Schools
Rewards Reviews in Schools
Sugar Quizzes Taken
Meet the Founders
James Goolnik
BDS MSc- founder
James is a practicing dentist and the founder of the Bow Lane Dental Group in London. Over the past 17 years, he has witnessed first-hand how damaging sugar is to our teeth and our health. Every day he sees how the behaviours we learn as children translate into how we ‘reward’ ourselves as adults. He is determined to help the world kick sugar and in particular change the way we reward our children.
Dr. Joanne McCormack
General Practitioner
Dr. McCormack has been a GP for 24 years and was a GP partner in Warrington up until April 2015. She was also a GP Trainer, and now works as a sessional GP in two training practices as well as the Named GP for Safeguarding Children for an area of 300,000 people. She has helped thousands of people get healthier by getting off sugar.
Kyla Newcombe
DipION, BSc, MSc- Nutritionist
Kyla is a nutritionist and skin specialist with an MSc degree in Nutritional Medicine. She focuses on lifestyle habits and taste preferences, and based on a strong scientific foundation, Kyla incorporates in-depth diagnostic tests to identify the root cause of symptoms.
What People Say about The Rewards Project
Lisle Pugh – Personal Trainer
As a Personal Trainer, I work with many clients who are overweight and obese and I see the damage sugar has done to them. Besides the obvious visual effects, most will suffer with one or more of the following issues; chronic pains, headaches, lack of sleep, depression, anxiety, mood swings, foggy brain, inflammatory skin conditions, weak immune system, high blood pressure, diabetes, the list goes on and on.
Are these the conditions we want to “treat” our kids to? Do we want to “treat” them to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke as they grow up? Increased risk of blindness and limb amputation? Increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease?
I think this project is fantastic, because it is addressing the psychological connection we have with food, from a young age and trying to redirect associations with reward away from sweet foods and towards healthier alternatives. If we can build great habits now, we might be able to avoid having to overcome emotional eating or poor relationships with food as adults. This in turn will most likely improve quality of life and longevity.
John Edwards – Optician
The project has been a complete inspiration to me. After many years of talking to our patients about the damaging affect of diabetes on vision and eye health and, how important reducing sugar is to controlling diabetes, I found the Rewards Project one of the first things that I have ever seen that works as a support tool. What you have created has the power to change attitudes towards sugar without ‘beating people up’ about it. And that is what is really needed here in the UK and I suspect, around the World.
I have personally thrown a teaspoon of sugar in my cups of tea for the past 40 years. I’m not overweight, I exercise regularly – I just like sweet tea. That’s how I justified it to myself! I deserved this ‘treat’ because I’d earnt it. The Rewards Project has made me realise that it isn’t a treat at all. I must have consumed over 200 kilos of sugar in my tea in that time – wow, I think I’ve just been lucky.
And so, from a personal perspective, you have changed my attitude and I’m just starting to enjoy a hot drink that tastes of tea and not sugar! Thank you.
John Edwards FBDO CL
Mrs Emma Graham – Parent
“Such a fantastic idea! I try really hard to keep my kids’ diets balanced and their sugar intake low at home. It’s crazy and extremely frustrating to undermine this with sugary treats as rewards at school.”
Dr Sharon Lawrence – GP
I have been very inspired by the Rewards Project. For years, many schools reward children with sweets and chocolates for good behaviour and this has become part of everyday culture. This increases the growing problems of childhood obesity , diabetes, coronary heart disease as well as many other health conditions. A change in the mindset of teachers, parents and ultimately students in this respect will be a very positive step in the right direction for this and future generations of our children.