it was wrong to wrap children in cotton wool as they grew up.

"Trips and getting out of the classroom should be part and parcel of school life and always give the most vivid childhood memories," said Mr Balls.

"Learning outside the classroom is not some optional extra. It should excite young people, deepen their understanding of classroom subjects and are a vital to make young people independent, confident and self-reliant.

"The vast majority of England’s eight million children go safely on school trips or learn outside the classroom at some stage. But we know that more can be done to make sure it is an integral part of every child’s education.

"It is time that the fear of compensation culture is consigned to history once and for all."

Union support

The NASUWT union said it supported the plans.

"The perception of the classroom as the only space for learning needs to be challenged and we are excited to see there is such a positive direction of travel on this agenda as part of the Children’s Plan," said general secretary Chris Keates.

The National Union of Head Teachers gave its "full endorsement" to the programme.

"With all learning outside the classroom activities, we will need to be confident that all health and safety aspects are secure but non-bureaucratic," said general secretary Mick Brookes.